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Distinguished Visiting Artist Concert: Charles Stegeman
September 29, 2006
On Tuesday, September 19, Munson Chapel filled with the melodious sounds arising from professional ability intertwined with passion.
Senior Chapel: Living a Legacy
September 20, 2006
One may ask what Nana’s Ice Cream, hand prints on Cougar Walk, and APU Seniors all have in common? Such a query may only be unraveled by stepping into the first Senior Chapel of the 2006-07 school year.
My Adventures in China: Part I
September 15, 2006
Ni hao! As a new semester begins and students settle into their new schedules and living areas at Azusa Pacific University, I am doing something similar—in China. As some of my friends at APU know, I will spend the fall semester at Xiamen University in China, along with 19 other students from schools that are part of the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). I expect a semester filled with adventures and unique learning experiences and look forward to sharing stories with my fellow students at APU.
Azusa Community Garden takes root!
July 17, 2006
Study Abroad: A Summer in the City
June 28, 2006
Towering skyscrapers, enormous trees, and miles and miles of concrete. A mixture of sirens, loud honking, and street musicians stringing guitars or banging plastic buckets. This is New York City: you can stand in the middle of the street, run in front of a yellow taxi cab, get honked at, and no one bothers to look, curse, or laugh. It’s beautiful and bittersweet, and it’s what I’ve been calling my home for the last six weeks.
Worshiping God from Classical to Rap
May 24, 2006
On April 4, 2006, Harold Best, DSM, a mentor and model for musicians, came to Azusa Pacific University to speak about what every Christian needs to know about music; every genre can serve as worship to God. Best was the dean of the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College for many years. Since then, he has served as president of the National Association of Schools of Music, and has written extensively on matters of curriculum, culture, and education policy issues. With free admission, many faculty members encouraged their students to attend.
Teacher Interview Day 2006
May 12, 2006
On Thursday, May 11, 2006, APU’s Office of Career Services held its annual Teacher Interview Day. The event ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and was held in the Richard and Vivian Felix Event Center on West Campus.
36 Parables: A Fresh Look at the Words of Christ
May 01, 2006
The Vagabond begins to panic. He’s tired, dirty, and disheveled. He’s been on his feet for far too long. And now this: His cherished necklace is missing. He searches his jacket pocket. No luck. He checks the pockets of his pants for a third time and then a fourth. Still nothing.
The Da Vinci Code and Its Success in Popular Culture
May 01, 2006
While visiting Australia and the South Pacific this summer, I took an Aussie Greyhound to various locations, stayed at a number of hostels, and met numerous backpackers. To my amazement, virtually every traveler I ran into was reading the same book: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Joseph Brings Color to APU
April 06, 2006
APU’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television presented Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat from March 16-31. The play sold out before it opened, making it the third play in the department’s history to do so, and two extra performances were added to meet demands.
Justice Alito's Confirmation Is a Sign of Things to Come
March 30, 2006
Earlier this week, on January 31, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. was confirmed as the 110th Justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite his "well-qualified" rating from the American Bar Association, his distinguished fifteen-year career as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, and a portfolio featuring numerous well-reasoned opinions, Alito's confirmation process was nasty and brutish, even if it was mercifully short. Although there were no skeletons uncovered during the hearing process, no hidden views brought to light, and no apparent cause for alarm, Alito's confirmation vote of 58-42 was one of the closest in U.S. history and it revealed a Senate sharply divided along partisan lines. Given his moderate record, his solid reputation among colleagues as a fair and temperate judge, and his long history of faithful government service, one must ask: why did Alito face so much opposition? Democratic Senators criticized Alito for being less than forthcoming in his answers to Senate Judiciary Committee members. His vague answers to certain pointed questions failed to reassure them that he had a "mainstream" philosophy and temperament. Some Democrats felt that his lack of candor left them no choice but to reject his nomination. However, most appointees in recent years have similarly dodged litmus test questions by declining to provide details about how they might rule in a given case or how they would interpret a particular constitutional passage. In these instances, their imprecise responses, justified by claims of judicial independence and the propriety of reserving judgment until facts have been heard, were accepted by even the most curious of Senators. Alito's difficulty may also be subscribed to Democrats' general frustration over their inability to influence the selection of nominees, since this season marks the first time in several decades that they have served alongside a Republican president as the Senate minority party. Previous Republican presidents have had to bypass their first choice candidates in favor of those who could win approval in a Democratically-controlled Senate. Yet, Senator Obama (D-IL) correctly noted that Republican victories in the Senate and in the White House give Republicans - not Democrats - the ultimate say in who gets appointed to the Supreme Court. However, it is more likely that the antagonism directed at Justice Alito during the confirmation process stemmed not from who he was, but instead from who he wasn't. It is no secret that President Bush tapped Alito to take the place of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - yet for most Democrats, O'Connor is considered irreplaceable. Not only is she the first female justice, which in itself has some significance for Democrats, but she also amassed a distinguished record of moderate, pragmatic decisions during her 24 years on the Court. More importantly for liberals, she often set aside her conservative ideology in favor of practical centrism. She was, for example, instrumental in reaffirming the core premise of Roe v. Wade in her 1992 opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey despite her personal opposition to abortion. Since then, O'Connor's centrist position has rendered her the most powerful person on the Court. She has consistently demonstrated a ready willingness to switch ideological sides and this has made her the power broker in key controversial cases. Last year, for example, she broke ranks with her usual conservative allies in order to join Justices Souter, Stevens, Breyer, and Ginsburg in ruling that a Kentucky courthouse display of the Ten Commandments was an unconstitutional violation of church and state. Last year she also sided with the liberal justices to give male employees the right to claim gender discrimination on behalf of female students under Congress's Title IX Gender-Equality-in-Education Act. Because O'Connor has supported important liberal precedents like Roe v. Wade during her tenure on the bench and has shown her readiness to side with her liberal colleagues in the name of compromise, the choice of her replacement becomes even more important for the preservation of a liberal voice on the Court. Alito's confirmation could potentially re-tilt the Court to the right and the Democrats are unwilling to lose hard-fought ground. It is not surprising, then, that the Democrats would throw every available obstacle, including a filibuster attempt, at his nomination no matter how temperate or how mainstream his decisions might be. With a number of justices becoming more advanced in age, there is the possibility that additional vacancies will open up before Bush leaves office. While it is unclear as to whom Bush would select in the future, one thing is certain: the stakes will be higher than ever before and the partisan rankling in the Senate will undoubtedly be nastier. In short, the worst is yet to come.
The Olympic Games Come to APU
March 26, 2006
APU hosted the second annual Special Olympics on Saturday, March 25, in Cougar Stadium. Led by Brian Wilmer, ’s defensive coordinator, the Special Olympics was a collaboration between APU and the San Gabriel Valley Special Olympics Organization.
Senior Art Show:
February 08, 2006
, an art show by student Jordan Lebrecht ’06, opened on Monday, February 6, at APU’s Red Zone Gallery. The show features photography of Lebrecht’s travels through Europe and includes 11 photographs, six short videos, and one installation piece. The installation includes a video of cows in field in Germany, projected in a room with grass on the floor. With the dimmed lights, photography, and installation, the artist wanted to create an atmosphere similar to what he experienced. The show will be open February 6-17.
Senior Art Show:
February 07, 2006
Each senior art major enrolled in the art portfolio class displays his or her individual showcase for two weeks during the semester, displaying unique and creative talent.