Hillary

I think most Christians hold Bill Clinton against Hillary. Within the church, Bill was the most vilified president in decades. I still remember my mother being upset when he won in 1992 and when he repeated in 1996, it was the end of the world, even though the alternative was Bob Dole. The whole Monicagate thing made it worse and Hillary is paying the price, at least in part. To be honest, her personality wouldn't endear her to Christians anyway. I remember my New York relatives being so upset when she ran for the Senate, despite the fact that she'd barely been a resident there at all. I think a lot of people have seen her whole post-First Lady career as being one long march to the presidential race and a lot of the reaction against her now is an effort to stop that march. It's not so much that she's a woman, but that she's Hilary Clinton. It speaks volumes that Christians are willing to vote for a Mormon, or even a Baptist pastor with zero chance of appealing to anyone but evangelicals, than to even entertain the idea of voting for Hilary. I'm not saying I will vote for her, but I don't know enough yet about the candidates yet to completely rule her out, myself.

Cornerstone in GR

I generally get the feeling that Cornerstone is not seen in the best light. I think a lot of people in the area remember the fact that it used to be a primarily Baptist institution and still hold it against anyone from CU. I think people in the community love to accuse Cornerstone of hypocrisy when it backs down from a stance it historically held, such as the dancing ban. They watch intently when something like the debate over the lifestyle statement becomes an issue on campus and hope the school'll have to eat its words again. Remember that whole thing about the Catholic tech worker? That went over like a lead balloon in the community, just reinforcing our image as intolerant "fundies."

I find that opinion even among our brothers and sisters in Christ down the road at Calvin. When I last went to Hekman Library, the clerk asked me, "Oh, you go to Cornerstone?" with the kind of inflection normally reserved for a question like, "Is that a swastika on your forehead?" I'm always more self-conscience when I'm wearing a CU sweatshirt around town than when I'm wearing something else.

Maybe I'm just imagining things, though.

environment/disease

Which is a bigger deal, environmental degradation or disease? I'm going to have to go with the environment, if for no other reason than that the loss of biodiversity resultant from pollution and our reckless behavior with nature could mean the loss of possible cures for the world's diseases. We already get many key medicines from plant sources and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It may sound idealistic to say we can find cures to something like AIDS by keeping rain forests intact, but it's not such a crazy idea. Given the possible medicinal value of nature, we should work to preserve as many species as possible.

Besides, what's the point of curing someone of a disease if they have nowhere to live because their home has become a desert or has become submerged? We Americans and Westerners can rest confidently in the fact that our money and mind-power will allay the bulk of the effects of environmental damage, but the rest of the world won't be so lucky. People are going to die faster for lack of food or water than because of a disease and the more we put off making changes to how we treat the environment, the more we doom them to a brief and miserable life.

cheating/plagiarism

As a grader for one of the history professors, I was sure I'd run into obvious evidence of cheating, but so far I have not. I'm not sure it would make a difference as nearly all of the tests I have graded thus far have been almost uniformly mediocre. If someone is cheating off someone else who is getting a 28% on a test, they've received their reward. That said, I'm sure cheating is pretty prevalent on campus. I guess I don't have a lot of faith in people's integrity.

As for plagiarism, I know that's a problem here. The mere fact that there is a push to use Turn It In indicates that the professors are concerned about it. As a former writing tutor, I know that many people here have trouble putting together a coherent sentence, let alone a paper, so it wouldn't surprise me if people were pulling paragraphs from un-cited sources. One professor has told me how a student copy-pasted a Wikipedia article and handed it in as their paper. As ridiculous as that sounds, it doesn't really surprise me.

As someone who has been an active member of a blogging community for over four years, I run into plagiarism occasionally, other sites pull my content and tout it as their own. More often than not, however, there is proper citation (or what the blogging community considers proper citation). So, I think there is something to be said about having an open publishing community, where observers and content owners can spot issues like that so easily. In an academic circle as small as Cornerstone, that's much harder.

The wider world has mechanisms for catching plagiarism and one that is rising in importance is the internet. It makes it possible to type a phrase, hit enter, and get a list of places that phrase is found. As more and more print content goes online, catching plagiarism from previously non-internet sources will be much easier.

Me and TV

I'm only periodically big on TV. Over the summer, for example, I got hooked on Scrubs because it was, conveniently enough, on when I got home from work. It's obviously an incredibly goofy show, but it has its serious side as well, which is one of the reasons I like it. I now own Seasons 1 and 3, but only because my fiancé gave them to me as gifts.

I used to be big into Lost but I couldn't watch every episode of Season 2 and have since fallen hopelessly behind. Maybe someday I'll catch up. I got roped into watching the last season finale and it got me interested in the show again, though I haven't yet put that interest into action.

I never watched Friends growing up, but my fiancé owns all 10 seasons and we've slowly been working our way around them. I've also had to watch Grey's Anatomy on occasion and if you've seen one episode of that, you've seen them all.

As far as currently running shows, I don't have one that I have to catch. The only "show" I watch a Detroit Red Wings game and that's really all I have time for, since it's a time commitment of up to 9 hours a week. As far as originality within a storyline goes, you can't beat a hockey game.

foreign films

I've seen a number of foreign films. Two that stand out are The Seventh Seal and Lola Rennt. I watched the first in a Doc Carroll class and enjoyed it, for the most part. Its pace was far different from what we're used to seeing in American films and it was deeper, somehow. Of course, Ingmar Bergman is known as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and directors of shoot-em-up action flicks don't generally get those kinds of titles. Swedish is such a strange language, which an entirely different cadence than I'm used to, though I kept having to remind myself it wasn't German.

Lola Rennt is an entirely different movie. Aside from the fact that it's one of my favorites, I remember watching it the first time because it was what I was doing on 9/11. Anyway, it's in German, with the English title being Run, Lola, Run and it stars Franka Potente (Marie in the Bourne series). It's got this thumping soundtrack and a unique storyline I won't spoil here. It was one of the first foreign films I ever saw and is definitely one worth watching.

Another memorable foreign film was Downfall, a German movie about the final days of Hitler. It's very well-done and pretty disturbing at the same time. It's told in part from the perspective of his personal secretary and shows Hitler in his private life, where he is shown to be a quiet, at times protective, yet still evil, man. Somehow, that was more distburbing than if he'd been portrayed as a wild-eyed demon-possessed screamer. Also, the scene where Magda Goebbels poisons her six children is one of the most horrible I've seen.

I've found foreign films to be more thoughtful and slower-paced than our American ones, which is generally a good thing. There are times, though, where you just want to see fast-paced action!

Christians in politics

My thoughts on Christians in politics have changed over the years. I used to believe that Christians should be heavily involved in high-level national politics and that if we had enough of us in high places, we could right the ship of America via legislation. I now believe that it is more important for Christians to be involved on the ground level in changing people's hearts rather than in making efforts to force people to change by law. If we did that, we wouldn't need to be so concerned with national politics. I've recently felt that Christians, if they are honest with themselves, represent a third way in America, something different from both Republicans and Democrats. There are aspects of both parties that should be repugnant to us, but all too often we align ourselves along wordly lines and that's something I'd like to see less of.

Still, I don't have much against Christian politicians, who could do great things if they stayed true to who should have their real loyalty: Christ, not the flag or Uncle Sam. I would like to see someone whose faith is truly genuine and not just a facade for the public put up in an effort to get more votes. Someone who is honest about what they can and cannot do in office, and doesn't campaign on inflammatory issues that play on people's hearts. Is there such a person? I don't know.

A life of reading

I've been wanting to write on the first prompt since the beginning of the semester.

I read all sorts of things. I read novels, historical non-fiction, blogs, the news, and magazines. I mostly read for content, though that does not apply so much to novels. When I look for a history book to read, I scan for topics that interest me, such as English history, World War II, US history, German history, or biographies of historical figures that intrigue me. When picking out a novel, I have a harder time. I'm definitely guilty of judging a book by its cover, unless it has been specifically recommended to me. While the list of history books I've read regularly expands with time, the list of novels expands much more slowly. I find myself reading the same few books, such as The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, the Harry Potter books, and a few others, over and over again. Currently, though, I am reading a book entitled Possession by A.S. Byatt, who I'd never heard of before a friend suggested it to me. I'm glad I picked it up.

As far as blogs go, I read mostly hockey blogs and participate in the running dialogue about the NHL. I'm also interested in technology and subscribe via Google Reader to a number of tech blogs. I have folder titles ranging from "christian" to "music" to "politics" to "travel." Most of those are for content rather than quality of writing, though there are a few which stand out as excellently-written. I never start or end my day without reading at least some of these.

I titled this post "A life of reading," because it describes me. Reading is my favorite activity and when I don't have time for it, I feel stressed, rushed, and out-of-sync. Here at the end of my busiest semester ever, one where I had little time to read what I wanted to read, I understand why it was so tough.

Two Elevens and No Nine

There is no specified prompt 9, so I take that to mean prompt 9 is free interpretation. My relative prompt 9:

As a rule, I don't make New Year's Resolutions. Mostly because, as every comic strip in the paper tells us, we as a society don't seem to be very good at keeping them. And I happen to be a part of society. But I do believe in the power of goals. Goals imply forward thinking, and something I like to call being "situationally active." In almost all the situations we find ourselves, improvements can be made. The realization that has been hitting home for me lately is my personal responsibility in the state of my own life. It's incredibly easy to scapegoat all of the inconveniences in our lives on outside factors, but the truth is we almost always have the ability to change our situation. I was pretty good at that a few months ago, but lately I've not taken the time to step back and review my situation. I haven't taken the time to reconnect with myself. There are a lot of things in my life that I would hesitate to call positive attributes, but when I take a close look at them, they are all direct results of my own actions or lack thereof. So my goal over the next few weeks/semester/year is to take the time to be a part of my own life instead of an innocent bystander.

What's your goal?

TRADITION! TRADITION!

Given the timing of this blog, I am going to go ahead and edit the Thanksgiving prompt to apply to Christmas. With my family, Christmas is an intimate occasion. My family is much closer now than when were we little and as a result we really appreciate when we all get to be in the same room. Generally, it's my parents, three brothers, grandpa (who sleeps on the pull-out sofa in my parents' living room), my nephew, his mom/my brother's girlfriend, Jerika - a Kuyper student from the Dominican Republic, my boyfriend, and usually a straggling roommate or two. (Maybe intimate isn't the best word, loud and crazy might be more fitting...) In other words, it's really a special occasion to have everyone we count as family to sit around the tree and listen to my dad read the Christmas story, or to all sit and watch the same movie (although one or more of my brothers will probably also be playing W.O.W.). Basically, the holidays allow for a kind of togetherness for which our many differing lives and schedules don't allow. So whether presents are opened Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, or in what order we give gifts, or what's on the table for breakfast, which all change every year to fit our ever-changing schedules, we just appreciate having all of our cars in the same driveway.

It's amazing what growing up and becoming more and more independent does. I've never loved or appreciated my family more than I do now.

Life in the Now

I think exam week may be the best time to answer this prompt, because enjoying life right now is a bit of a challenge. I know in general I have a tendency to look ahead to the future more than appreciating my current situation. It's been my mantra over the past few months to "pay attention," so now seems like a very good time to stop and appreciate the anomalies that make my life one I enjoy living. A good intro to this? One of my favorite poems:

The Orange

By Wendy Cope

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—

They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,

As ordinary things often do

Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park

This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.

I did all my jobs on my list

And enjoyed them and had some time over.

I love you. I’m glad I exist.

I am a fulltime student and work fulltime, so for me to appreciate the small things in life is crucial. Here's a list:

1. Last night my dad and I stood at his piano and sang harmony for hours. I love to sing, but never have the chance anymore. (we were both avoiding our homework). I appreciate my parents so much.
2. My boyfriend and I, like any healthy couple, have fights. But we always resolve them in love and respect for each other. I guess that's why we're still together.
3. "I Wish I Had a River I Could Skate Away On" sung by Sarah McLaughlin, originally by Joni Mitchell
4. Some of my best friends, whom I miss dearly, are coming home next week for Christmas. 5. 5. Reimbursement checks!

The difference between not cheating and academic integrity

As others have already stated, cheating is not all that prevalent at CU, a fact I take pride in as a student here. However, I would like to observe the differences between not cheating and academic integrity itself.

Academic integrity definitely includes not cheating, but it encompasses for more than just that. One of the greatest realms that I believe students everywhere neglect is the aspect of accountability. Many bring up and some even enforce (like Doc Carroll) the aspect of holding one another accountable, for instance, students chatting online or using facebook during class. If one student observes another doing such things, but does nothing, they are not exemplifying integrity. Academically, the student that notices such a thing does no wrong by ignoring it, but in terms of academic integrity, the student is failing to bring to light an instance where another student is both ignoring a specified rule by almost all professors and being utterly disrespectful to that professor and the surrounding students. Both students fall short of academic integrity, the one that was on facebook and the one that noticed. They are both accountable.

My Reflections on this Semester

I only took two classes: Expository Writing and Feature Writing. The biggest thing I learned is that I am NOT a newspaper writer. I absolutely hated my feature writing class, and usually cried all the way home after it. Haha. I was taken aback by my professor's harshness and the horrible grades he gave me. I'm sure I deserved them, though, because I had never done newspaper writing before and was especially horrible at interviewing. I really really hate talking to people I don't know, and this class required a lot of that. So I learned that I'm not a newspaper writer and that I'm a bad interviewer, but I've also learned how to handle rejection and some of the basics of newspaper writing.

In this class, I learned a few things about commas, I learned about fragmentary form, and I learned about the importance of strong verbs. I've always assumed that the best way to describe something is with adjectives, but this class really taught me that strong verbs are often more effective.

Both of my classes were very small this semester and I really enjoyed that. It's especially nice for writing classes, because I tend to be timid about reading my work in front of others. And I liked getting to know everyone so well. I'll miss you guys! :-)

I like to tell people that I had a love/hate relationship with school this semester. I loved one class and hated the other. I also have a love/hate relationship about this semester ending. It'll be nice to have a break, but I'm still not sure if I can afford to come back next semester, so I'm a little sad to be saying good-bye to school again.

Ok, another long one. So sorry! Thanks for a great semester, Professor VanDyke. :-) Have a splendid Christmas!

Pumpkin Eater

The issue of using one's own information has been on my mind a lot lately. I recently had to rewrite a 10-page paper because I didn't explicitly cite all of my sources. At first I saw this as the injustice of the universe, but as I thought further about the schpeals I've heard about cheating over the years and conversely how I can concretely practice integrity in my own life, it became important to me to rewrite the paper for my own sake. Yes, words are universal, and we all use the same words, so we can't "own" them, but the ideas the words present are valuable. I know I count my ideas valuable, more than a large number of my possessions. Readily available information on the internet and Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V make "using" other people's ideas incredibly easy. The biggest issue with the whole plagiarism bit for me is the fact that meticulous citation, in-text bibliographical is held to such a strict standard.
We are nominally a Christian university, but in my experience there is a lot more "borrowing" of information than should take place in such an institution. We live in the age of information. The majority of my thoughts, ideas, and conclusions are comprised of the host of information I have encountered during my lifetime. I use the same phrases as my friends, I share (some) ideology with my parents, I sometimes quote movies, music lyrics, and TV shows. Almost nothing in our thought processes are completely our own. I think quoting word for word is a cop-out on your own education, but I think it's impossible to be able to cite every source I've used in writing a paper, mostly because I don't know what year my grandpa in copyrighted.

Academic Integrity

Although I don't think cheating is extremely prevalent, I have seen instances of cheating at Cornerstone. I think professors are very strict about this policy and enforce consequences if it occurs. I think cheating occurs more in the wider community. I would hope that at Cornerstone, as Christians, cheating would not be as common because we uphold what is right and wrong, cheating obviously being wrong. I think plagiarism is more common than thought of. Many times students forget to cite their sources, maybe even unintentionally. It is so easy to quickly copy a statement, rather than to rephrase or come up with your own form. I'm sure we have all built guilty of this, again really untentionally.

Cheating......

First of all, cheating is obviously wrong. I have been at CU for a year and have not experienced cheating at all. Maybe I am oblivious to it or hopefully there just hasn't been any cheating going on around me. I had been at Grand Rapids Community College before coming to CU, and the cheating there was definitely more profound and less monitored by professors. People were pretty open about cheating, but here at CU, I have not experienced anything. Plagiarism is another issue that goes along with cheating. I believe that the majority of people who plagiarize probably do it by accident. So often we look at websites or books and read the information and form ideas in our heads. Those ideas would probably not have happened without the information from the source, therefore we should give credit where it is due. I'm sure I have been guilty of this, but I try my best to cite whenever I use a source. Having said that, there are people that plagiarize on purpose because they either don't know how to cite sources or just don't care. I feel that my previous schooling has prepared me for using correct citations. Also, the education program makes a great effort to always give credit to those who deserve it, which is a great help and reminder to do so.

Prompt 12

As faculty sponsor to Alpha Chi Honor Society, I am supposed to help raise awareness of academic integrity on campus. I am very interested, therefore, in students' attitudes towards cheating, plagiarism, and the like. How common do you think cheating/plagiarism is on Cornerstone's campus, and in the wider culture? Please don't use anyone's name in your response.

Pakistan post from a bit ago...

I was just perusing the posts and noticed this one and wanted to comment. I am completely unaware of the situation in Pakistan, but I do have something that I believe is important to say. International Affairs always seem so troubling to Christians because often times the thing that needs to be done is not the thing that best benefits the world. I think the problem is more primitive. Regardless of what level of individual or government, everything we do is to be governed by the same standard, God's standard. This means that though a certain dictator is capable of utterly annihilating the world with the press of a button, we are not to support him and aid in his rampant slaughtering of his own people. This does not mean we should declare war and immediately launch Hailey's Comet at him. It simply means not supporting him. Many have told me that when a whole nation of people rests on one's shoulders that those kinds of decisions become a lot more difficult, but the fact is, the standard does not change no matter how many people one governs. Be the example and others will follow.

TV

I watch about an hour of television per month, maybe. We do not receive channels at my house, primarily because we are too lazy to figure out how to hook up an antennae to get basic channels. Also, we have no desire to pay for cable when it is not even good for us.

The concept of television, though, will never die. That is the truth. The methods for watching will always change, but the simple fact is, television broadcasting will never leave us. Now there are features like nbc.com where the public is able to watch their favorite show for free online. This type of feature will probably become more common, taking new forms just like the iPods and such have been. Even if the old box in the corner or the billion-dollar plasma HD flatscreen both fade into dust, the concept itself will still be around. There is too much money made off of television for it to pass. Maybe they will call it webvision or podvision, but it will still stand as strong as ever.

Please do not misread my tone. I have no qualms against the single-show lovers, but if anyone simply sits in front of a television for hours every day, then they need to seriously search their heart, because I guarantee they are not fulfilling the will of God by doing so.