What Actually Goes on in the Back 40?There is more back there than you think.

By Nicholas TayFEATURES EDITOR

Brianna DorseySTUDENT WRITER

hen most students hear of the Back 40, they are inclined to

think of clandestine, romantic getaways or shady activities. While the students’ imaginations are at work, the college has made good use of the spacious area behind Witmer and Mellinger.

One of Messiah’s best kept secrets (or widely known facts) is the presence of a high ropes course in the corner of the

Back 40. Wendell Witter, the director of Issachar’s Loft, states that “the course provides students with a setting to push their boundaries in a vertical environ-ment, and there are lots of challenges that take place 40 feet off the ground.”

The high ropes course has been at Mes-siah since 2006. “We had the poles for the course set back then in a figure-eight shape, but only part of the loop was ini-tially completed, along with an exit swing and a zip line. Since then we’ve added the remaining part of the loop, with another exit called the Leap of Faith.”

According to Witter, the purpose of the high ropes course is to help indi-

viduals within their respective orga-nizations work on team-building or leadership development activities.“Through the Loft, we collaborate a lot with the athletic teams and we work with Residence Life. We’ll usually take a group of staff members - say the resident director and their respective resident as-sistants - but sometimes an entire floor or apartment section goes out for com-munity building activities. We also work with student clubs and organizations; just last week SGA and the chemistry club were on the course. There’s just a wide range of people who use our course.”

Witter mentions that while most stu-

Science, Engineering and Health Symposium: By Brianna Dorsey STUDENT WRITER

n Friday May 3, Messiah will be hosting the Science, Engi-

neering, and Health Symposium from 8:00a.m until 7:00p.m. The symposium will take place in Frey, Jordan, and Kline.

Professor of Biology Dr. Lawrence My-lin is coordinating the symposium this year. According to him, “The whole

school of science, engineering, and health highlights all of the student re-search and projects that have been going on for the entire year in a sin-gle full day year end symposium. We take the last Friday of classes, and we run presentations for the entire day.”

Senior Engineering Major Seth Fickett

said, “A lot of the projects are senior proj-ects and some of the upperclassmen have worked on their project for two, three, or even all four years here and Messiah.”

There will be Dr. Mylin expects about 89 different project performances. The project performances divided into the following categories: PowerPoint’s,

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dents enjoy the course exits (and proba-bly the end of a mentally and physically challenging session), others appreciate the most daunting of the challenges.

“Students generally love the exits, ei-ther the zip line or the giant swing. However, the most physically chal-lenging activity with positive student feedback is the Lily Pads. It’s a se-ries of mini platforms connected with two cables that requires two people, face to face, holding on to each other’s shoulders in order to cross,” he said.

posters, demonstrations, travel logs, and talks. Biologist, biochemist, chemist, and exercise scientist will do these talks.

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club volleyballCHAMPIONSHIP

DOVEreal beautysketches

May 1, 2013 News 2The Swinging Bridge

essiah will be partnering with WeFeedUs, a new sus-

tainability organization this fall.

WeFeedUs uses a system called ‘aqua-ponics’ which grows crop by feed-ing fish in a tank that will fertilize the soil which sprouts above the habi-tat and filers the water. This system allows for a natural process of us-ing organic resources to grow food.

WeFeedUs is a commercial size aquaponics vendor based in Carl-isle that will be producing vegetables, namely lettuce, for Dining Services.

They are currently building and renovating a space to house the full scale aquaponics habitat with the help of a couple Messiah students.

We Feed UsMessiah to gain new sustainability partner

By Mandy RuizSTUDENT WRITER

Senior Sustainability major Paul Nick-erson and Environmental Science major Galen Halteman have had firsthand ex-perience with WeFeedUs. Both students are currently working under the orga-nizations management and are helping with the construction of the aquaponics.

Messiah currently has a small scale aquaponics system in the Kline green house that was created as a result of Nickerson’s pineapple aquaponics project that he grew in his dorm room.

“I’m excited about the potential impact [WeFeedUs] will have on the students. I hope it teaches students to be conscien-tious of where they buy food in the future and to place great value in locally grown food. Not only because it tastes better but because it’s more sustainable for our en-

vironment,” said Halteman in an e-mail.

Messiah hopes to buy as much food as they can produce according to Craig Dalen, the Director of Sustainability.

“This is a way for Messiah to source pro-duce locally and with quality. It also backs up our sustainability mission. The envi-ronmental cost is a win win,” said Dalen.

But this new partnership will not dimin-ish the use of the Grantham Community Garden which also donates smaller por-tions of produce to Lottie Dining Hall.

According to Dalen the garden is sup-plying excess crop but does not have the capacity to provide food for the entire campus. The garden will still be in use although the former method

of selling shares will not be used as farm-stands are being put in its place. Students will have the ability to buy fresh produce from these farm-stands because of the positive feedback from the community and student body.“We are proud of the way they’ve been producing and meeting our sus-tainability goals which enables re-sponsible consumption,” said Dalen.

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On campus groups like the Collabra-tory will be presenting projects. This year one can also expect talks from Information Services. They will be ex-plaining ways new ways to use com-puting when solving problems. Ex-cited for an addition to this year’s program Mylin stated, “We actually have a new section on computer games.”

The Nursing Department will give a speech about a special kit they used to train mothers that they took with them to Africa in January. Towards the end of the day, there will be an open house for new human performance labs.

Dr. Mylin stated, “We do this ev-ery year at the end of the year. This is kind of our big end of the year kick off. We invite parents in; we in-vite friends in. We make a day of it.”

Provided by Messiah.edu

May 1, 2013 News 3The Swinging Bridge

he student body will soon say goodbye to the class of 2013,

and Stephanie Wilson will be among those donning a cap and gown. This year’s Editor in Chief of The Swing-ing Bridge is not shoving off, however, without leaving behind her mark on the campus.

Wilson interviewed for The Swing-ing Bridge editorial position after be-ing asked to apply by a previous editor. When she was offered the job at the end of her junior year, she had no experi-ence in a role like this one.

“I didn’t think I would do a good job this year, but after the first issue I realized what a good staff I had,” she said. “Mak-ing it this year and thriving has taught me that I already have the tools I need to do things well.”

Wilson has changed a lot over her four years at Messiah.

“My freshman and sophomore years were really different from my last two years,” she said. “My interests changed and I found people who helped me grow into myself.”

A send-off to our editor in chief.By Abigail Ferenczy

NEWS EDITOR

Wilson kicked off the second half of her four years with a jaunt at Messiah College Philadelphia Campus. Initially planning to stay only one semester, she traded the opportunity to study abroad for a second semester in Philadelphia.

“My best experience at Messiah was be-ing in Philly. I feel like everyone should go,” she said.

Her advice to current students is to take ownership of his or her college years. From her Islam class with George Pick-ens to her advanced writing course with Helen Walker, Wilson had no trouble finding classes she loved. Beyond class-es, friendships played a major role in shaping her time at Messiah.

“My roommates this year were such an unexpected gift,” she said. “Emma, Amanda, Jaci and Jamie are my best friends and I can’t imagine this place without them.”

Wilson admits she’ll miss her job at the Pulse, but she’s happy to start the next adventure. She hopes to pursue a Mas-ter’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies in the near future.

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“It’s all what you make of it. Find that one thing or those few people who will get you through.”

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However, the high ropes course is not the only activity that goes on in the back 40. The Office of Sustainability collaborates with the Department of Dining Services and the Grounds Department on the is-sue of tackling the food waste that Mes-siah College produces. By working to-gether, the three departments have been able to compost all of the food waste generated by Lottie Nelson Dining Hall.Under student leadership and the very first Waste Diversion Coordinator Adam Arditi, 28 tons of waste have been collected during this school year alone.

Once Arditi collects the waste, the Grounds Department coordinates the turning of the pile of waste. The grounds manager, Jared Rudy, then coordinates with the county to screen the pile of compost. This screening process gets rid of large chunks and debris. Once those processes are com-plete, the compost is ready to use. The collected waste bypasses the land-fill and becomes soil that can be used around campus in various places such as the athletic fields and flowerbeds.

According to Director of Sustainability Craig Dalen, the composting project did not start over night. It started out small scale, and it eventually grew to take root in the back 40. “Four years ago, the Earthkeepers - a student organiza-tion - first got the college thinking about composting food waste,” he said. “We started with a small bin. It was a vol-

unteer effort. Earthkeepers then chal-lenged their efforts by identifying op-portunities to capture more food waste and scale up the composting program.”

Last year, the focus was just pre-con-sumer waste. In other words, it was just the waste accumulated when preparing food like potato skins and carrot peels. This year, things were amped up to col-lect all food waste produced in Lottie.

No longer able to fit in just at bin, the composting project was moved to the back 40. Dalen said, “We moved here [the back 40] because it was a good space for us to grow the college’s composting efforts. We needed a place that was ac-cessible and large enough to have 300 lbs of food scraps per day decompose.”

Dalen went on the say that he, among others, is pleased with this year’s suc-cess. “We have had significant inter-est in the project. The local media has covered the project, colleagues from other schools have visited and next week a contact from the health indus-try is interested in touring our project. I’m proud of the team that makes this happen. We will need the local news media to increasingly come and cover the project, as well as, colleagues from other colleges. A health care indus-try is coming next week to visit and to learn. We really think this is, not so much innovative because it is common sense, but a business practice that we

need to continue forward and doing.”

As the project continues to expand, Dalen hopes to reintroduce compostable prod-ucts such as plates, napkins, and silver-ware on campus. He praised efforts like the Community Garden, where students bring their waste, and hopes to one day see Messiah as a zero waste campus.“I would like to see us continue grow-ing our composting efforts,” he said. “With forethought and planning we can divert other waste streams from land-fills and use the nutrient-rich by prod-uct for campus use. I think we could

grow the program in terms of educa-tion, awareness, and process. There is no reason why we can’t move in the di-rection of being a zero waste campus.”

While rumors may abound about the back 40, Messiah has kept the woods occupied with these two projects and will continue to make good use of the valuable space.

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Photo provided by Adam Arditi

May 1, 2013 Opinions 4The Swinging Bridge

Roommate Roundtable: Guys, girls, and the way they make decisions

Given the many ways genders differ, it’s not surprising that guys and girls deal with roommates differently.

By Jeremy JensenSTUDENT WRITER

y now, most everyone on cam-pus has picked a roommate for

the coming semester. Whether you are rooming with the same person you have roomed with since the beginning, choosing a good friend, or leaving your fate in the hands of res-life, everyone has a different thought process to pick-ing and dealing with roommates. In fact, as I learned, the difference in ap-proaches can be split across the genders.

My personal search for the perfect roommate was quite telling of the dif-ferences between girls and guys. Before I came to Messiah, I was told I was go-ing to be with two lacrosse players in Witmer Hall. I was fine with that. One week later, I was told that another la-crosse player knew my roommates and wanted to room with them. I was moved to another room on Witmer, this time with two wrestlers. No offense to the wrestlers on campus, but that was not going to work. I immediately requested a room change, preferably one without athletes (Go Falcons). I was placed in a room with two new guys who fit the de-scription I was looking for, but shared none of my interests. I called one last

Photo by Cait Fenello

B time, and after agreeing to switch to Naugle, I was placed in a new room with new guys who sounded great.

About three weeks into the semester, I moved out of that room because we had the opportunity to untriple. I moved into another supplemental triple with two new guys and have been there ever since. My story is probably not a typi-cal experience, but it illustrates one important difference between guys and girls: the reaction to unsatisfactory roommates. My reaction to unsatisfac-tory roommates was to ask for change until I found people I could get along with. If I am going to live with these guys for my first year of college, I feel somewhat entitled to a good room-mate experience. Interestingly, the girls I interviewed had a different reaction.

I interviewed 5 girls: 4 first-years and 1 sophomore. I asked the first-year girls if, given the option, you could move out of a room where you had roommate prob-lems would you take it? The answer was a staunch and resounding “no.” I asked twice just to make sure and every time, without fail, each girl told me “no.” They

all believed that if there were real issues then there was some way to work it out.I don’t pretend to speak for all the guys on campus, but I thought the girls’ re-sponse was crazy. If I had a problem, I would be out of there as fast as pos-sible. Maybe there was some foolproof way to pick the right roommate that I did not know? I asked the girls about it as well as the guys on my floor. The guys told me that most of them were paired up randomly, but they made a conscious effort to not pick some-one from high school. The idea of be-ing with someone you already knew seemed like a sure-fire way to not meet new people. And I have to agree. I knew three guys from high school and we all decided to not room together. “Famil-iarity breeds contempt” in my opinion.

Of course, the girls were on the other end of the spectrum. Many of the girls I

talked to picked their friends from high school if they had that option. Otherwise, they said they would pick someone who was very much like them: same major, same sleep pattern, same interests, and even same clothing size. They all agreed that a description like that sounded like a fantastic roommate. For girls, it would seem that more of the same is a boun-ty when it comes to your roommate.

Digging into what drives roommate selection was a fascinating experience for me. Everyone may not fit the model discussed here, but I believe that for the majority of guys and girls, these are definite differences. And if you com-pletely disagree with everything I said, then I think there are two things we can agree on: one, picking roommates can be a risky but exciting process, and two, girls and guys are definitely different.

Military Drones andthe French Foreign Legion

By Grant MeckleySTUDENT WRITER

he French Foreign Legion was a curious elite military unit because

in order to join one could not be a citizen of France. The Legion, founded in 1838 but still accepting applications today, draws its manpower from foreigners. At its founding, the de facto purpose of the Legion was to purge the country of “cut-throats, crooks and sundry fugitives from justice” but the real purpose of the Legion was to carry out unpopular wars of imperialism while avoiding conscrip-tion and public dissent. When the casu-alties were totaled up at the end of the battle, the Foreign Legion did not con-tribute to the death toll of Frenchmen.

Permit me to say that drawing a paral-lel between the French Foreign Legion and modern drone warfare is not an unfair juxtaposition. So has the use of drones completely changed the face of warfare? In short-yes. I am not a paci-fist, so my argument against drones is more than “military force is always wrong”. Rather, I am most concerned

Drones are changing warfare as we know it, and not in a good way.

about the broader geopolitical and ethical dilemmas that loom ahead.

First, I’d like to comment (perhaps cyni-cally) on President Obama’s stepped up involvement of drone warfare and his recent acquisition of a Nobel Peace Prize- an award rich with irony. The Rawstory reports: “An astonishing 269 [drone attacks] have been carried out under the Obama administration, who took office in 2009. While the United States has claimed that 175 Al Qaeda suspects are hiding in Pakistan, drone strikes there have killed more than 3,000 people, mostly civilians.”

The only criteria that may qualify the president for the award (in light of drone usage) is the fact that his ad-ministration has succeeded in making warfare more unilateral than ever. For thousands of years, bellicose people planning on maiming their enemy

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May 1, 2013 Opinions 5The Swinging Bridge

Not a “Personal” Faith

By Lynda HellerOPINIONS EDITOR

My exploration of Islam helped me to see how unrealistic the concept of a personal faith really is.

eople often talk about having a “personal relationship with

Christ”, and for most of my life I would not have thought that description to be unusual. However, a year ago I went Muslim for lent, and the experience changed my perspective on faith in many ways. Most significantly, it led me to view matters of faith as much less “personal.”

There are not many things more lonely than being the only Muslim at a Chris-tian college. Ok, so I wasn’t really Mus-lim, but I was acting like I was. And there wasn’t a morning that I got up to pray without imagining what it would be like to be praying in community. I have nev-er spread out a prayer mat with dozens of people on either side of me, bowing to Mecca and reciting in unison. Such

an experience must be so exhilarating. I can only imagine the bond that those praying must feel, not only with those they stood shoulder to shoulder with, but with all people of their faith speak-ing the same prayers at the same time.

Wearing hijab on Messiah Campus was another isolating experience. Although I received no response worse than a sur-prised look, for the week that I wore the scarf I felt alone in many ways. Having my head covered left me vulnerable, separated, and yet- in some way- em-powered. I doubt very much that this is what most Muslim women would feel in hijab. Instead, I suspect they would ex-perience a unity with their fellow wom-en. The scarf would serve more as a uni-form than as an isolation device. In any

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In Defense of the Calorie:Why No Food is “Bad” or “Good”

By Erin RoyerSTUDENT WRITER

Photo by Cait Fenello

ith the summer months com-ing and warm weather ap-

proaching, it is not uncommon for both men and women to begin paying at-tention to their diets in order to shape up for the season of bathing suits and summer activities. But I’m curious about the mindset of those who are watching their food intake and about the attitude that society has about food.

Often, at this time of year I’ll over-hear, “I’m going to be good today and skip dessert” when I pass Lottie’s des-sert bar. Or I’ll notice more and more students at the gym saying, “I have to burn off the burger that I ate today! I should have eaten better!” While skipping dessert and exercising are not bad by any means, it seems that our feelings toward food largely in-volve guilt and punishment rather than nourishment and enjoyment.

Calories. No, they’re not “tiny creatures that live in your closet and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night.” Calories are defined as “the amount of heat energy required to raise or lower 1 kg of pure liquid water by 1°C” (A.S.P.E.N.). In lay-terms, this means a calorie is a unit of energy that allows our bodies to carry out metabolic func-

Why we should stop viewing calories as the enemy and start viewing them as the little units energy that they are.

W tions. Calories are neither good nor bad: they are a standard of measure-ment that we use to quantify our bod-ies’ energy needs and consumption.

Food contains calories. In the most basic sense, this means that food con-tains units of energy that allow our bodies to do everything from running to blinking to pumping blood through our arteries. If calories are neither good nor bad, then food also should not have a moral value placed upon it. Food items merely have varying val-ues of energy associated with them.

We have been taught and trained from the moment we can read a magazine or watch television to associate high-cal-orie foods with shame and low-calorie foods with reverence. Yet all food goes toward the same purpose: to fuel the body! A calorie is a calorie, and the en-ergy you get from chocolate cake will be put to the same use as the energy you get from a veggie burger. The en-ergy simply comes in different forms.

As we get closer to short-short-wearing weather, I urge you to think about your mentality about food and to enjoy a wide variety of high- and low-calorie fare by following your body’s natural cues.

Intuitive eating is ditching any diet mentality, especially this notion that calories are the enemy. You can eat what you crave, and stop when you have had enough (IntuitiveEating.org). As a soci-ety we need to re-learn how to feed our-selves based on hunger and fullness cues.We’ve been on an anti-food, anti-calo-rie craze long enough. Intuitive eating means knowing that no food is good or bad. Food is just food, and calories are just calories, and there is more to life than worrying over what you eat. So this

summer season, eat what you like, learn about your body’s needs, and know that you truly do not need to fear the calorie.

nation with large populations of Mus-lims, the experience of wearing hijab would be entirely different than in the United States. In many ways, it is unfor-tunate that Christians lack such a visual means of identifying with each other.

Fasting was another aspect of Islam not really meant to be practiced alone. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and then break their fast by eating and celebrating together. Fasting in solitude leaves one with-out accountability or encouragement. And hungry. Not an ideal situation.

As Western Christians, I believe we of-ten ignore how impersonal our faith really is. After all, most of us did not become Christians in a vacuum. Faith

doesn’t undergo spontaneous genera-tion. We formulate and maintain our beliefs by talking, reading, and feeling, then sorting through the information we’ve received. We are not autonomous, and pretending to be is self-deceiving.

There are many things I love about Is-lam, and my life has been affected by that religion in multiple ways. How-ever, I do not need to convert to Islam in search of loyalty and camaraderie. I do not doubt that there are members of my own faith that would stand shoul-der to shoulder with me. As Christians, we just need to get over our individu-alistic pride, and our “personal” faith.

Photo by Sarah Brookhart

May 1, 2013 Arts & Entertainment 6The Swinging Bridge

By Megan LaTorreSTUDENT WRITER

es Miserables is the world’s longest running musical. Seen by over 65 million people in 42 countries, and

winner of 100 international awards, this classic has had a long time to evolve to the modern film adaptation. Beginning with a French historical novel by Vic-tor Hugo, first published in 1862, the story has kept its original French title which has numerous possible English translations such as: The Poor Ones, The Miserable Ones, or The Victims.

Starting in the mid twentieth century, many film and television adaptations of the story began sprouting throughout the world: first, a 1935 American film; second, a 1958 French-East German-Italian film; next was a 1978 British tele-vision adaptation; then a 1985 musical rendition of the popular story in London, England; fifth, a 1988 American film featuring Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes; sixth, a 2000 French television miniseries; and finally, in 2012, an American film star-ring Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe.

The plotline of the 2012 Universal Pic-tures film follows the general guidelines of the original novel. Taking place in 19th century France, the story begins with Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) be-ing released from prison after having served 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. He breaks parole to cre-ate a new life for himself, while hav-ing to evade Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), who is determined to bring him to justice no matter how long it takes.

Eight years later, Valjean, under a false identity, lives as a wealthy factory owner and the mayor in the town of Montreuil-sur-mer. One of the women who works

for him, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), se-cretly sends all her salary to support her illegitimate daughter. When Fantine is found out her fellow workers demand for her dismissal. Forced to live on the street, Fantine sells her first hair, then her teeth, and eventually turns to prostitution in her desperation to pay Cosette’s caretakers. Later, Valjean in-tervenes when Fantine is arrested and brings her to the hospital; upon hear-ing of Fantine’s daughter, he offers to care for her as Fantine takes her last breath. Javert tries to intercept Valjean after his encounter with Fantine, but is unable to capture him. Valjean finds Cosette, pays off the the Thénardiers (her villainous guardians) and then raises the girl as his own daughter.

The story resumes nine years later as Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) is a grown woman. The only government official who is sympathetic toward the poor is nearing his death and France is in an upheaval. Two student activists – Marius Pontemercy (Eddie Redmayne) and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) – together with street urchin Gavroche (Daniel Huttlestone) discuss and plot for revo-lution. Meanwhile, Marius catches a glimpse of Cosette and instantly falls in love with her. The romantic love of Cosette and Marius, the fatherly love of Valjean for Cosette, and the com-petitive hatred of Javert for Valjean are masterfully intertwined with the politi-cal instability and growing revolution.

Les Miserables is a story of political upheaval, love and betrayal, struggling to overcome personal history, life-long feuds, the battle to achieve personal bet-terment, and- above all – an underlying compassion towards the unfortunate.

Les MisérablesL

Josh Ritter to Play Free Show

or SAB’s final concert of the 2012-2013 school year, sing-er/songwriter Josh Ritter will

play a free concert. At 8 p.m. on Friday, May 3, Ritter will take the stage for a free show at the Union.

Ritter came from humble beginnings; he was born in Moscow, Idaho and his dabbling in songwriting started with an attempt during his teenage years to write songs on his father’s self-made lute. Ritter would go on to purchase a guitar from K-Mart, and despite ma-joring in neuroscience during college; he still aspired to become a musician.

His first break came when he met the head of an independent record label, while promoting his second album Gold-en Age of Radio. This resulted in Ritter becoming a word-of-mouth success in Ireland after the release of his single “Me & Jiggs.” He became so successful in Ireland that his next record, Hello Star-

ling debuted at No. 2 on the Irish charts.

It took a little longer for Ritter’s success to catch on in the states. His 2006 al-bum The Animal Years received warm critical attention when Entertain-ment Weekly columnist, Stephen King called it, “the best album of the year.”

Ritter’s most recent album The Beast In Its Tracks was released in March of this year. While most of his albums center on the broad canvas of history, The Beast In Its Tracks is a more personal album. Although the album was inspired by his

By James ReaganSTUDENT WRITER

recent divorce, the songs are not too bit-ter. Instead the album focuses on making a recovery from the failed relationship.

“Evil Eye” has Ritter laughing off the insomnia caused by his troubles. “A Certain Light” shows him mak-ing comparisons between his old wife and the new lover that he’s found.

The album’s first single, “Joy to You Baby” serves as a farewell that talks about how all of us deserve to find happiness and peace after suffering heartbreak. This is a theme that Ritter constantly

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Provided by the Student Activies Board

revisits, as he seems to sincerely want the best for both him and his ex-wife in their lives apart from one another. The sentiment is perhaps best expressed in the song “New Lover” which says in an understated way, “I’ve got a new lover now, I hope you’ve got one too.”

Ritter’s music has a wide appeal with lyrics that both single people and people in happily committed rela-tionships can easily relate to. While admission is free to the concert, any-one who wishes to attend will have to pick up tickets at the ticket office.

May 1, 2013 Arts & Entertainment 7The Swinging Bridge

B-Sides:By Danielle Burkett

STUDENT WRITER

his Wednesday, B-sides will feature Emily Wells as the

last B-sides artist of the semester.

Emily Wells isn’t your typical vio-lin player because she blends mod-ern instrumentation as well as classi-cal music. She is classically trained as a violinist, but her musical interests had too wide a range for just one in-strument, so she branched out. Wells learned a variety of instruments, and soon created her own unique style.

Besides the violin she plays: drums, guitar, synthesizers, keys, beat ma-chines, toy pianos, other toy in-struments, and glockenspiels.

She blends swirling strings, ingenious electronics, and intricate beats. These sounds are combined with celestial vo-cals and a deeply personal song-craft.

Wells’ newest release, Mama Acoustic Re-cordings, comes out on June 11. In it, she re-imagines songs that were first heard on her 2012 acclaimed record, Mama.

Mama contained Wells’ fusion of hip-

hop, dance music, classical complex-ity, and lyrical reflection; whereas Mama Acoustic Recordings is record-ed solely with her voice and guitar.

Mama Acoustic Recordings made Wells, “strip off her own armor leaving only her voice and equally unambiguous song-writing on display,” according to her official webpage emilywellsmusic.com

Wells says, “There was nothing to hide behind… I’m always wrestling with that, because so much of the mu-sic I love is incredibly simple, but what I usually do is very far from it.”

She refined her sound with a series of independent releases. She has had countless live performances as both a bandleader, and a solo performer.

She is currently considering how her recent travels to Korea, Switzerland, and Los Angeles will incorporate into her next solo work. Wells expects to see additional exploration into the sounds of deep soul and traditional gospel.

Wells’ visit to B-sides is certainly go-ing to be an experience that you don’t want to miss, so be sure to stop by! .

Provided by the Student Activies Board

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Following Christopher Robin:

By Olivia La BiancaSTUDENT WRITER

ou may have noticed promo-tions for the one-act musical

“The Author’s Son” that started circu-lating this past week. I am Olivia La Bianca, a sophomore student and one of the co-creators of the one-act musi-cal, and I would be delighted to tell you.

After children’s author A.A. Milne pub-lished his famous book Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, the name Christopher Robin became famous throughout the world. What many people do not know, howev-er, is that Milne based the character on his own son, Christopher Robin. Even less well-known is the fact that Chris-topher resented his father’s decision to make him into a literary character, and was plagued his whole life because of his famous childhood counterpart.

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Junior student Kramer Hardman and I wondered what it would be like to explore this complex and oddly un-publicized father-son relationship. So, one night toward the beginning of January, we decided to see if we could unpack the subject in the form of a short one-act musical. There followed three months of intensive research, composing, writing, and revision – not to mention copious quantities of caffeine and many an all-nighter.

There were several challenges along the way. Of course, there was the issue of time. Because the goal was to perform the musical and not simply write it, we had automatically given ourselves a three-month deadline. It did not hit us when we were starting out that we were going to have to do in one semester what takes most script-writers years to do.

Also, we wanted to make sure we stayed true to the story and character of Chris-topher Robin. We took creative licenses

here and there in order to make the sto-ry stage-worthy, but we were constantly making sure that we were not veering too far away from what really happened.Finally, and this is something my col-laborator Kramer really upheld, we had to be respectful to the memories not only of Christopher but also of A.A. Milne himself. We could not make it a “good-guy versus bad-guy” kind of conflict. Reading both men’s autobiog-raphies revealed that there were issues on each side of the relationship, so we had to be certain we were not lifting up one as a saint and vilifying the other.

To me, personally, this project has been one of the best things to happen to me all semester. I initially approached the project with hesitation because mu-sical theater was so far outside the realm of my experience. But thanks to “The Author’s Son”, I believe I have discovered a new genre to explore.

Also, I had the privilege of working

An interview with “The Author’s Son”s lyricist

with someone who is both an extremely gifted composer and a wonderful, God-fearing friend. It is my hope that this is not the last musical we will co-write.

The whole process was great. I loved drinking cold black coffee in an ef-fort to stay awake at the piano. I loved the adrenaline rush that would kick in around 3 a.m. after a breakthrough with a lyric or a piece of music. I loved work-ing with our talented cast and crew, and with all the people who are making this a reality. Finally, I loved reread-ing Winnie-the-Pooh and reconnecting with a facet of my childhood that I had forgotten. I loved getting to know the one and only Christopher Robin Milne.

A staged reading of “The Author’s Son” will be performed at Par-mer Cinema on May 5th at 6 p.m. Come for free and reintroduce your-self to a beloved childhood charac-ter and the men behind his creation.

The bright and lovely Emily Wells

May 1, 2013 Arts & Entertainment 8The Swinging Bridge

Summer Movie PreviewsBy Danielle Burkett

STUDENT WRITER

he weather is starting to heat up and finals are just around the corner so that can only mean

one thing, summer is almost here!

With summer come vacations, hanging out with family and friends, and one of my favorite things, summer movie releases. There are plenty of movies and genres to choose from, but here are a few that I think are definitely worth checking out.

Coming out May 31 is Now You See Me directed by Louis Leterrier. It stars Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, and Woody Harrelson, just to name a few.

According to Rottentomatoes.com, It is a thriller “that pits an elite FBI team in a game of cat and mouse against the “Four Horsemen,” a super-team of the world’s greatest illusionists.”

Throughout the film the “Four Horse-man” pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders dur-ing their performances and then gives the stolen cash to their audiences.

Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder, is scheduled to be released on June 14.

Man of Steel tells the story of a young boy from Kansas who learns he has extraor-

By Carter WinschSTUDENT WRITER

Summer Concert Previews

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ummer is nearly here, which for many means cookouts, beach trips, and swimming pools. But to

the music faithful, summer is the most wonderful time of the year due to the number of festivals that come with it.

From the Van’s Warped Tour to Bonn-aroo, festivals are a great way to see some favorite bands in one day, dis-cover new artists, and engage with a community of like minded music lovers.

I will be making it out to two festivals this summer, The Peach Festival and Made In America. Here’s what to expect.

Peach Fest: This year marks only the second Peach Music Festival, yet this festival is quickly establishing it-self as a summer staple of the North.

Organized by legendary jam band, The Allman Brothers, the 4 day festival features a variety of art-ists, but generally relating to south-ern rock or jam bands in some way.

The Allman Brothers will take the stage on both main nights along with longtime friends Bob Weir &

dinary abilities and that he isn’t from Earth. As he grows up he journeys to dis-cover where he came from and what he is meant to do with his life. If the world has any hope of surviving annihilation, he must find the hero within and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

This film stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane.

Lone Ranger starring Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, and Helena Bonham Carter is released on July 3.

Lone Ranger is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbin-ski and it is described by Rottento-matoes.com as, “a thrilling adven-ture infused with action and humor.”

This film takes the classic tale of the masked hero and the Native Ameri-can spirit warrior and brings new life to the story. The film recounts the un-told tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law into a legend of justice.

Audiences will be taken on a wild journey full of surprises and hu-morous friction as two unlikely he-roes learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Rat Dog. Also on the roster are The Black Crowes and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, among many others.

A pass to the festival will also serve as a pass to the water park on site. Watch out for hippies though!Made In America: This two-day extrav-aganza is also only in its second year. Since MIA was originally organized by Jay-Z, however, and featured acts like Drake and Pearl Jam last year, it has al-ready garnered a lot of national attention.

Headliners this year are Beyoncé and Nine Inch Nails, but also notably are Ken-drick Lamar, Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, 2 Chainz, Imagine Dragons, and a slew of other worthy performers.

The festival will take place over Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia at the steps of the Art Museum. If it is any-thing like it was last year, prices on everything are a little high, but the at-mosphere will be fantastic and the acts will keep the excitement high all day.

Last year’s surprise was an appearance by Kanye West and G.O.O.D. Music, so who knows what could be in store this year!

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Man of Steel will be in theaters on June 14.

May 1, 2013 Opinions 9The Swinging Bridge

Summer Movie Previews

//DRONES

had to expose themselves to harm. Drone warfare changes the payoff ma-trix for combatants. The attacker has only an expensive piece of equipment to lose (or fall into hostile Iranian hands like what happened in December 2011).

From a purely utilitarian view one could argue that drones half the po-tential casualties of traditional war-fare. Great job America! Not even Ghandi or MLK accomplished that!

The wars in Vietnam and Iraq (round II) were in some ways reverse wars

of attrition. Instead of our nation be-ing the attackers of a besieged “castle”, American manpower and resources were sapped by unconventional guer-rilla warfare. As such, public support waned for ideologically misguided con-flicts (often with vague definitions of victory) leading to their bittersweet end.

However, none of this matters in drone warfare. The government can sustain years of isolated attacks on enemies of the state without a single American ca-sualty. The applications of drones do not end at foreign wars; drones have

been used in civilian applications. As of now, surveillance drones fly over agricultural areas to enforce envi-ronmental laws. Concerned citizens fear the applications don’t end there.

Currently, there is a debate raging about justification of a military award given to soldiers that fly unmanned drones. Many detractors see awarding a joy-stick-wielding technician in a bunker with a medal as disgraceful to soldiers risking their lives on the field of battle.

I think the problem distills down to

this: drone usage requires a fraction of the forethought and sacrifice of traditional shoot-outs. Don’t get me wrong, I loathe any sort of physical conflict, but drone warfare is scarcely any better than conventional warfare.

While I applaud keeping our service people safe and sane, the loss of any human life is appalling. While we should be hesitating more to pull the trigger, drone warfare is moving us in the wrong “trigger-happy” direction.

Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” Campaign and Why It’s Not Helping Women

Photo provided Dove

By Stephanie WilsonEDITOR IN CHIEF

s I scrolled down my Facebook newsfeed a couple weeks ago, I kept seeing the same video pop

up on my friends’ walls. In their de-scriptions of the video, called “Dove Real Beauty Sketches, my friends were saying things like “always remem-ber this!” and “you are beautiful!” In the video, Gil Zamora, an FBI trained forensic artist, draws “real women” without ever seeing them. He asks each woman to describe herself, and they do, using descriptions like “my mom told me I have a big jaw” and “[my chin] kind of protrudes a little bit, especially when I smile.” He creates sketches based on their descriptions and then creates a second sketch based on a strang-er’s description of the same woman. When Zamora shows the women his sketches, the stranger-described sketch-es look more like what the women actu-ally look like. The self-described sketch-es look like photos from inside a morgue. At face value, this video seems like a compelling way to boost the self-esteem of women struggling with insecurities. You are more beautiful than you think. We are supposed to be moved by that statement. But I, for one, am cring-ing on behalf of women everywhere. Firstly, Dove is still upholding society’s belief that physical beauty is very impor-tant. Women are constantly fed the no-tion that we are what we look like, and Dove did everything in this ad to rein-force that sentiment. The video features mostly young, white women (although black women are featured, they only take up about 10 seconds of the six minute video), all conventionally pretty, all with terrible things to say about their faces. And of course the women in the video describe themselves negatively, because it’s shameful to say nice things about the way you look. Imagine how viewers

would react if Dove had asked a size 18 woman to participate in the campaign, and she had described herself as beau-tiful without hesitation. It’s sad to call yourself ugly and it’s vain to call yourself pretty. We can’t win. This ad isn’t helping. When can women be judged on some-thing other than what they look like? When won’t it matter what people see when they look at you? I’m so much more than what my face looks like or how much I weigh. Even Dove’s famous Campaign For Real Beauty advertise-ments from a few years back feature curvy women with toned arms and no cellulite. They think they’re push-ing our standards for beauty but they

are just making fat people look fatter. They’re saying, it’s OK to be fat! Just not so fat that we lose your waistline. The video suggests that women are their own worst critics, but we aren’t naturally that way. We were born into a world that revolves around the idea that our beauty isn’t beautiful enough. Our insecurities come from global companies like Uni-lever, which produces Dove products as well as famously sexist Axe advertise-ments. Unilever creates low self-esteem with products like Axe, and then tries to fix them with products like Dove. What does this company truly stand for? Lastly, I want to point out that some

people actually look like the sketches on the left. Some people aren’t conven-tionally pretty, and some women actu-ally do have fat faces and scars and big foreheads and crow’s feet (whatever those are). I want to tell every wom-an that it’s OK to look that way. You are probably smart or crafty. You are probably good with kids and a really good friend. You are probably a good leader and a really great cook. Above all, you are probably a fabulous diva. You are a thousand times more than what your face looks like. You de-serve to know that, because it’s something Dove won’t tell you.

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Dove tries to show women that they are more beautiful than they think through sketches like this.

May 1, 2013 Sports 10The Swinging Bridge

inning a national champion-ship is an achievement that

has been transformed into an expecta-tion of Messiah College Athletics. Since 2000, the Falcons have claimed vic-tory in 15 national championships in NCAA Division III athletics. The Fal-cons men’s soccer teams are nine-time national champions, while the women’s soccer program has won five national championships, and the softball team has also won a national championship. The relation of competition between the varsity programs at Messiah and the club sports is inconspicuous. On April 6, the Messiah Men’s Club Volley-ball team claimed their second national championship in program history. The title marked the second time since 2008

pril 23rd wraps up the regular season for the Messiah Fal-

con golf team when they host the Mes-siah Falcon classic tournament at Blue Ridge Country Club. The Messiah golf team has performed exceptionally well this season, placing first in nine of the 14 tournaments they have played in this season. The Falcons hope to carry the momentum of their season in the MAC Championship tournament at the Her-shey Golf Club beginning on April 27th.

The Falcons are led by senior Matt Bur-khart, who shot a team best -1 in the team’s last tournament at the Ursinus In-vitational, his best performance in 2013. On the year Burkhart has averaged 72.9

Falcons Dominate in Dallasto Win National Championship

By: Zachary SpechtSPORTS EDITOR

where the Falcons have won the NCVF Division II National Championship. The Falcons obliterated their confer-ence foes in the MACVC playoffs, as they did not lose a set and took home their eighth conference championship in program history. Messiah defeated Temple, Desales, and TCNJ in pool play before sweeping Penn College, West Chester, and Villanova in the playoffs to take home the title and earn a bid to the national tournament in Dallas, Texas. In the national tournament, the Fal-cons continued their unprecedented display of dominance. Messiah re-mained unbeaten and cruised through the playoffs, beating Washington Uni-versity in St. Louis, Xavier, Missouri

Science & Technology, and Sonoma State to win the NCVF Division II Na-tional Championship. The Falcons finished the season with a record of 54-2 in individual sets, including regu-lar season play, MACVC champion-ships, and the national tournament. In a national tournament that hosted a total of 48 teams, Messiah also had

strokes per round, also leading the team.

Other key contributors to the Falcon’s success this season are Austin Galaska, Justin Sisson and Mick Farlling. Galas-ka is second on the team in strokes per round at 79.4, while Sisson is just be-hind him at 79.9. Farlling, the senior of the group, has averaged 80.3 strokes per round and also has two top five fin-ishes along with four top ten finishes.

W individual performances that pro-vided the Falcons with national rec-ognition. Caleb Miller was named tournament MVP. Ben Bovenzi and Justin Beachy were named to the all-tournament 1st team. John Feldmann and Travis Moyer were named to the all-tournament 2nd team. Derick Esch was also named honorable mention.

Messiah Golf Team in Full Swing for Postseason

ABy Zach KruegerSTUDENT WRITER

// see GOLF pg 12

Provided by Messiah Men’s Club Volleyball

May 1, 2013 Sports 11The Swinging Bridge

his time last year, Messiah was sitting 1st place in the MAC and held it to the playoffs where they

were eliminating by a strong show-ing from an Alvernia team. This team has had it a little tougher this year af-ter needing time for the newcomers on

ith an influx of first-year run-ners and the building successes of current senior runners, the

Messiah Long Distance team has expe-rienced what the future holds and has seen a great year. Coming into this year, the coaches knew that many of the top runners would be first-year runners for the team, but knew also that there was a chance that the success these run-ners had in high school might not cor-relate to college. However, this year’s group of runners has lived up to the expectations that the team had in mind coming into the season.

Events that fall into long distance are the 800m, the 1500m, the 3000m, 5000m and the 10000m. In the Men’s 800-meter run, the top three runners for this year are senior Aaron Reyn-olds with a time of 1:53.80, sopho-more J.P. McGill at 1:58.25, and freshman Chris Scheib at 2:01.18.

Where Will They Be?

Playoff picture for softball taking shape as season winds down

By Carter DavisSTUDENT WRITER

the team to settle in. Messiah was able to shake off a 2-4 start and currently sit at 3rd in the conference behind 1st place Lebanon Valley and 2nd place Alvernia.

If the season ended today, Messiah would have a 3-3 record against playoff

teams. The Falcons had a 4-2-conference record coming in to the month of April before dropping both games in a double-header to LVC. Most recently they took a tough split to Stevenson with a 5-3 win and a 1-0 loss. The way the playoff pic-ture looks now, LVC and Alvernia both

have one conference loss a piece courte-sy of a split double-header back on April 9th. Both of them have already punched their tickets to the MAC tournament. Messiah has a key double-header at Al-vernia on the 24th. With a pair of wins there, they could foreseeably leap frog Alvernia to that 2nd place spot and hold on to it. Messiah’s current con-ference record is 9-4, so pair of wins would pull Messiah to within a game of the Crusaders. Messiah poses no threat to 1st place LVC who only has one con-ference double-header remaining and are three games ahead of the Falcons.

Alvernia and Messiah each have one double-header remaining after facing each other. Alvernia will play Arca-dia, who sits in the middle of a group of teams nipping at the heels of that 4th and final playoff spot. Messiah will square off against Widener. Alvernia could jump LVC for 1st place if they get a couple wins and the Dutchmen stumble against Elizabethtown who could have a lot to play for as a team that at least for now, is outside of the playoff picture.

Hood currently in 4th, but Arcadia, Eliz-abethtown, Widener, and Stevenson are still in the hunt to grab that spot from the Blazers. Messiah has some distance between them and the 4th place con-tenders, but again it goes without say-ing that the Alvernia double-header is huge and, they can’t overlook Widener.

In the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10000m, the freshman runners are making their biggest impact on the team. The best runner in the 1500m is Reynolds with a time of 4:01.34, but overall five freshman runners take up the top 10 and two of them are in the top three. The 3000m is led by freshman runners Tyler Sensenig and Ryan Laird with times of 9:19.41 and 10:04.43, respectively. Under the cat-egory of the 5000m, four out of the top five runners are freshman with Johnny Ausel leading the pack with a time of 15:39.75. Finally, in the 10000m the Men’s team is led by freshmen Johnny Ausel and Tyler Sensenig with times of 32:43.97 and 33:20.21, respectively.

On the flipside in the Women’s team, three out of the top five times in the 800m are held by freshman run-ners with freshman Emily Senning holding the top time of 2:20.32. In

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the 1500m race the battle for the best time is neck-and-neck between senior Brenda Flaherty and freshman Jac-quelyn Young. Only four-tenths of a second separate them. For the 3000m the team is led by freshman Tasha Becker with a time of 11:29.35. Seniors Brenda Flaherty and Jenny Bender currently hold the top two times in both the 5000m and 10000m races.

For the MACs, which are just a few weeks away, the team has more than one runner qualified to run in each

event. The toughest competition the long distance team will face is Eliza-bethtown and overall, the team will fight against Widener University for the Crown of the MAC Champion this year.

Explosion of Young Runnersleads the Distance Team to MACs

Provided by Messiah College Athletics

Provided by Messiah College Athletics

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By John MoultonSTUDENT WRITER

May 1, 2013 Sports 12The Swinging Bridge

Photo by Lauren Landis

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When asked about what the goal for the golf team is heading into MACs, senior Mick Farlling said, “Before we started the season our goal has been to win MACs and make it to the national championship. We need to stay in constant competition with each other during this week of practice.” Farlling went on to talk about how during their practices they pair off and play one-on-one matches which allows them

Caleb MillerClub Volleyball National Championship and MVP

By Kris LokosSTUDENT WRITER

he Men’s Club Volleyball team is probably the best-kept se-cret at Messiah College. Being a

club team, they are not allowed to re-ceive any recognition from the athletic program. They are really just another club. The “club” won their second Na-tional Championship on April 6th this season in Dallas. The team went un-defeated in the playoffs, beating So-noma State (Ca.) in the championship. Much of their success is due to junior outside hitter Caleb Mill-er. Miller was named MVP of the tournament after the team’s win. “Being named MVP was really just a huge honor, “ Miller said. “Go-ing into the tournament we all knew that we needed to step our game up, and everyone really did. It was re-ally a team effort. I was just glad I was able to step up when we needed it.” Miller, a junior business administra-tion major, had nothing but nice things to say about his team and teammates. “These guys are my best friends, both on the court and off the court. We have more than volleyball in common,” Mill-er said. “Sharing the common value of playing for God and to represent Messiah really makes us a closer team than other teams. Most schools don’t have that.” As a whole, Miller was very pleased with his whole season.

“I worked really hard all season to have everything right. We all worked really hard on our timing, which re-ally makes a difference. That meant putting in the time outside of prac-tice, and we did that,” Miller said. His goal all along has been to win a National Championship. “Winning the National Championship has been a goal since I got here. We knew heading into the season that we had a legitimate shot to win it, and so we made that our mission,” Miller said. Miller was also really proud and happy about the support the team got, despite not being a varsity sport at Messiah. “We had a ton of people tell us that they were supporting us,” Miller said. “I put up a link on Facebook just be-fore the championship for people to watch, and it was awesome to hear how many people watched the game.” It was not just Miller’s fellow students that he was greatful for. Both his par-ents and his grandparents were able to make it down to Dallas to see him play. “Seeing how far they travel and the time and money they have put in re-ally means a lot to me. It means so much to me to see how proud they are of what I have accomplished,” Miller said. “I only really get to see my grand-parents about once a year, so it was re-

ally awesome to have them there too.” Despite winning a National Cham-pionship and seeing all the sup-port around him, Miller still has not lost his focus. In fact, he is al-ready looking towards next season.

//GOLF

to prepare for playing against other players in the tournament pairings.

With an already successful season well in hand, there is no reason to think that the Falcons can’t walk away from the MAC tournament as cham-pions. Good luck to the Falcon golf team as they close out their season and head to the MAC championship.

“We lose one solid starting senior in Justin Beachy, so we have to fill that void,” Miller said. “Still we know we have the potential to win anoth-er National Championship, so that is what we are going to try to do.”

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