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NORTH CENTRAL UNIVERSITY • NCUNORTHERNER.COM • NOVEMBER 16, 2016 • VOLUME 58 ISSUE 2

Athletics: Page 8 Opinion: Pages 4 & 5News: Pages 2 & 3

Elliot Park holds forum on Islamophobia

NCU presidential search update

Men’s soccer

advances to

national tournament

What is America’s role in global confl ict?NCU student reactions to 2016 election

Athletics: Page 8

After a long and tense presidential campaign, Donald Trump was de-clared president-elect Nov. 9 just before 2 a.m.

The announcement of a Trump triumph was a shock to many Ameri-cans, especially following the groundbreaking me-dia presence during the campaign that ardently believed a Hillary Clinton victory was a given.

On Nov. 8, FiveThirtyE-ight News predicted that Clinton had a 71.4 per-cent chance of winning the presidency, while Trump’s chances were slim - only 28.6 percent. The media site also fore-casted that 48.5 percent of the popular vote would fall in Clinton’s camp, and only 44.9 percent would go to Trump. The Los Angeles Times predicted that Clinton would win a landslide election with 352 electoral votes. Such was not the case.

At fi nal count, Trump blew past the 270 elec-toral votes needed to win the presidency. His 306 electoral votes di-minished Clinton’s 232, handing him the keys to

the White House starting in January 2017.

Clinton edged out Trump in popular votes, though. According to Pew Research, she re-ceived 59.6 million votes

(47.66%) to Trump’s 59.4 million (47.5%). This is not the fi rst time the loser of the popular vote won the presidency. In 2000, George W. Bush slid past Al Gore, winning

the electoral vote 271-266, but lost the popular vote by roughly 540,000 votes. This also happened in the elections of 1876 and 1888, according to an article by USA Today.

The disparity between the electoral count and popular vote has stirred up discussion on the relevance and place of the Electoral College. An opinion article in the Bal-

Trump wins presidential electionAnderson urges NCU community to embrace diversity of thoughtKristin Wileman timore Sun called it “the

product of an 18th cen-tury compromise forged over issues that no lon-ger apply.” It also says it “has not worked the way it was intended almost from the very beginning.” Similar cries for a move-ment toward the popu-lar vote have been heard throughout North Cen-tral’s campus.

Since Trump’s victo-ry announcement, many riots and protests have occurred, including mul-tiple rallies in Minne-apolis. On Nov. 11, about 300 students from var-ious Minneapolis public schools left classes early and marched toward U.S. Bank stadium to protest the election of Trump and the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to the Star Tribune.

Nationally, more vi-olence has occurred with racial slurs running rampant and copious amounts of verbal vio-lence from both political parties.

On Friday, Nov. 11, North Central’s presi-dent, Gordon Anderson, urged students, faculty

Justin Evans, a member of the T.J. Jones library staff and former facul-ty member, is moving to Brussels, Belgium to teach Old Testament and Hebrew at Continental Theological Seminary. Evans and his family plan to leave in January, if fundraising continues advancing.

Evans was called to missions when he was a freshman at North Cen-tral, and his wife Jessica was called to missions

when she was eight years old.

Missions is a passion for Evans as a result of his non-Christian back-ground. Evans ran with a bad crowd in high school. He often tells the story of vandalizing a church bus on church property, only to be unwittingly brought there by a classmate less than six months later. The seeming coincidence was enough to convince Evans that God was real.

“I was radically saved at the age of 17,” Evans said. He applied to North

Central and got in at the last minute, majoring in cross-cultural studies.

Evans is currently rais-ing funds in order to al-low his family to move to Belgium with fi nancial stability. A North Cen-tral student helped them fundraise in a bit of an unusual manner by do-nating a moped, which brought in funds at $10 per ticket.

Fundraising has been a bit of a challenge for the Evans family, as it takes time to build the neces-sary connections with

Marisa Sorenson

Justin Evans: Librarian and missionaryNorth Central staff member aims to begin missional teaching assignment in Europe beginning January 2017

churches. Evans said that one of the most im-portant things to him is meeting the needs of the church, not only gaining their fi nancial support.

“Something that is im-portant to us in this pro-cess is fi guring out how we can serve and bless the church in their vision for missions all over the world,” Evans said.

Evans will be teaching at the seminary while his wife, Jessica, hopes to aid PHOTO PROVIDED BY JUSTIN EVANS

Justin, Jessica, Toby and Savannah Evans are preparing to become

missionaries to Belgium

Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 74 Electoral votes. *Note: Maine’s electoral votes were divided — 3 votes went to Clinton and 1 to Trump

continued on page 2

continued on page 7

GRAPHIC BY KALEIGH JOHNSON

THE NORTHERNER

News2

Wednesday, November 16, 2016The Northerner

and NCU Days guests to ingest the political drama, but to be Christ-like while doing so.

“Dear God, help this country to move away from senseless name-calling to a higher level of consideration for each oth-er,” he prayed.

Anderson commissioned the North Central body to view the government from a point of diversity and well-being for all, not just narrow-inter-est “litmus tests” for individu-al causes … especially when it comes to the appointment of Supreme Court justices.

Anderson also challenged students to differentiate moral convictions and legalities.

“We need to be mindful that we do not espouse the position that says we need to make ev-erything illegal that we think is immoral,” he said. “We cannot act like religious fundamental-ists that say everything that is immoral should be a matter of law.”

Ultimately, Anderson en-couraged people to embrace diversity in thought. “Embrace diversity — not perversity, but diversity,” he said. “Be the kinds of people who can make a case strongly without name-calling or a mean spirited nature.”

Minnesota elections This was an unlikely election

in many regards, including the voting demographic of Minne-sota. About 74 percent of eli-gible voters emerged to help choose elected offi cials on Nov. 8, according to the Star Tribune. This is the highest voter turnout by percentage in the country, though Minnesota saw four percent more voters in 2004.

The number of early vot-ers was also record breaking for Minnesota. About 673,000 people voted early this year — three times more than 2012. This equates to just over 20 percent of registered voters.

For the Elliot Park neighbor-hood, incumbent Senator Bob-by Joe Champion (DFL) defeat-ed Jennifer Carnahan (GOP) after receiving 77.56 percent of votes. Champion has been in offi ce since 2012. Represen-tative Raymond Dehn also was re-elected to his seat in the Minnesota House. He defeat-ed GOP contender Margaret E. Martin by securing 76.56 per-

Trump wins 2016 presidential election

cent of the vote, according to the secretary of state website.

Democratic sweeps are not uncommon to Hennepin Coun-ty, as 63.42 percent of voters within the county identify with the Democrat party. 34.81 per-cent are Republicans and 1.77 percent are independent.

Minnesota also passed a con-

Continued from page 1

The Nov. 8 presidential elec-tion weighed heavily on the hearts of many North Central students as they tried to dis-tinguish the biblical approach to take in such a murky polit-ical climate. To satisfy these needs, North Central provided opportunities for students to consider the election in light of a biblical worldview.

For many students, this elec-tion marked their fi rst time voting for a president, and the tumultuous campaign season made the process of choosing a candidate diffi cult for many voters.

The Oct. 25 chapel service featured a panel of North Cen-tral staff and faculty members who shared thoughts on voting and provided scriptural con-text for students seeking a bib-lical framework from which to view the upcoming election.

Spinal Development, a fo-rum-style program put on by residence life staff, also held a panel presentation and dis-cussion on Oct. 26 to give stu-dents specifi c reasons to vote for particular candidates.

At the Spinal Development event, associate dean of res-idence life and housing Abi-gail Davis, director of athletics Greg Johnson, and assistant professor of social work Beth Brown each advocated for a presidential candidate. North Central is unable to endorse a candidate due to its non-profi t status, so the statements made by the panel members in sup-port of candidates did not nec-essarily refl ect their personal political stances.

“Republicans and Democrats have the same goals, but dis-agree on how to get there,” Johnson said as he discussed the role of third party candi-dates in the election. John-son advocated voting for an individual rather than a par-ty. This makes third party can-didates more appealing in this specifi c election cycle due to the lacking popularity of both major party candidates.

Brown advocated the Dem-ocratic position, while Davis took the Republican stance. Both of them revealed differing ideologies when viewing these parties from a Christian per-spective.

Brown focused on the rela-tionship between Democrat-ic policies that target poverty and Scripture passages that in-struct believers to care for the poor and needy. Davis agreed in the importance of combat-ting poverty, but disagreed with the Democratic methods of doing so.

“It is my belief that this [car-ing for the poor] is not the job of the government,” Davis said while speaking from the Republican perspective. “Let’s take this out of the govern-ment and put it into the hands of the church.”

After the panel members each represented their party, the fl oor opened for student questions and discussion.

In contrast to the differing rationale for voting for a spe-cifi c candidate or party provid-ed by staff and faculty mem-bers at Spinal Development, the chapel service collectively presented a biblical approach to voting.

As the four panel members took their seats, Doug Graham, vice president of spiritual life, read Romans 13:1-7 exhorting believers to be subject to au-thorities in government.

The panel answered a variety of questions from Graham, and advised students to be faithful in their witness throughout this election season, to be wise, to be involved beyond simply casting a vote and to be un-derstanding of others who may have differing political views as the election approaches.

“Recognize that you are not voting for God,” Renea Brathwaite, director of grad-uate and creative education, said as the discussion began. “We can’t forget who we truly represent.”

The panel members, along with North Central president Gordon Anderson, met prior to the chapel service to discuss opinions and prepare the con-tent to present to the student body. Along with Brathwaite, professor of theology Allen Tennison, associate professor of business LaToya Burrell, and assistant professor of English Desiree Libengood participat-ed in the panel.

Burrell further reiterated that Christians are to respect the elected offi cial as well as pray for that leader regardless of personal agreement.

Kathryn Hoffl and

NCU promotes discussion about presidential electionPanel discussions give students biblical context for tenuous elections

Gordon Anderson urges North Central community to embrace diversity of thought

stitutional amendment that removed lawmakers’ power to set their own pay and redirect-ed the power to an unelected council of citizens. The sec-retary of state calculated that the amendment passed with 77 percent of voter support.

Pay for legislators has re-mained the same since 1999.

Although Trump dominated in electoral votes, Clinton narrowly captured the popular vote.

This is the fi fth time in US history an individual has lost the election but won the popular vote. Numbers pulled from New York Times election coverage.


NewsWednesday, November 16, 2016

3

The Northerner

On Nov. 2, members of the El-liot Park community gathered at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church to talk about issues surround-ing the treatment of Muslim immigrants both locally and nationally. The topic is preva-lent in the Twin Cities, as the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis estimates the Muslim popula-tion to be steadily increasing in Minnesota. The Elliot Park area alone provides a large amount of housing for refugees.

Mediating the debate were district councilmen Abdi War-same and Jacob Frey, along with Honorary Judge LaJune

Lange, executive director of the Muslim American Soci-ety of Minnesota Imam Asad Zaman, and Pastor Laurie Ea-ton. The presence of a large variety of community members allowed for educated, thought-ful input.

Those in attendance had many questions they sought to better understand. The leaders facilitating the discussion pro-vided thoughtful answers hop-ing knowledge would dissipate fear. According to Zaman, much of that fear has risen due to Islamophobia becoming an in-dustry. Because it is possible to make money and gain influence spreading hatred, it may be-

Local forum addresses Islamophobia

come a option for some people. “We have to understand that

a percentage of people, regard-less of what religion they are of, are bad, evil people,” Zaman said. “By no means are Muslims exempt from this. There are very bad people who are Jew-ish, who are Hindu, who are Buddhist, who are Christian. Every group has crazy people. ISIS is like that.”

Pastor Eaton emphasized the need to form community with those we feel separate from. “I know it is my tendency to go and look for a book or an arti-cle online to find out informa-tion,” she said, “but my longing is that I talk to the person next

to me and get information from someone else who is living out their understanding of their faith and build a relationship.”

Councilman Warsame de-scribed his struggle to be seen as an intellectual before an out-sider. “When people think of Muslims, they think badly,” he said. “I’m afraid that no matter how hard I work, they see me as the other.”

Many people in attendance noted how fear of people groups has gone back genera-tions, from the Swedish to the Irish to the Jewish. “It does not just affect Muslims, it affects all of us,” said one community member.

Shannon Hill

Community leaders discuss issues with neighborhood members

North Central is home to many different buildings once under different ownerships that have been repurposed for the school’s use. Some of these include Liechty Hall and the Elliot East/South apartments that are over 100 years old and still standing.

The building’s brick and mor-tar on the east side has been in rough shape for some time, even to the point that small plants and a baby tree have started growing out of the crumbling wall caps. Some of the bricks even started to fall off the building, causing a safe-ty hazard.

Facilities manager, Jordan Robertson, said this last spring they decided something need-ed to be done.

The brick, mortar and other exterior materials that have been affected by over de-cades of use and are crucial to the structural integrity of the building are being replaced. With the replacement, they are aiming to hold the unique aes-thetic from an older era, rarely seen in the city today.

The building was originally constructed in 1900, and still has many original elements of the building. It is even been designated as part of a histori-cal district by the city.

Because of this, NCU facilities has looked into getting grants from the state to eventually repair the entire building, but Robertson said this would not be for at least another calendar year.

Because of the building’s age and historical value, the school

A face-lift for the Elliots

The iconic Elliot East apartment receive some well-earned repairsKyle Crowell

Building Restoration Corporation workers use the same methods, styles and fashions as were original to the historic apartment complex

Contractors began working on replacing Carlson Hall’s roof Oct. 24. The project is estimat-ed to take six to eight weeks.

The entire rooftop will be re-placed with a new, more wa-ter-tight roof.

The project is “a $100,000 investment into Carlson Hall,” according to an email sent to Carlson Hall residents by Chris Woelfle, the hall’s resident di-rector.

The contractors work be-

Carlson Hall gets new roof

tween 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. every weekday. An extra construc-tion dumpster has been added to the Carlson alleyway, and a trash chute now runs down the building along the east bath-room windows.

A portion of the alleyway has been blocked off, and the entire alleyway and east parking ramp may be closed at times.

The project was originally slated to begin Oct. 10, but was delayed.

After delay, project in full swingChristian Morris

In January 2016, North Central University president, Gordon Anderson, announced that he would be retiring as universi-ty president. Shortly following this, a presidential search com-mittee was created that is made of faculty and staff members, members of the administration and student body, and members of the Board of Regents

According to results from meetings held by the presiden-tial search committee, a “pres-idential profile” was created in order to specifically define what North Central University is looking for in its next leader. After the profile was created, it was released in June of 2016 to the public in order to reach out to future applicants.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, Lar-ry Griswold, co-chair of the Presidential Search Commit-tee (PSC), addressed the North Central community during

chapel to give an update of the ongoing search.

“Over the course of the sum-mer, more than 120 personal conversations were made with people who were giving inquiry, who were referenced as poten-tial candidates and who were interested applicants,” Griswold said.

The PSC met in September of this year to begin reviewing and screening potential candidates where connections were made. They have also been evaluating areas of interest such as per-sonal life, references, character, work history and the vision that each candidate has for North Central University.

According to Griswold, the goal is set to have a candidate selected by early 2017 to present to the Board of Regents.

Griswold said that the search committee is committed to not only find a qualified individual, but to "discover the one that God has already chosen.”

Curtis Vaughan

How you can support the

Somali community

Stay informed

Find a relatively unbiased news source that you can navigate easily.

Support Somali-run business

Places like the East Village Grill and Capitol Cafe are both

delicious and close to campus.

Reach out to your neighborsSometimes taking the time to

simply say hello will do. Be open to building relationships.

hired Building Restoration Corporation (BRC), a resto-ration contractor to do the work. BRC brought in specialty equipment to both repair old building materials and create new blocking using the same methods, styles and fashions that were used at the turn of the 19th century. Their work spreads across the exterior of five different apartment units, three of which are occupied by North Central students.

Due to some setbacks that arose after starting the proj-ect, BRC ended up working on the building longer than origi-nally projected.

Now North Central residents in the Elliot East apartments can know the structural integ-rity of their home is sound. The repairs are projected to last for decades to come.

Presidential search updateReverend Larry Griswold presents optimistic updates during chapel

PHOTO BY JOSIAH MAYO

GRAPHIC BY SHANNON HILL

Opinion4


In the fall of 2015, the world witnessed an event that left many gawking at their newspa-pers and screens shocked, con-fused, and angry. For many, the reaction of the Christian church to this event left a bitter taste in their mouths. It seemed that after the Paris attacks, Obama’s goal of taking in 10,000 refugees created a tsunami of fear in our nation.

The majority of those affected by this wave of fear seemed to belong to the evangelical church. The church responded to the recent Parisian trauma with a knee-jerk reaction of self-pro-tection. This is why I want to use this space to address Christians specifi cally.

When discussing the topic of immigration or America’s moral responsibility to refugees, the following verse always comes to mind: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)

I know that we have heard it all before; I understand that for some, these people coming into our country do not feel like the helpless victims that we have seen pictures of. Instead they look like black hooded men shooting up nightclubs and schools in the name of Allah.

Yet I must beg the question, when did we become a people of fear? Where in the Bible do we see Jesus calling us to “play

safe and all will be well?” Are we not called to think of the King-dom fi rst - and in that, those who do not know Him? We are called to a reckless life of aban-donment. It has never been only about us.

As a Christian surrounded by other Christians, I have heard many fear-based or disen-gaged arguments as to why we should not support opening up our country to refugees. I have heard that our government is in place to protect its people, that as Christians, yes, we are sup-posed to love the refugee, but as a nation we should not put our safety at risk.

So often we trap ourselves in a fi ght or fl ight mode when it comes to making biblically mor-al decisions. Should we protect ourselves or should we fi ght for the oppressed?

Often times, these thoughts come out of the dark and murky tunnel of fear. I believe this point of view is a perfect ex-ample of what it looks like to build a theology around fear. If I do not think that the govern-ment should let refugees into our country because they might be terrorists, then I do not have to put myself out there, I do not need to see their sickly bodies, and I do not need to hear their heart wrenching stories. I urge you to build a fortress of truth; a

foundation of data and the Bible around you when you are mak-ing these decisions.

Do your research. According to FactCheck.org, those referred to the U.S. for refuge are largely made up of women and children. Many of who have lost their hus-bands and fathers. These people are not the threats, but the vic-tims.

To quote Think Progress, “...exactly three resettled refugees have been arrested for plan-ning terrorist activities — and it is worth noting two were not planning an attack in the United States and the plans of the third were barely credible.” How-ever the terrorist attacks that have occurred over the last few years in the United States were planned and carried out by peo-ple born in America.

Do not misunderstand me; I am not for completely open bor-ders. I believe it is wisdom for our country to have an estab-lished vetting process for taking in displaced peoples. According to thewhitehouse.gov, “refugees undergo more rigorous screen-ing than anyone else we allow into the United States.” The pro-cess can take anywhere from 18-24 months.

Overall, we must make de-cisions based on the Bible. Do your research and passionate-ly love the oppressed. In Luke, Jesus tells us to be willing to take the shirt off our back for the needy. It’s hard to do that from the couches in our subur-ban homes. Think of this: God has quite literally brought un-reached people groups to live among us.

Now, for the fi rst time in his-tory, we can simultaneously love our neighbor AND be com-pleting the Great Commission. May we, the church, rise up in unity.

It is our duty. It is our calling.

Welcoming refugees: it is our dutyNow is the time to begin building for-tresses of truth amidst situations of fearMiriam Barnhart Immigration is a hot topic

among the American people. With refugees fl eeing corrupt and war-stricken countries in the Middle East, America is faced with the choice to accept or deny hundreds of thousands of indi-viduals that seem to be fl eeing a living hell.

According to the American Im-migration Council, “Immigration to the United States is based upon the following principles: the reunifi cation of families, admit-ting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy, protecting refugees, and promot-ing diversity.”

Based on this defi nition, which many Americans likely have nev-er heard before, it seems that in order to fulfi ll this defi nition we must protect refugees. But Amer-ica does not take action on issues in order to fulfi ll a defi nition. We are a free country that welcomes diversity and inclusion; we fi ght for peace and safety for people all over the world and we do our best to value life.

Immigration must have a pro-cess, though. I support any indi-vidual that chooses to come to this country legally. Over the last few months, I have been chal-lenged to open the doors of my home to people. I have been chal-lenged to come to the realization that my home is not my own, but a gift that I am very blessed to have, so I want others to share in my gift as I build community.

I am challenged to have this same view about how the Unit-ed States handles immigration and the acceptance of displaced people groups. This country is my home. I want the least of these to come to my home.

I understand that there will al-ways be security risks. There will always be the risk of losing out on resources. There may be a handful that are lazy and do not contribute. However, rather than living my life through a “what-if” lens that tends to be cynical, I am pushing myself to live life with open arms.

I think America should welcome refugees. I do not think it is a fl ip-pant action that involves opening the fl oodgates with no care or process and allowing thousands of people to infi ltrate our coun-try. There must be a thorough process developed that welcomes individuals in a smart, safe and secure way.

In the end, I think life on this earth is temporary. I want to live in a country that welcomes the broken, that provides safety and security for the innocent and the weak. If it means my life may suf-fer in order to do so, so be it. I will suffer in order to spread the love that Jesus has shown me.

This is an opinion that is ongo-ing for me. I am constantly trying to piece together my personal opinion with what is best for this country. But as for right now, this is where I stand.

Immigration must be done le-gally. There is no place for illegal immigrants. Although our polit-ical climate is troubling, and ac-cording to social media and mass media it seems as though there is chaos all around us, this is still a free and prosperous country that millions would love to be a part of.

I want to have a part in fulfi lling that dream in their lives and be-ing Christ-like to all people.

Curtis Vaughan

Th e United States’ hand in immigration

PHOTOS BY NATHAN WILEMAN

North Central senior Miriam Barnhart

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MIRIAM BARNHART

North Central senior Curtis Vaughan

PHOTO BY JULIA ANDREWS

OpinionWednesday, November 16, 2016

5

The Northerner

The United States is a na-tion that beat the odds at its conception. It is a nation that fought for individual freedom through democracy. We have found success and exist in prosperity.

It is a moral mandate that we do all that we can to provide a way for other nations and in-dividuals to experience those same, basic human rights as we have enjoyed for over two centuries.

This moral responsibility is a controversial topic that leads us to ask many questions. Is it our responsibility as Ameri-cans to get involved in a con-fl ict between two nations? Do we aid in relief efforts of mar-ginalized citizens of other na-tions? Or do we stand still and

let other countries provide the money and resources to help in times of need?

Confl ict has always been something that creates division among people. Over the centu-ries, humanity has continued to see confl ict as not merely an occasional phenomenon, but as something that impacts and changes our culture. As Ameri-cans, at times we may feel that we have a moral responsibility to carry dominion in an area of the world during periods of confl ict.

There are strong opposing viewpoints to either side of the argument, but it is impossi-ble to deny our position in the world as the dominant super-power.

The United States has en-tered many global confl icts in its history and has had a few of

its own. We have a history of entering confl ict and desiring to see it to its end.

This tactic has not always been successful. In fact, it has caused turmoil for many Amer-icans at different times, such as during the Vietnam War era. A lot of fi nancial and human resources were expended in order to bring that confl ict to a conclusion.

Today, there are new con-fl icts on the horizon. There are internal and external confl icts that have put pressure on our country to make decisions and take action. We have seen a re-cent political divide, particual-rly over immigration that has separated the very fi bers of our American conscience, blinding us from the issues happening around the world.

The confl ict in Syria and the

Middle East, including ISIS, has impacted the globe in a domi-nant way. The refugee crisis in Syria has resulted in a change to the political and cultural make-up of Europe. Americans have mixed views on whether the United States should take more action than it has regard-ing the crisis.

This is just one example of current global confl ict that has an ongoing infl uence on our political climate in regard to what our position as the prev-alent super power of the free world truly is. Is it a moral ob-ligation of a country that has the resources that the United States does to involve itself in a confl ict or aid in relief efforts?

We believe that confl ict hap-pening on the other side of the world should be of every inter-est to us. It’s a belief that fi nds

opposition from many, includ-ing many in the church.

It is naive to think that we, as people could ever come to a point of complete peace, but can we not strive for that? America has resources that so many need. We should not close our borders and let oth-ers sort problems out without offering what we have. If we are truly a leader in the world, let us lead by compassion and generosity.

In order for us as humans to fi nd peace with each other in a world of many cultural and geographic differences, we must come together and unite as a nation to bring stability to those who are in need. As a major leader in world affairs, we have a responsibility to take action in global confl icts sim-ply because we can.

The American role in global conflictEditorial Staff

Dear editor and North Central community,

Last week, we found out the name of our next president. It was exhilarating, stressful, ex-citing and terrifying. There are still so many unknowns about the new authority.

As we went through the elec-tion season, I believe at times we became so entranced in the dra-ma of the debate that the role of the president became grossly exaggerated. While not neglect-ing the importance of the role, sometimes we make our politi-cal leaders out to be more than the human beings they unques-tionably are.

About a month ago, I at-tended a forum where Renea Brathwaite led a conversation on God and the government. He made a statement that changed my view of our current political situation.

Brathwaite reminded us to look forward to the election, but remember that we’re not voting for our God. The next president will not be our Savior. We are only voting for a president — a fl awed human who is still a cre-ation of the Most High.

My purpose in writing this let-ter, North Central, is to ask you to join me.

Join me in praying for the hearts of the leaders in our na-tion. No matter what you believe politically, we can all agree that our elected offi cials deserve our prayer.

Also join me in grieving with those who are hurting. Regard-less of how “right” you think you are, if it hurts someone else,

reconsider the importance of sharing your thought. Do not forget that above all, we are still people who feel, think and pro-cess. Grieving is not a weakness. It is a sign of a sensitive spirit. Mourn with those who mourn.

Also remember that the Lord’s power is not limited by an elect-ed offi ce. God can still change the hearts of the corrupt... even while they are in offi ce. He has used corrupt people throughout history to accomplish His will. He’s done it before. He’ll do it again. God’s power transcends rulers and offi ces.

This is not a statement to whitewash the past, present or future wrongs of those in power, but rather a reminder that God is sovereign.

While coming to terms with all of this, I’ve been comforted by Romans 13:1-5. The whole pas-sage is good, but one part stands out the most to me.

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.”

This may be a hard pill to swallow. It defi nitely has been for me. But our president still deserves respect regardless of our political disposition. Last week we learned the name of our next president, and now we, the church, should be at the forefront of mending our divid-ed nation.

The time for spatting is over. Let’s move forward acknowledg-ing that the Lord alone controls the tides of history. He will write this chapter. We must trust Him.

Sincerely, Elizabeth VanderPloeg

Letter to the editor: The time for quarreling is overElizabeth VanderPloeg

America stands on the precipice of a great spiritual abyss that we can no longer afford to ignore. Deep-rooted tensions that have been festering in the dark for years have now been brought into the open as acts of violence, hatred, and protest break out all across the nation.

In the end it makes little differ-ence who won the election; we have become so divided in our opinions and so unwilling to lis-ten to the other side that this in-evitable confl ict has been a long time coming. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are nothing more than a refl ection of our shattered country, a grand metaphor for our broken heart.

Civilized debates over politi-cal policy have been replaced by broad labels and insults as each side condemns the other as ir-reparably evil in a fervor of pride and self-righteousness. What has happened to our humility, our ability to listen and empathize with people and ideologies we don’t agree with or understand? The truth is we are all hurting; we all feel ignored and left behind by a system that is fundamentally

broken. Honestly, I have had a hard

time trying to write a response to this election. Social media is already fi lled with so many differ-ent opinions on this election that it has become nothing but noise. “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying noth-ing,” as William Shakespeare so aptly put it.

Everyone wants to speak and be heard, but nobody wants to listen, and that is exactly what has set the stage for a man like Donald Trump to become the president. After much thought and prayer, however, I believe God has given me something to say. We are in this situation because we have al-lowed the government to take the place of the church.

It is not the government’s job to regulate morality; only Jesus is capable of that. “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering,” Paul said in Romans 8:3 (NIV) It is not the government’s responsibility to feed the poor, to stand up for the oppressed, or to heal the hurting. As the church, that is our respon-

sibility, and we are failing miser-ably at it.

We cast our votes and post on social media because it makes us feel like we contributed to the process without taking any real action. I still believe it is import-ant to vote and to dialogue with others, but it is not a replacement for getting our hands dirty and being a real, tangible light to our communities.

If we want to see true healing and change in this nation, we need to focus on how we can show the love of Christ to those around us. God wants to move in the little things; the individual ac-tions we take to make others feel loved and welcome. The govern-ment cannot do that for us.

I close with Joshua 5:13-14: “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man stand-ing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.’”

God is not standing with either political party; he wants to use the church, to use us, to make a difference in this world.

A house dividedResponding to the recent presidential electionJosiah Murphy

Despite Democratic gain in both House and Senate, the GOP remains in control of both chambers. As compared to the 2014 election, the Democrats gained fi ve positions in the House of Representatives and four seats in the Senate.


Variety6


Kate Renee approaches art in a way different than other Min-neapolis artists. Her paintings, all done on 30x40 birch boards, can be seen as a unique touch. Bringing a painting to life is Re-nee’s passion, as can be seen in her second solo exhibit, “7 Sins,” which recently displayed at Gam-ut Gallery.

Renee was inspired by a critical response at Gamut Gallery af-ter her first solo show, “Beauties Behaving Badly.” Feedback from the audience as well as creative insight jumpstarted the ideas of three-dimensional painting.

“It all started coming togeth-er,” Renee said. “They were all separate ideas. I started off with the GluttHoney piece portrayed by Winnie the Pooh. That was the experiment to see if the 3D worked.”

Renee’s character choices for portraying the seven sins were a process as well. Coming off of her previous exhibit, “Beauties Behaving Badly,” which featured princesses and fairytale charac-ters, she felt like she needed to veer away from princess work to include others stories.

Renee made the “7 Sins” rel-evant to today’s society by us-ing pop culture. One of the sins, vanity, is portrayed by a Kim

Kardashian-meets-Barbie char-acter, which demonstrates the addiction of pride. All paintings also include seven layers of paint, known as what Renee calls “hid-den sevens,” to represent the piece’s title, “7 Sins.”

Renee found herself at Gamut Gallery through the annual show, C4W: Open Call for Work.

After she applied, Gamut want-ed to display her work, so she participated in a duo show. Soon

after, Jade Patrick, director of Gamut Gallery, came to Renee’s studio and personally asked for the “7 Sins” collection. The entire series took about a year and a half to create.

Her exhibit has now closed at Gamut Gallery, but Renee will be participating in a local open stu-dio event November 18-20, where her art can be viewed alongside other local artists.

Featured local artist: Kate Renee Hillary Streitberger

Doctor Stephen Strange was a well-renowned neurosurgeon with a wit as sharp as a scalpel and hands steady as a rock. That was, until he got in a car accident which gave him severe nerve damage in his hands, effective-ly ending his career. Armed with nothing but his mind, he burns through all of his money seek-ing desperately for anything that might heal his injuries, but finds nothing.

Out of options, he ends up traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal to visit “the Ancient One” in a last-ditch effort to save the life he once knew. He gets far more than he bargained for, learning how to tap into the multiverse with the power of his mind and alter the reality around him. Insert the ge-neric superhero movie plot here and you pretty much get the gist of the movie. An evil, all-power-ful entity threatens the world and Doctor Strange foils the plot with his newfound super powers.

Visually, the film was incredibly impressive; it was one of the few movies that I would recommend seeing in 3-D. Urban landscapes get deconstructed and rear-ranged into intricate fractal pat-terns as the characters use their mind powers to alter physical reality. The audience is dragged outside of space-time along with Doctor Strange as he discovers the vast multiverse, shattering the illusions of what he once con-sidered ultimate reality. Action scenes were well choreographed and packed with adrenaline, while the cinematography was technically excellent, though un-inspired.

None of this surprised me, how-ever, because it is what Marvel movies are known for. What did surprise me was the philosoph-ical depth that was present in this film. Doctor Strange follows western thought as far as it can take him, and when it fails to heal his hands (which serve as a met-aphor for his identity) he heads to the east. In this way the film makes an attempt at bridging the gap between two vastly different cultures and ways of thinking, be-

tween the material and the mys-tical, the scientific and the spir-itual. The central question this movie wrestles with, however, is the idea of immortality. The an-tagonist of the film is motivated by his quest for eternal life, which he will do anything to acquire. On the other hand, the Ancient One tells Doctor Strange that death is what gives life meaning; the fact that our days are numbered gives each moment significance.

As Christians I think this is an important question to engage with. We follow Jesus for the promise of eternal life that he of-fers us in heaven, but what does that look like? Once we have seen God face to face, being restored to perfection without sin, what is the purpose of existing? What more will we have to learn, to see, to experience? Will heaven get boring after several million years? If we had an infinite amount of time on earth, would we accom-plish anything, or simply pro-crastinate for all eternity because there is no rush or urgency to do anything?

While Doctor Strange poses a lot of interesting questions, it does not take the time to develop those themes, it simply mentions them and then moves on to more action sequences. This is to be expected, because it is a super-hero movie after all, but this film is beginning to push the form in a positive, more thoughtful direc-tion.

Benedict Cumberbatch, who I believe is becoming one of the greatest actors of our generation, gave an excellent performance. The ultimate purpose of this film is to develop the character of Doctor Strange so that he can become a part of the larger Mar-vel cinematic universe, and Cum-berbatch’s performance gave the character depth that the script certainly did not. Despite all the positives, the movie was extreme-ly formulaic and predictable, and the character development was extremely rushed to leave plenty of time for fight scenes. I defi-nitely think this is the best Marvel movie that has come out to date, but it is still a Marvel movie.

Overall I give it a 5 out of 10.

Josiah Murphy

Doctor Strange: still a Marvel movie

Marvel’s latest action movie carries unexpected philosophic undertones

Many people dream of going to far-off places to share the gospel with those who have never heard the good news. Few realize the extent of the unreached in their own backyard.

Minneapolis hosts the most diverse community in the Unit-ed States, Phillips neighborhood, which is located only a mile south of North Central’s campus. Over 100 people groups live within the Phillips community. Minne-apolis is also diverse in religious background. A 2013 Pew Re-search report estimated that over 20,000 people in the Minneapolis area associate themselves with a non-Christian faith, (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism).

The Antioch Initiative exists to bring light to the beautifully di-verse population of the Twin Cities.

The initiative is a partner-ship between Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) and North Central to share the gospel message with unreached peo-ple both globally and locally. The partnership focuses on reaching specific groups within the Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist communi-

ties. The Antioch team is co-led by

Nick and Marcae Robertson along with Michelle McKinley and Dana Kincaid. All of the team mem-bers are associated with AGWM. Much of Antioch’s work is geared toward local immigrant popula-tions, of which Minneapolis is one of the largest immigration points in the United States.

The Antioch Initiative was founded seven years ago on North Central’s campus by Diane Camp-bell and was originally named The Antioch Center. The team based out of the North Central campus is one of many teams affiliated with the Antioch Initiative.

Last year, though, was the first time an active team was present on campus. The team has looked to revamp the program in order

Elizabeth VanderPloeg andNathan Wileman

Campus initiative team seeks to reach people groups in the metro areaPartnership between AGWM and NCU creates opportuni-ties for students to locally gain cross-cultural experiences

to incorporate student interac-tion with the community out-reach, according to Robertson.

Antioch also provides students with opportunities to work with unreached people groups.

“We want to see eternal fruit and we also want to see students trained,” said Nick Robertson, North Central’s Antioch director.

A focus of the program is to advocate and raise awareness for the unreached people groups that currently have no churches. A branch of the initiative, com-prised of North Central fac=ulty and students, reaches out to dif-fering demographics in the area by teaching classes, working with local businesses and hosting prayer nights most weeks.

The Antioch team seeks to em-phasize the work of the Spirit in their community work. Because of cultural barriers, the team re-alizes that their work could not happen if there was an absence of supernatural power.

When asked about some of the hurdles that the team has had to overcome, Robertson stated that the team must lay a firm founda-tion on which future generations can build.

Benedict Cumberbatch starred in Marvel’s Doctor Strange which premiered Nov. 4

Antioch exists to provide cross cultural

experiences for North Central students

Kate Renee’s collection, “7 sins” displayed at Gamut Gallery

PHOTO BY HILLARY STREITBERGER

VarietyWednesday, November 16, 2016

7

The Northerner

refugees, possibly through an organization called Convoy of Hope, which is headquartered in Brussels.

“The best work for us is to train and prepare local lead-ers in the church,” Evans said. “It’s just one piece of the puz-zle, but it is something God has uniquely trained and prepared us for.”

He desires to rise up a new generation of ministry lead-ers in Europe, where there is a severe shortage. Even though Evans studied for a year and a half at Edinburgh Universi-ty in Scotland, living overseas long-term is a new endeavor for the Evans, including their two young children, Toby and Savannah.

Evans was an adjunct profes-sor at North Central from 2008 to 2010, teaching Old Testa-

Justin Evans: librarian turned missionary

Two years ago Nintendo re-vealed that they would be taking their famous intellectual prop-erties and bringing them to mo-bile phones. This announcement was followed by an assurance that the company would main-tain a traditional home gaming platform, then codenamed the NX. The following year Ninten-do went silent on the project with the promise that more de-tails would be shared in 2016. Throughout 2016, those close to the production of the system leaked various components of the hardware giving eager con-sumers an idea of what to ex-pect. And on October 20, with less than 24 hours of notice, Nintendo showcased the Nin-tendo Switch.

The Nintendo Switch is a hy-brid gaming console with the ability to be played on home televisions via a dock station, as well as on the go with a tab-let controller. It combines the hallmarks of Nintendo hardware with remote-styled controls, akin to the Nintendo Wii, a tab-let controller, similar to the Wii U, and portability more similar to the GameBoy Advance than the Nintendo DS, 2DS, or 3DS.

Unlike with the Wii U, the tablet controller will be capable of go-

ing anywhere: on planes, trains, or in the rain. Nintendo has also departed from the dual-screen structure they have had on their portable consoles for the past decade. It is truly a switch for the company and brings about it many opportunities.

Nintendo has struggled in the past to maintain a positive rela-tionship with third party devel-opers. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are incredibly easy for users to develop and port games, but Nintendo hardware has always been designed with Nintendo de-

velopers in mind. Furthermore, Nintendo’s focus on accessibility for a wide audience often moti-vates them to make their prod-ucts cheaper and thus lower quality. When a consumer is giv-en the option to choose between Assassin’s Creed on Wii U at low-er quality or PlayStation at higher quality, they go with the superior version. This leads third party de-velopers to pull support.

While many reports lean to-wards the Nintendo Switch be-ing on par with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One’s potential power,

Nintendo switches things up in gaming

The creators of the Wii and DS brand unveil their new home consoleKazden Risk

both Sony and Microsoft have revealed upgraded versions of their home consoles. We’ll have to wait and see if Nintendo can keep up, and if the appeal of tak-ing Skyrim-quality games on the go will be enough to sway peo-ple away from better graphics and smoother framerates.

However, Nintendo may not need to rely on companies like Ubisoft and Bethesda for con-sistent content. Normally, Nin-tendo has had to split all of their resources between their Wii and DS brand. This would lead to

fewer games released less often, which made the dependency for other companies to step in and make games. Now Nintendo will be focused on only one console, potentially doubling the amount of games they have for this up-coming generation.

What does all this mean for the average consumer? It means Nintendo is about to release a console that can be played at home and on the go, with games from the most revered gaming companies as well as a plethora of content. In the 1980s, Nin-tendo established themselves as the frontrunners of gaming culture with the Nintendo En-tertainment System. In 2006 Nintendo made their way into every family’s living room with the Nintendo Wii, and in 2017 the Nintendo Switch may bring them back to their place on top.

We will get more details on the price, launch titles, and of-ficial release date in a presenta-tion on January 12. For now, the console has a confirmed launch of March 2017 with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild re-leasing around then, and the rumored price point is around $250 to $300. Until then, Nin-tendo is releasing a few closing titles on the Nintendo 3DS and plans to cease production of the Wii U.

North Central staff member aims to begin missional teaching assignment in Europe beginning January 2017

ment and Bible classes. He is currently a member of the T.J. Jones library staff, a posi-tion where he has “worn many hats.”

“Working in education can become addicting,” Evans said. “One of my greatest thrills is working with students and seeing them have their own unique callings, their passions and doing something with it. I can play a small role in encour-aging them.”

Evans emphasized the fact that this is a family endeavor, not simply his own calling. He fell in love with his wife during a missions class they took to-gether, and their mutual pas-sion for missions led them to this moment.

“God has called us, together—not just me or my work—but God has called my entire family to go there as a family,” Evans said.

Continued from page 1

North Central presents

The Secret Garden

North Central seniors Joseph McLaughlin and Alex Joson portray char-acters in North Central’s fall musical

Pictured: North Central sophomores Sam Joson and Abigail Nielsen



The Nintendo Switch possesses the capability to be played on a home television screen or tablet controller

Athletics8


The men’s basketball team is looking to fi ll spaces left by two key starters who graduat-ed after last season.

Captains Joel Cline, Isaiah Rustad and Travis Voigt are op-timistic about the season, but noted the importance individ-ual contribution if the team is to be successful.

“I think this year we have a team that a lot of different guys can contribute,” said ju-nior captain Joel Cline. “It’s just fi nding that way they can contribute and putting it all to-gether.”

Last year’s season came with ups and downs. The men were predicted to fi nish seventh in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) pre-sea-son poll, but they fi nished third. The team lost the fi rst fi ve games of the season, but bounced back to win the fol-lowing seven. Though they were in fi rst place in the UMAC for almost three-fourths of the season, the men took the fourth place title at the NCCAA National tournament.

Coach Jon High is looking for returners, especially sopho-mores, to step up. He wants the new players to learn the ropes of college basketball.

The Rams are shooting for fi nishing in the upper half of the UMAC this year. Coach High said they want to make it to the NCAA playoffs. With other teams having lost se-niors as well, the Rams have a chance to go to the playoffs and take the UMAC title.

This year’s team theme, “Blue collar, gold standard,” will help the team achieve their goals. Coach High said the philoso-phy of the theme is hard work, effort, and steady persever-ance put into practice every day.

Men’s basket-ball striving for success-ful season Team looks to overcome major roster changes

Marissa Kari

North Central’s women’s bas-ketball team showcases hard work under the direction of head coach Paul Brunner. The phrase “all in” is a strong foundation on which to build this season.

Eleven women are on the team this year, making it one of the largest teams in Rams history, ac-cording to captains Sydney Steele and Lizzy Swanson. The team is using the hashtag “a11in” to de-scribe their motivation for the coming season.

“We are really looking forward to the wide range of talent we have this season,” captain Sydney Steele said, which includes a va-riety of physical height and the large roster.

Last season, the team was lim-ited by an eight player roster. Despite adversity, the Rams won

eight games, including a victory over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference stronghold Hamline in overtime. The team is looking forward to a repeat chal-lenge against Hamline this season in the home opener.

The Lady Rams have been hard at work ahead of a brand new campaign which has included the #getBETTER boot camp which tested the team’s skills and en-durance in preparation for the season ahead.

“Our main goal is to get better, trust in the process and work hard every day,” coach Brunner said on the team’s preseason.

The Rams opened their season Nov. 15 against Waldorf Univer-sity. With a positive outlook on what they hope will be a season to remember, the Rams will try to stay true to their “all in” mentality throughout the season.

Lady Rams gear up for new seasonWomen’s basketball is ‘all in’

Tyler Maag

North Central’s men’s soccer team earned a spot in the NC-CAA national tournament in Kissimmee, Florida by winning the North Region championship Nov. 5.

The tournament begun today and continues through Satur-day. The Rams play the Trinity Baptist College Eagles today and will play the Manhattan Christian College Thunder on Friday.

North Central’s athletics de-partment is hosting free tourna-ment viewing parties in the cafe-teria aquarium Nov. 16 and Nov. 18 during the lunch hour. Stu-dents are encouraged to attend and support the team.

The Rams clinched the division championship in a remarkable 2-1 overtime win over the Moody Bible Institute Archers.

The fi rst half of the game end-ed with the Archers leading the Rams 1-0, but the Rams did not

give up. The team came togeth-er and was able to score in the second half, tying the score 1-1. The score held and forced the game to overtime. North Cen-tral needed three overtime shots before Ian Brekhus nailed the game-winning goal in the tenth minute.

The Rams were the number one seed going into the tourna-

ment. After a 1-0 win over Ma-ranatha Baptist University, they secured a position in the cham-pionship game.

At the beginning of the year, the team set the goal of playing postseason soccer in Florida. They would have preferred play-ing in the UMAC championship, but these hopes were dashed af-ter a season-ending loss to the

Men’s soccer advances to national tournament Tournament runs until SaturdayChristian Morris andNathan Wileman

University of Wisconsin Superior Yellowjackets.

Even though they could not play in the UMAC championship, they are excited to be playing in the NCCAA national tournament.

“We are thrilled to be able to represent North Central at the national tournament,” said Tyler Maag, one of the senior captains. “It is a great honor.”

Members of the women’s basketball team scrimage during a preseason practice


PHOTO BY TIM MAAGDennis Morales seeks to take control of the ball during a competitive soccer match.