The

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

PLUS: What happened to the international students?

The Faces of WaldorfHomecoming 2011

Wrestlers Nationally Ranked

Rising Costs on Campus

Waldorf Welcomes New Faculty

Changes in Campus MinistriesTheatre presents Lost Socks

The

Tiffany Olson

Abbie Wibe

Andres BallesterosEric BertelsenKatie FrushAlexander HorakClaire LawsonJessica Serio

Waldorf College106 S. Sixth StreetForest City, IA 50436

The Torch is produced in Adode InDesign on Apple iMac computers.

Department headlines use the font Big Caslon, while Feature headlines vary by story. Body text is set in 10 point Century Gothic. Photo captions are also 9 point Big Caslon.

A special thanks to President Bob Alsop, Student Senate, David Damm and the Lobbyist staff, Alice Lewellen and her Editing class and Matt Knutson, Riya Anandwala, and Barbara Barrows in the Marketing Department.

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

Advisor

Editor

Contributors

Editorial Offices

Colophon

In Appreciation

what’s inside…FEATURED STORIES

what’s inside…h

om

ec

om

ing

Ca

nd

ida

te R

evie

w still h

old

s its pla

ce

as o

ne

o

f the

ma

in a

ttrac

tion

s du

ring

the

ho

me

co

m-

ing

festivitie

s

the

futu

re o

f fine

arts

With

all th

e re

ce

nt c

ha

ng

es m

ad

e in

ath

letic

s, w

ha

t’s in sto

re fo

r the

fine

arts?

ne

w fa

cu

ltyW

ald

orf a

dd

s ne

w fa

cu

lty to h

elp

with

ex-

pa

nd

ing

pro

gra

ms a

nd

bu

ild n

ew

ma

jors

ca

mp

us m

inistry

Ca

mp

us m

inistry o

ffers a

varie

ty of o

ptio

ns fo

r stu

de

nts to

en

ga

ge

in

pro

fesso

r pu

blish

es

Profe

ssor Jo

e W

ilkins p

ub

lishe

s his first b

oo

k of

po

etry, c

alle

d “Killin

g th

e M

urio

n D

og

s”

4 letter from the editor

Student Life 5 what the fruit cup? 8 homecoming photos 22 international students

departments

6 10 201410

Fine Arts 12 lost socks

Sports 18 meet Ryan Young 19 wrestlers ranked

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR4

In the spring issue of the Torch there were several errors in the Three Sisters Theatre article. It was Chelsey Shreeve, not Kara Oman who played the part of the youngest sister, Irena. Oman played the wife of the sisters’ brother, Natasha. In addition to this, it was reported that several black box productions were held throughout 2011. There were no such produc-tions. Please except our sincere apologies.

Correction

This is for all the freshman

students on campus:

On the first day of high school,

my guidance councilor told me

and my classmates that the next

four years would go by in the blink of

an eye, and we would be walking

across the stage at graduation

before we knew it.

However, when you are 14, and

you are told to appreciate every

moment of the next 1,460 days,

because too soon, you’ll be in

college and wishing to be back

in high school, you pretty much

decide that the person is crazy.

When high school actually

did flying by, I decided that it

was just a fluke, because I knew

for a fact that my guidance

councilor was nuts. Yeah, they

say time flies when you’re

having fun, but could this

actually be true?

Yes.

Now, I’m not a guidance

councilor, and I’m not (too)

crazy, so you can trust that this is

coming from a reliable source.

Two years ago, I was a freshman

in college, and I was, once again,

informed that the next four years

would be gone before I knew it,

and once again, I saw no way that

this could be the truth.

I was wrong. Time does fly when

you are having fun, and since

college is about ten times better

than high school, you can bet that

the time is going to pass at least

that much faster. Trust me.

My freshman year feels like

yesterday, and yet, I am already a

junior, and can see the light of the

real world at the end of the tunnel.

And it is scary.

So, at the risk of sounding too

cliché, I am going to tell you treasure

the next four years, because they

will be gone in, yes, the blink of an

eye. You are in college, so have fun

and live it up, because adulthood

will be here before you know it.

blink of an eye

5STUDENT LIFE

What the Fruit Cup!?

It’s no secret to returning students that there have been a lot of changes around campus, but one of the most noticeable just might be the prices of food at the Warrior Crossing. “They’re taking an extra $900 out of our student accounts this year for food, but we still only get $4.50 per meal. If they’re taking that much out I’d like to have more money for my meals so that I can actually get an entire meal.” said concerned Junior, Jenn Kensicki. One drastic change has been in the price of the fruit cups. Last school year the fruit cups cost $0.99 (plus tax). This year, however, for the same, if not less, amount of fruit it costs $1.79. Naked juices were $2.49 last year, and this year they are $2.99. So why the price hike at the Warrior Crossing? Well, I asked Mary Anderson, one of the workers as the Crossing, and this is how she explained it: “The cost for Aramark (which is the company that supplies Waldorf with food) has gone up because food prices and the freight prices have gone up.” While the student body seems to be buzzing about the upped prices, Anderson said most of the students don’t say much about the prices and that the Crossing is just as busy as it was last year, if not more. So what does this mean for future prices? Will they continue to rise? And if they do, will we, the students, have the value of our meals upped to compensate? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

story and photos by Claire Lawson

6 FEATURE

homec

story by Abbie Wibe | photography by Abbie Wibe and Matt Knutson

From Candidate Review to the game at Bolstorff Field, this year’s Homecoming celebration was a definite success. “Hell, yeah! I love everyone here at Waldorf,” exclaimed senior Tad Venzke, after he was asked to comment on being named Waldorf’s 2011 Homecoming king. “I’m surprised,” he added, “usually it’s all sports.” Venzke and fellow senior

Christina Watkinson, along with SWAT and Student Life, planned and executed this year’s Candidate Review, which is always a highlight of Homecoming week. Student Senate also contributed to the event, providing several door prizes that were awarded to lucky audience members. Senior Ashley Valenzuela’s name was drawn for a $20 gift card to Target, while Kaylee Vitale, a freshman, won a $50 iTunes gift card. Jaye Upah, a junior, won a Blu-ray player, and junior Tyler Ripley won the highly coveted grand prize, Mario Kart for Wii.

Tiffany McNelly were crowned as this year’s Homecoming king and queen, at the “Faces of Waldorf” Candidate Review, on Friday, Sept. 23. Other nominees included seniors Jessica Aakre, Ernesto Albitez, Katie Bredlow, Zack Carr, Macey Hickes, and Reese Isaacson. “I can’t believe I’m already a senior, but I’m happy that my last Homecoming was so memorable,” said Tiff McNelly. Added candidate Macey Hickes, “It was definitely the best looking Homecoming Court ever.” Seniors Chelsey Shreeve and

7FEATURE

homecoming2

011

Following Candidate Review was a bonfire, held in the Hanson Field House parking lot. Waldorf’s mascot, Wally the Warrior, was present at the bonfire, and was given the honor of throwing Trinity Bible College’s mascot, the lion, into the fire, to ensure a Warrior football win the next day. Once the fire was blazing, food and drinks were given out, and the Warrior Cup was awarded to the softball team for the second year in a row, after the traditional weeklong competition. Saturday was also filled with exciting events. Waldorf’s Bolstorff

Field and its newly installed artificial turf, a project completed over the summer, was dedicated before the big game by President, Bob Alsop, along with several other dignitaries of the college, the Hanson Foundation, and the city of Forest City. On the new field, the Warriors beat Trinity Bible College 30-20, after being down 13 to zero in the first quarter. The first game on the new turf was a huge success for the Warrior men.

Waldorf College’sHomecoming King & Queen!

Left: All the candidates pose for a picture after the

crowning. Front row, the queen and king, Tiffany

McNelly and Tad Venzke. Back row, Jessica Aakre,

Ernesto Albitez, Macey Hickes, Reese Isaacson, Katie

Bredlow, and Zack Carr. Middle: Isaacson does his

“Leslie Chow” impression for the audience. Above:

the king and queen after Candidate Review.

8 STUDENT LIFE

9STUDENT LIFE

What Does the

FutureHold For

Fine ArtS?With recruitment numbers up for the

theater department, Dr. Bob AuFrance has big plans to maintain and increase those

numbers in the near future.

story and photos by Alexander Horak

FEATURE10

FEATURE 11

ready many opportunities planned for

the year, including four main stage shows,

24-hour Theater, and the Haunted House.

“Although many of the opportunities are

initiated by the theater department, it is sup-

ported and encouraged by the administra-

tion,” stated Dr. AuFrance.

There are also plans to increase the num-

ber of student directed shows, called Loose

Change Productions, the first of which is

scheduled for Oct. 21 and 22. The theater

department also

plans on pre-

senting a dinner

theater show

with a murder

mystery theme.

Professor Caleb

Stroman is also

putting togeth-

er an improv.

group. May term

will also provide many activities as well, in-

cluding extra classes, a theater tour, and a

trip to New York.

“Waldorf has always had a great tradi-

tion in fine arts,” Dr. AuFrance commented.

“The traditions are continued with President

Alsop and Dr. Searcy. They have gone out of

their way to state the importance of fine arts

to the college.”

As for athletics, President Alsop says he

believes that Waldorf tries to accommandate

all students, no matter their area of interest or

field of study.

Currently about 80 percent

of Waldorf students are ath-

letes. Even though athletes

dominate the student body

and a new sports field was just built, fine arts

is not being neglected in the budget. There

appears to be no apparent difference in the

allocation of funds to either athletics or fine

arts, based on the student ratio.

President Alsop commented in regards to

the balance of student athlete/fine arts ratio

that he “hopes to reach a 50/50 ratio, and in-

crease the num-

ber of students

that come pure-

ly for academ-

ics.” The admin-

istration supports

both fine arts

and academ-

ics equally, but

would like to see

more of a balance. In fact, one of the rea-

sons Dr. Robert AuFrance, the Director of Fine

Arts, was appointed to the position of Direc-

tor of Fine Arts was to help optimize the Fine

Arts programs. “There needs to be a balance

of fine arts, academics, and athletics,” said

Dr. AuFrance.

Starting the year with the largest freshman

class it has seen in the past 4 to 5 years, Wal-

dorf’s theater program has many new faces.

The theater department, with its increase in

theater enrollment, plans on creating more

opportunities for its members. There are al-

12 FINE ARTS

socksLOST Homecoming is always filled with a variety of activities, ranging from the football game to the traditional alumni sing-along. Another of those activities is put on by the college’s theatre department. This year there was a unique twist. The fall show was put on by a small cast, had a very dedicated crew, and was written by Waldorf’s own Dr. Robert AuFrance, Associate Professor of Theatre. “I had decided that we were going to have a comedy to start the season and since it’s been three years since we’ve done one of my shows, it was time for it,” Dr. AuFrance said. Lost Socks is set in a laundomat. “I tried to think of places where people could get stuck during their everyday lives,” Dr. AuFrance explained. It shows a variety of people, coming from all walks of life and gives the audience the perspective that love can be found anywhere. Freshman Haley Mosley was one of the stars of the show. She has been active in theatre before, and getting one of the lead roles as a first year was exciting for her. “It was an honor. I was really proud when I got it. But it was also overwhelming at first.” The cast was small, and a good cast to work with. “The bonding was nice because if I wanted to run lines, someone was always there. It was a great show. The audience was receiving, and the cast was fun to work with,” according to Mosley. Many different people are in theatre, and they come from all walks of life. It is truly one of the more diverse groups on campus. “The biggest challenge with this particular show was time. We usually have four or five weeks, but with this show, we only had about three and a half weeks,” Deciembre Westbook, Assistant Stage Manager said. Most shows take a long time to put together, and the fact that this show was put together in three and a half weeks shows the level of dedication from this area of the campus. Lost Socks was truly a well done production, and the campus is looking forward to seeing more events from the theatre department. Two upcoming events are a student directed show, Zombie Method, as well as the annual Shakespearean play.

story by Katie Frush | photography by Phillip Koolhoven

13FINE ARTS

Top: Characters Frank (Jon Aguilar)and Sharon (Haley Mosley) share a tender moment. Middle left: The male characters (Jon, Aguilar, Alex Horak and Braden Falline) stare at a mysterious female (Elena Henriksen) visiting with Gertie (Nicole Grisham). Middle right: Characters Mitzi (Chelsey Shreeve) and Blake Braden Falline) are caught in an embarrassing laundry situation. Bottom left: A photo of the cast and crew; (front row) Patricia Wasson, Dusty Gerhart, and Sharayah May; (middle row) Kara Oman, Elena Henriksen, Chelsey Shreeve, Dr. Robert AuFrance, Haley Mosley, and Alex Horak; (back row) Professor Caleb Stroman, Deci Westbrook, Whitney Tait, Nicole Grisham, Braden Falline, Jon, Aguilar, Justin Tegeler, Julie Reis, Emily Wiebke, Matthew Kalani, Rebecka Troxel and John Ryder. Bottom right: Gertie (Nicole Grisham) listens as Wesley (Alex Horak) relates a story from one of his make-believe situations.

14 FEATURE

Seen new faces on campus this semester? Several

new professors have joined the Waldorf staff. The

new faculty have been added to fill vacancies, help

with expanding programs, and to build new majors.

Waldorf Welcomes New Facultystory by Jessica Serio

Andriy Bezuglyy, math professor, taught at Ohio State University before coming to Waldorf. He went to Kharkiv National University for his Master’s Degree and Ohio State University for his Doctorate. Bezuglyy was born in Ukraine, Eastern Europe. Bezuglyy says he thinks Waldorf is great!

Andriy Bezuglyy

Paul Thiem is the newest addition to the Psychology department. Waldorf appealed to Thiem because the small class size would allow for the opportunity to do more individual mentoring with the students. Previously Thiem taught at the University of California, Merced. At “UC Merced classes are typically about 45-60 students,” Thiem stated. Thiem received his BA in psychology with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley. Thiem says he would like to see more students coming to his office hours to receive help. He would also like to see students asking more questions during lectures.

Paul Thiem

Kent Hansen, Wellness, started his first year at Waldorf after teaching at Metro State College of Denver. He came to Waldorf because he really likes the small classes and having personal interaction with the students. The one thing that Hanson would change at Waldorf is that he would like to pick it up and put Waldorf in the mountains. In college, Hansen played football and ran track.

Kent Hansen

15FEATURE

Joy Hong, math professor, taught at Iowa State University for five years as a graduate teaching assistant before coming to Waldorf. She chose to teach at Waldorf because she felt so welcome during her on-campus interview. She went to college to get her bachelor and master degrees at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan and got her Ph.D at Iowa State University. Hong likes Waldorf because the faculty and staff are “all so nice and warm.”

Joy Hong

A new professor in the music department is Professor Adam Luebke. Luebke came to Waldorf from Northland College in Lexington, KY. He chose Waldorf because of the music department. Luebke has degrees from Florida State University, Westminster Choir College and St. Olaf College. Currently, he says he loves all the students at Waldorf and is enjoying them as well as his classes.

Adam Luebke

John Shook of the Criminal Justice Department was employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and worked at a variety of duty stations before coming to Waldorf. During his time at the Federal Bureau he instructed staff, and sometimes spoke to groups of college students as well as private citizens. Shook chose to teach at Waldorf because he was presented with an opportunity to retire from his first career and start a second one doing something he truly enjoys. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Master of Public Administration from Ohio State University. Shook believes that Waldorf is an outstanding college with an excellent reputation.

John Shook

Other new faculty and staff members at Waldorf include Kathleen McArthur (Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach), Mark Long and Bruce Roberson (Corp/Military Travel Rep / Online Programs), and

Andrea Bakker (Bookstore Assistant).

New faculty members (left to right), Paul Thiem, John Shook, Andriy Bezuglyy, Joy Hong, Adam Luebke and Kent Hansen, engage in a discussion during a recent New Faculty Orientation meeting.

16 SPORTS

“I guess I just love the feeling that it give me and how it just comes naturally to me. I play five other sports, but I always felt best about football, probably because my brothers played, but they never pushed me to do it.” This is what Ryan Young, a Waldorf sophomore football player from Ohio and a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan, had to say about why he loves football. Young grew up in Warrensville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and has been playing football since the sixth grade. Young’s favorite football memory came from the first game he ever played, when he threw three touchdown passes. Years later, Young was starting quarterback for the Warrensville High School Tigers. He continued his football career at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio, before returning to Warrensville to play for the Cuyahoga County Spartans Semi-

Pro team. There, Young was once again the starting quarterback. “A quarterback is a big part of a team. He calls the plays at the line and makes the right plays.” “Young is a real leader on the field and is really significant to our offensive.” said Waldorf’s head football coach, Greg Youngblood. Young is continuing to work on improvement though. He says he has been working on reading defensive plays better and sitting back in the pocket more.

“My coach would love to hear me say that,” he joked. “I feel we have a solid team, and if we are healthy and play together as

a team, I think we can compete with the best of them. For instance, we scored on the number 16 team in the nation…twice! “ In two years, Young said, “with the players we have now, I see Waldorf having their first winning season as a four-year college.”

GRASS GROWBlood makes the

Young is a real leader on

the field and is signifi-

cant to our offensive.”

story and photos by Claire Lawson

Practice makes perfect. Ryan Young steps out of the pocket, looking for an open receiver, during a football practice.

17SPORTS

Waldorf’s men’s wrestling head coach, Tyler Brandt seems to have an endless supply of tricks up his sleeve. Even after ending his second season with two wrestlers being named All-Americans at the national tournament, Brandt has, once again, raised the bar. This year, the wrestling team is already making headlines, with their recruiting class ranking 18th in the nation, by Wrestling USA, a magazine that ranks any school in the U.S. with a wrestling program. Out of all 268 non-Division I schools in America, the strength of Waldorf’s 20 new wrestling recruits

landed the program in the top 20. The team’s rank as a whole will not be available until late October. As the team prepares for the official start of their season, Brandt has no shortage of expectations for the year. The first and most important being that all 41 of his wrestlers always give 100 percent effort and have a positive attitude. Once that has been accomplished, Brandt believes that materialistic goals, such as winning championships, will simply “fall into place.” In Brandt’s opinion, the main component to the building of an excellent wrestling program is the

mentality one brings to the mat. In addition, he believes that a good work ethic and persistence are also key parts to this equation. “If you work hard, your ability to get great technically and your skill level will increase,” Brandt said. Brandt also stresses good character and integrity. “Integrity is doing the right thing, (even) when you think that nobody’s looking,” he explains. Brandt has high hopes for both newcomers and returning team members. “They’re just a really great group of guys,” comments Brandt, “Very hard-working.”

Above: Wrestlers fine tune their skills by performing numerous drills at practice. Middle: Coach Brandt helps two of his wrestlers with their technique. Right: wrestlers work on their takedowns.

story and photos by Abbie Wibe

18 FEATURE

ampus Ministry has been going through many changes in the past year.

Kelly Youngblood, the Campus Ministry Coordinator, is extremely optimistic about what has been planned for the year. She feels there is something to cater to everyone’s needs. “We offer something differ-ent every day of the week except Saturday,” she stated. Sunday night there is a Bible/book study in the Luise V. Hanson library lounge at 7:30. Monday worship is led by Pastor Greg Anderson who is the Associate Pastor at Immanual Lutheran and Waldorf chaplain at Gatsby’s Grill. Exit to Hope which is student led meets Tuesday nights in the Recital Hall at 9:00. Chapel is held in the Recital Hall at 10:30 on Wednesdays.

to campusministries

lookbright

changes

story by Katie Frushphotography by Claire Lawson

Megan Dobberstein and Braden Falline take out their hymn books in preparation to sing at a Wednesday Chapel service.

19FEATURE

Catholic Mass can be attended on Thursday nights at 9:00 and Friday night features Holden Evening Prayer at 5:10 in the Recital Hall. “We are also hoping to start a social event on Friday nights”, Youngblood said. Pastor Anderson has been busy recruiting students for Campus Ministry events. He has worked hard to find students who can take part in what he has planned because the diversity of the students is widespread. “It’s part of our philosophy and Lutheran philosophy that all are welcome. We want to empower everyone’s gifts for the proclamation of the Gospel,” Anderson said. There are a number of goals for campus ministry this year, with events that cater to everyone’s needs and interests. Mamisoa Ranaivoson, who doubles in student life and campus ministry is strongly pursuing the goal of student involvement. “As a student, when I thought of Campus Ministry, the only thing I associated it with was Chapel. I think many students thought of Campus Ministry as separate from Exit to Hope, Catholic Mass and other student-led ministry organizations.

This year I would like to see students involved in those organizations also be involved in Campus Ministry. Basically, this year, I would like to see Campus Ministry meet the needs of students. If students want a certain ministry organization formed, we would be willing to help them through that. It would be really cool to see Campus Ministry reach out more to the Waldorf Community,”

Ranaivoson said. Last year, Campus Ministry took a service trip to Kansas City, Mis-souri, where they worked in a char-ter school, cleaning and organizing. A mission trip is still in the works for Spring Break. The destination is not yet determined, but the hope is to boost numbers and get more stu-dents involved.

As Campus Ministry Coordinator, Kelly Youngblood is responsible for organizing and leading a variety of campus ministry groups. Here she welcomes students to Chapel.

Nancy Farndale, at the organ, leads the worship service in the hymn, “We Walk by Faith.”

20 FEATURE

Professor Wilkins Publishes a Book of Poetry

Professor Joe Wilkins, Director of Creative Writing and Assistant Professor of English recently published a new book of poems entitled, “Killing the Murnion Dogs.” The book was officially released in bookstores early in October. Wilkins is planning to sell copies locally at the Waldorf Bookstore and at Book-A-Dee. Many things influenced Wilkins’ poems, including other poets, such as Richard Hugo and James Wright. Poems that have been beneficial to Wilkins are, “De-grees of Gray in Philipsburg,” by Hugo and “Autumn Comes to Martin’s Ferry, Ohio,” by Wright. Wilkins said that he has made many similar connections with his po-

ems from those mentioned. Before he and his wife moved to Forest City, they did a lot of traveling through different states which also inspired his writing. While traveling his writing ideas were influenced from aspects such as different landscapes and meeting different people. “I looked at life in a dif-ferent place,” Wilkins said. Wilkins has been working on these poems for a long time. He said he totaled up the time by trying to think when he started and counting backwards. Altogether, he ended up with a total of seven years. He said that when he started writing the poems, they were really

story by Eric Bertelsenphotography by Claire Lawson and Riya Anandwala

Joe Wilkins, pictured, has had his written worked published before, but “Killing the Murion Dogs” is his first published book.

21

rough, not close to publication. The more time he spent with them, the more he saw connections between them. About three or four years ago, he put the poems together in a working draft. Wilkins started writing poetry early in life. In grade school, he would scribble down poems and write little short stories, but he never took it seriously. Ten years ago, however, he started to approach writing seriously. His writing process starts by coming up with ideas from small pieces which could be written from an idea, im-age or even from a phrase he has seen or heard. Professor Wilkins said, “Sometimes I latch onto an idea quickly.” Sometimes, however, it takes years to come up with an idea. When Wilkins is uncertain about a poem, he puts it in a desk drawer and attempts to tackle it again later. Wilkins also said some of his poem are accidental: they are in the back of his mind and he is continually think-ing about them. Wilkins’ writing has changed since the first time he has been published in two ways. He has matured as a writer by learning how to use syntax and by adding power to sentences. Wilkins commented on how his writing has changed, “I feel language has a different power and I am learn-ing how to wield that into my writing.” He also said that his concerns about what he writes about are broader. When he started writing, he always wrote about small towns, poverty, and landscapes. Currently, he said, “I am looking out into the world to an extent. My vision has widened.” When asked what advice he would give young writ-

ers, Wilkins said, “My advice is to read.” His senior year of college, was when Wilkins first took a creative writing class; he had never taken a creative writing class prior to that year. Before becoming a serious writer, he read a lot. That is what fueled him to become a writer. As Wilkins stated, “I have been a voracious reader for a long time.” As a final comment he said, “Come and take a creative writing class at Waldorf.” Stop by the Waldorf bookstore and pick up your copy of Wilkins recent publication, “Killing the Murnion Dogs.” It’s worth reading.

FEATURE

Professor Wilkins held a poetry reading Sept, 29 for his newly published book of poems. Many audience members were captivated as he read aloud.

A majority of Professor Wilkins collection of poems focus on landscape, rural living and his childhood in Montana. As Wilkins read aloud, this influence was evident.

On May 26, Waldorf suffered a major hit when International students were informed that they would not be allowed to return for the upcom-ing semester. After failing to submit required federal paperwork, Wal-dorf was denied certification to issue student visas by the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The unfortu-nate mistake left international stu-dents with nothing but uncertainty regarding their future.

Quickly after being notified of the certification denial, Waldorf informed their international com-munity, hoping to serve as help in accommodating the students. Un-fortunately, time was not on the students’ sides. Many were caught

by surprise after having another year already planned out, with ath-letic scholarships, housing arrange-ments, and even classes scheduled for the upcoming semester. Some found it much too late to react and were forced to return home.

“I was really worried about my future since I had everything figured out and my plan was to get a de-gree from Waldorf,” said Alejandra Vicuña, an international student who had been attending Waldorf for three years.

In her case, as with others, the news came with another challenge.

“I found out during the summer, when I was already at home in Ca-racas, Venezuela. I had to figured out all this complicated situation

22

Waldorf suffers an unfortunate loss…

story by Andres Ballesteros

from a distance, so I could come back to the States,” said Vicuña.

Although the news came as a shock and caused a great deal of stress, Vicuña was pleased with Waldorf’s reaction. “I must say, Wal-dorf College really helped me a lot with everything I needed. They never turn their back on me, and I appreciate it.”

Nonetheless, international stu-dents were not only forced to at-tend other institutions, but they had to completely start over with their life, in an entirely new environment.

But how much did this really impact Waldorf? Ernesto Albitez, a current student at Waldorf, com-mented, “I do not think that it has affected Waldorf tremendously (as

a college), but I do think that hav-ing international students gives Wal-dorf more of a diverse atmosphere. It is always pleasant to meet people from all over the world.”

Albitez, not directly affected by the situation, believes that the stu-dent body, as a whole, suffered a great loss. “It is sad to see that our diverse group is no longer with us. I know friends that were planning on graduating from college, but they can’t anymore.”

Currently Waldorf remains un-able to issue student visas. Howev-er, on a brighter note, Waldorf has applied for new certification, with the hopes of having its international community back soon.

STUDENT LIFE 23

Waldorf suffers an unfortunate loss…

entertainmentFor your entertainment

tic-tac-toe

solu

tion

sQuestions and comments concerning the Torch can be sent to Tiffany Olson, the Torch advisor at olsont@waldorf.edu.