A president who looks up to you.

The single most important characteristic for any leader is servant leadership. In reality, the amount of genuine servant leaders in our world is so slim that those that are often are not even noticed. Rex Rogers exemplified a servant better than most, and will, therefore, be difficult to replace. But there are better men. There are always better men.

The greatest test of servant leadership is to invite everyone to a party. The servant leader will humbly assume the lowest spot at the table. He will offer his drink to the man who did not get one. He will offer his snack to the woman who is lacking. He will wash the feet of everyone so that they are clean. He will move about the party, confidently confronting those he meets and tenderly listening to their needs and concerns.

A servant leader does not merely see past himself, he sees everything but himself. As I said before, finding a better president than Rex Rogers will be difficult, but there are better men. There are always better men.

Disease is a fact. Curing the environment?

Disease kills so many people each year that are not counted in the figures, let alone all the people that are, that it has become, to many, apocalyptic. Aids, cancer, Malaria, and many more have been the leading causes of death worldwide for countless years.

However, as long as creation is corrupted by sin, we will never conquer disease. That is one of the curses given to Adam; disease is man's thorn and thistle, choking out the good and healthy crop. In terms of the impact held on man, disease is definitely a bigger problem than environmental degradation, but that is a selfish line of thinking.

That problem is caused by our sinful nature in Adam, and is thusly our own fault. Environmental degradation, however, is a fixable problem that we continue to cause today, not just with our sinful nature, but with our sinful actions. Since this problem is fixable, there is no reason why it should still be such a problem. If mankind knew that a wonder drug existed that could cure any ailment instantly, and that it was available to every man or woman for absolutely no cost except the small amount of effort necessary to attain it, I believe that every single human being would take the necessary action to achieve this drug.

This is the situation with environmental degradation. The cure for the environment lies in the hands of each man and woman, but nothing is done to cure it. This is what makes it such a problem. The environment is just as much a part of Creation as man and woman, and our charge to rule over it and subdue it is equal with the charge to take care of it. Our shortcomings are a result of our selfishness and unwillingness to bear the responsibility such a great task.

We have been offered an entire planet, to care for and nurture, and we have cast it aside saying we have better things to do with our time and money. Disease is not a problem; it is a fact. It will always plague our world, as long as we are fallen. But we have the ability to cure the environment, if we are willing.

Positive thoughts

Right now I am excited about learning new information that I can use in life. I am taking a couple of classes that are helping me to be a more critical thinker, with out being overwhelmed with the information being processed. This is my first semester of reading all of the required text and have found that I am able to get a better understanding of the course content by reading it (imagine that!!) Another thing that I am enjoying about life is friends. I am able to spend time developing the friendships with people that I can call anytime I need someone to talk to and they can call me. I am also getting to spend time with my family and getting to know what is going on in their lives. As fast as life is going by I am getting to enjoy life and not just wish whole years of my life away.

Blog 5??

It is easy to focus on the future and not the present. So for this blog write about what you enjoy about life right now.

El Presidente

Why do we call him a President if this sub-society in most respects fails to be democratic?

OH, maybe because Presidents these days ARE grandfathered in and overly concerned with money.

Why don't we just take Rex's son and throw him on the throne?

Okay, low blows, right?

I'd say as far as a President goes, genuine connections is the key. We need someone who isn't out of touch with the reason the institution exists: the students. Another key quality to be is open-mindedness. This school has a lot of traditions, but the key to tradition is that it is reviewed periodically to see if it makes sense with the current situation. To quote Anchorman which quoted Bob Dylan, "the times they are a-changing" and our age group is on the forefront of those changes. Perhaps someone who is a little younger would be the most suitable candidate - someone who can appreciate the world in which we were raised and see where we're coming from. Diplomacy is another key issue. The truth of the matter is, we have boards and donors and onlookers all who feel they need to be appeased. Basically, as with almost everything, balance is the key here.

A new direction

I am a senior and have little personal stake in Cornerstone's choice of a new president. However, that doesn't mean I am without an opinion. I would like to see CU head in a new direction and bring in a president that will lead them that way. I feel the school has become too focused on the business side of our education and is moving away from a strong liberal arts emphasis. As a history major, I feel like a tiny majority in a sea of business and communications majors. I even feel this somewhat as an English major.

For a less personal example: music students are relegated to a old, tiny building. Sure, a new building is promised, but not before a new track and soccer field (that's another blog entry).

Maybe it's just me, but majors such as business and communications seem to have the run of the place, getting the best opportunities and the fancy gadgets (all of us have walked past the flat-screen TVs in Bolthouse). The large numbers of business majors obviously dictate these things, but perhaps this seeming favoritism is the cause of the comparatively smaller numbers of history and English lit majors.

I would like to be able to say I earned my History-English degree from an institution that has not become a Christian version of Davenport University. A president who will put money into the English, history, music, and other such programs will save Cornerstone from the fate of becoming a business college.

CU President

I think that we should have a President who is ready to form connections with both students, faculty, and staff before implementing new and continuing programs. A person who cares not only about the title but also about forming a relationship with the campus. Dr. Rogers exemplified this by inviting students to his home for a bonfire and being able to speak freely with him. The future president also needs to look to the future and see how they can continue to improve the reputation of the university and how to continue to uphold the values and morals of the school. The background of the future president should be full of service and completion of goals that they created in the prior occupation.

CU President

I feel that Dr. Rogers did a great job being our president, but obviously he feels the need to move on. I believe that we should pursue to find a president that best resembles Christ. The new president should be Christ centered and make decisions based on the provisions from the Bible. I feel that Calvin College has strayed from their beliefs and in order for Cornerstone to stay strong, we need it to continue being strong from the top.

Diseases: an issue in the world today

Which do you think is a bigger problem in the world today: environmental degradation or rampant disease (like AIDS)? Why?

Although I feel as though both issues are very prominent in the world today, I would say rampant disease seems to be a bit larger to me. Disesases affect people personally and they deal with people on so many levels. We are fortunate to be in a society where we have health professionals and means of getting assistance, but this doesn't always prevent and cure our problems.

Prompt 4

What kind of President do you think Cornerstone should try to get?

ALSO:

this blog is called creative faction.
heh. heh.

Chicken or Egg?

There are currently 39,500,000 people in the world HIV+. (http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/index.jsp)

25 million people die each year in developing countries because of water pollution - 3/5ths of them children. (http://rehydrate.org/facts/environment_at_risk.htm)

What is more important: humans - you, me, the 3rd shift Shell station worker, the child dying of AIDS in Nairobi by no fault of his own - or the Earth that supports us? Which generation is more important? The generation of today or the generation of tomorrow forced to drink impure water
and breathe pollutants because of our selfishness? This question is what baseball enthusiasts would identify as a "pickle." But I believe there is a bigger question to consider. Why have we let it come to this? Why have our mentalities of entitlement and apathy let our world outlook fall to only include the several miles surrounding ourselves and the ones we love? Why do we wake in the morning and fall into our beds at night without once considering the greater impact our general lack of global empathy has on the world? I know, white middle-class suburban college student ranting about apathy, big surprise. But I don't think we have the right to tackle a question such as this until we have realized our own hand in the atrocities, and experience remorse and anger until we are no longer content to bear that guilt. Until we are globally aware, which is only something we can personally develop within ourselves, we are not fit to dictate which parts of God's creation are "more important."

I applaud you if you do not share my faults, but I see shortcomings in myself rather than an answer to this prompt. Score one for Team VanDyke.

Disease

Although I believe that both disease and environment factors are a problem, I feel that disease is the bigger one. I feel that we are quite fortunate in America, because we don't suffer like many other areas. I have to say that Africa and aids is the biggest problem in the world today. I'm sure there are a lot more diseases that we are unaware of. The lack of medical supplies makes these diseases that much more of a problem. Every time a disease gets new treatments, there always seems to be another disease that comes along. The more we discover with medicines, the better off everyone will be to fight these diseases.

Prompt 3

Which do you think is a bigger problem in the world today: environmental degradation or rampant disease (like AIDS)? Why?

As a writer...

As a writer I want to be able to share my thoughts and for others to be able to understand and interact with them. I would like for people to be easily engaged in what I have to say, whether they agree or not. As a writer I want my communication to be clear but at the same time expressive and not boring. I would love to write a short story, just to say I can. But more importantly I want to be able to communicate with good, clear writing.

A book to read!

I mentioned this book in a comment or two, but I think that anyone who has any amount of difficulty writing (which, in my opinion, is anyone who tries writing) should read it. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is the book. It is a book about writing and how to better oneself as a writer. It is not long and well worth the time necessary to read it!

What I enjoy reading...

What do you like to read and why? Is there a certain style of writing that you prefer, or is it all about content for you?

I love to read Christian fiction novels and mysteries. I think I enjoy the Christian fiction books so much because they relate to real-life situations. I can often put myself in the character's shoes and I really relate to it on an emotional level as well. Mysteries bring me to places that are only vivid through books. They keep me interested and the suspense makes me want to keep reading. Mostly, it is about the content in my reading. As long as I can grasp and understand the material the book seems to come alive and I really enjoy reading them.

Improvements in my writing

What do you want to be able to do as a writer?
I have always enjoyed writing, but often get stuck on getting started. As I progress in my writing skills, I hope to be able to express myself freely. So often I think I have to have the perfect introduction for my paper to have any merit that I often block out ideas that are flowing through my head. I need to learn that brainstorming and getting ideas out on paper will help my writing process and that perhaps my main thesis or introduction will come later, after I have some concrete ideas down. I think this would greatly improve my writing and ease some of the barriers I often feel when beginning to write.

What I like to read....

I am not a big reader, but I find most enjoyment reading the newspaper or magazines. I love sports, so I like to keep up with that. I have also enjoyed reading shorter stories and easy reading books. I don't like to read books that "dig too deep" so to speak. I like to read things that flow really easily and where my mind can wander and really get into the story. I also have read a few biographies and I plan on reading more of those in the future.

Writing and Me

I love writing stories. I just came across a story I wrote in first grade that was absolutely hilarious. I laughed so hard I cried. When I was in ninth grade, I wrote an entire novel. And then another in tenth grade. Of course, I look back on my "novels" with contempt, now, because they were abominably written. The two major things my stories lack are plots and figurative language. I love to write character sketches and develop my characters throughout the story, but I struggle with creating interesting, realistic, creative plots. I'm also quite lacking when it comes to figurative language. It's especially difficult for me to use any sort of figurative language that isn't already a cliche (smooth as a baby's bottom, per se). So I usually just don't use any. I describe things matter of factly, without much imagery. Ultimately, I would love to write a really good novel. Hopefully this class can help me achieve such a goal.

Storytelling

I need to become better at telling a story. As a history/English Lit major, the bulk of my formal writing has come in the form of term papers and the like, where creativity is not so important as the presentation of facts in a coldly rational and declarative manner. Rational and declarative I can do. It's story-format narrative that gives me trouble. While being able to tell an appealing story may not immediately serve my ultimate goal of being published in a dry scholarly journal, I believe overcoming my feeling of awkwardness in storytelling will make me a better writer overall.

What I want to improve on in writing....

I have to say that I would like to be able to write stories in a more effective manner. I tend to be very bland in my writing and would like to learn to explain things with more enthusiasm. I'm not very creative, so I would probably write more stories about myself with respect to life stories. I would be more likely to write an autobiography or write a book about non-fiction rather than write a story about fiction.

David and Goliath 2.0

Prompt 2.0: What do you want to be able to do as a writer?

Response: As an aspiring "writer," the term is always somewhat daunting when is comes to personally applying any kind of definition. At the core of my aspirations, however, there is an intense desire to create art. I am often asked what I intend to do with my English major. "Are you going to teach? Are you going to be a journalist?" inquiring, and oftentimes, dubious and insulting voices ask. No. I desire to create art with my words. But this is a dangerous hope. Art is oftentimes considered by mass society as superfluous. Artist are assumed to lead lives of poverty, drunkenness, and irresponsibility. To overcome this view of art that has weaseled its way into my subconscious is my Goliath. These doubts tower over me and make me tremble. Will I ever be able to make a living? Will I be accepted as a successful individual? Will it be understood that my art is the work of a creative God in me?

The process to overcome my fears and write without my self-critic whispering doubts in my ear is one I constantly struggle with. And will probably always struggle with. But to grow as a writer despite of and because of my fears would be an overwhelming victory.

Prompt 2

What do you want to be able to do as a writer?

As a writer...

I would like to be able to have a role in bringing the world's attention back to itself. In a sense, I want to strive, at any level, to reveal the inherent problem within us all. However, my intention is not to accuse or judge the world, but rather, to divert the course of a selfish universe. This is a very simple course of action. The universe is not governed by simple rules and regulations. Instead, it is governed by faith. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to do great things.
In this way, if I am fulfilling the will of God, then I am already changing the course of the universe because God's will is that this dying world and its fading people will be saved. As a writer, I want to demonstrate how this problem, the dying of the world, begins within each single person. So many people are focused on what is going wrong everywhere else, and they fail to see the wrong they themselves are committing.
My strivings are not of my own; this is Biblical. Jesus said one must remove the plank from his own eye before helping his brother with his spec. My intentions are likewise. I am not trying to help others remove their specs, that is a task for those wiser and spiritually stronger than I, rather, I am trying to help others realize they have planks.
This goal is lofty, this problem is impregnable, and this world is far from salvageable. We know that, despite all our blood, sweat, and tears, the earth we know today will pass away, but hope remains yet for its citizens. That is why I have set my sights on Everest's peak. Life is not short at all, like so many are prone to say life is eternal. Our purpose, as followers of the One True God, is to draw as many as possible into an eternity well worth living for.

Reading for Enjoyment

I enjoy reading historical/mystery/romance fiction during the school year and fiction and non-fiction during non-academic periods of my life. I enjoy fiction because it takes me to a place that I have not been before or pretend to be someone else. I love stories that create movies in my mind. I want something to entertain me while still learning historical facts, or other interesting facts.

Prompt 1

What do you like to read and why? Is there a certain style of writing that you prefer, or is it all about content for you?

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this about myself (and to have this be your first impression of me), but I read purely for pleasure. I have no interest in reading to further my intellect, but only for fun. My favorite genre is inspirational fiction which is basically Christian romance . . .and it's all my dad's fault. Growing up, he took my siblings and me to the library every Saturday morning to give my mom a break and it was truly one of the highlights of my week. By the time I hit junior high, though, I had read every historical fiction book in the children's section, so my dad showed me to the inspirational fiction section . . . and I never left it. The first book I checked out from the adult side of the library was a story about an Amish girl by Beverly Lewis. Not only did it spark my passion for the Amish (which is another story altogether), it sparked my passion for this genre. Some of them tend to be a little cheesy, but for the most part they are well written and realistic. I love being able to read books that aren't littered with the F-word and explicit sex. I also really love this genre for having happy endings. Many of the secular novels that I've read in the past few years have had loose endings or downright sad endings. Inspirational fiction is notorious for always ending well. And I figure if I'm going to spend time reading the book, I want to leave it happy.