A Wintry Memory – The End

Well, this is the end of my blogs. Not only for the 2009 semester, but also for the ‘09-’10 school year. I’ve decided to take temporary leave from Admissions so I can devote more time to my real passion - Radio. This is not necessarily the end of Adam Rozanas, however; I very much hope to make a return in the near future. I feel it appropriate to finish my blogging with a bit of reminiscing, though. I think I’ll share some of my highlights of the Winter season at Northwestern.

First of all, the Winter season in Minnesota is COLD!!! I’m from Illinois, and prior to my Freshman year I had never experienced regular temperatures of 0 degrees or less. So it’s common to find activities to do indoors. One of the favorite hang-out areas at Northwestern is by the fireplace in the Student Center. Once it gets even relatively cold outside, the fireplace gets turned on, and students can regularly be found studying, talking, or playing games near it. I remember playing games next to the fireplace myself last year – signs, mafia, apples-to-apples. Maybe drinking a mug of hot chocolate. Lots of good times and memories took place by the Student Center fireplace.

You can bet the fireplace is a popular place to be though, so a good alternative is getting a group of friends to watch a movie in someone’s room. Many times last year my roommates and I and a bunch of our good friends would gather in our room (we had a pretty sweet set-up; it was definitely the place to be), crank up the heat, and pop in a DVD. It was always a good way to top off a busy week of academics. Definitely peaceful and relaxing.

Well, winter isn’t always frost-bitingly cold, and there were many opportunities to enjoy outside, as well.  I remember snow ball fights with my roommates and friends. We’d gather out behind the Student Center, place ourselves, and call out “go!” It was basically a snowy free-for-all. When everyone’s aim proved poor enough, we’d resort to tackling each other. In fact, I remember it being so warm out once we all took off our jackets and ran around in loose, long-sleeve shirts! One other note worth mentioning - you’ll get in trouble for throwing snow balls at the dorm windows. Even if it’s at a friend’s room, the RA’s don’t like it. Take it from me…

Unfortunately, I never did make it out skiing or snow-boarding last year, but they’re both popular activities in MN. My roommate last year was a big snow-boarder, and he’d go out around campus and try to do some stuff. Once, he and his friends set up a ramp/half-pipe at the end of NWC’s big parking lot. Then they grabbed a car and would “snow-board” alongside the vehicle while racing towards the pipe. As they got nearer, the boarder would let go and would ramp off, while the driver turned in a different direction. Not exactly the safest means of recreation, and they were probably lucky not to get in trouble.

I also remember ice-skating with my sister hall. Despite the fact that Northwestern is surrounded on three sides by lakes, the surface isn’t really smooth enough to skate on. So my hall got together with our sister hall (each guy’s hall has a girl’s “sister hall” and vice versa) and we drove downtown to an ice rink. We spent a couple hours skating, then crossed the street and admired ice sculptures. That was definitely one of the most memorable Winter-time events at Northwestern for me.

I also remember trying broomball for the first time last year. But in order to stay consistant with my list of “good memories,” I think I’ll skip that one…

So, despite the fact that we get 3 weeks off for Christmas Break at Northwestern, there’s definitely enough time to get out and enjoy the Winter season. Hope some of my fond memories give you some insight into the Winter Season at NWC. Don’t let the cold be the determining factor for your education!!!

God Bless you all!

- Adam Rozanas

Meet the Majors: Kinesiology

Well, the semester’s about to wrap up here, which means there are only so many blogs I can get in yet. So I figured it was time to feature another major. I’m thinking Kinesiology. Fortunately for me, I happen to work with in Admissions with a Kinesiology major – Mister Jonathan Knoop himself.

As of right now, Jonathan’s in his Senior year. He’s a Kinesiology major and hoping for a Biology minor. Because of his major, and being hopeful for the minor, he’s still got at least one more semester to go at Northwestern. Not to mention grad school.

Jonathan first became interested in Kinesiology during his freshman year of college. He played for the football team, and happened to notice the trainers and trainer’s assistants for the teams. As he watched what they do, he couldn’t help but become interested. His interest grew into a fascination with health sciences, specifically physical therapy. Opportunities to shadow such such practitioners as chiropracters and physical therapists confirmed for Jonathan that that was what he wanted to do.

The next logical question was “what do you want to do with physical therapy?” Well, in order to practice, Jonathan has to go to grad school, which will take between 3-3 1/2 years more. His plans right now are to attend the University of South Dakota, where he’ll earn his D.P.T. – or Doctor of Physical Therapy. Once he’s finished school, Jonathan would like to work in sports for a while as a physical therapist. His ultimate goal, though,  is to perhaps have his own business someday.

I asked Jonathan how his experience has been so far with NWC’s Kinesiology program. He really appreciates first of all the great hands-on experience, both inside and outside the classroom. Within the classroom, the students get to practice on each other. Outside of the classroom, students are required to meet so many hours in an additional practicum. Jonathan spent 50 hours shadowing at a physical therapy clinic. Though he could not practice there himself, the experience was invaluable.

Jonathan shared some of the highlites of physical therapy with me as well. Personally, he enjoys the hands-on experience with the patients. Rather than making a quick diagnosis, he gets to spend quality time with and make an investment in the people he works (or will work) with. There’s also a joy in seeing the progress that a patient makes. His example was seeing a knee-surgery patient who comes in without mobility, and by the end has improved by leaps and bounds.

Concerning what perhaps some of the struggles or difficulties to Kinesiology are, Jonathan admitted that the Kinesiology department at Northwestern is fairly broad. For someone wanting to go into something specific like physical therapy, like himself, they have to do a bit of researching and make extra effort themselves. The additional years at grad school are a bit of a bummer, but he anticipates the joys of having earned his doctorate.

I wondered how Jonathan will approach physical therapy from a Christian standpoint. He was quick to praise the NWC science classes. It’s nice to be able learn science without the secular side of things. Also, he commented on a mission’s group his dad works with called Village Missions. One thing Jonathan would like to do someday is work with Village Missions, providing free practice/therapy for missionaries.

Lastly, I wondered why a high schooler, who may not know what they want to study in college yet, should go into Kinesiology/physical therapy. Jonathan said that for those who want to go into the medical field and really enjoy interacting with patients in hands-on practice, this is the major for them. The major really focuses on rehab and patient time, and the results are priceless.

Check in Friday for my last blog of the year!!!

Week at a Glance

Well, just two weeks left before Christmas break, and one of them is finals week. Which means this is the last week of events in the 2009 semester. Let’s start by taking a look back at this past weekend…

WVOE’s 97.7 Hours of Christmas is coming to an end even as I write. At 4:42 pm, WVOE will have completed its 97.7 hour – 4 day – on-air marathon. The event was another success: the shows were well-DJ’d, the segments epic, and the music Christmas-y.

Also this weekend, the NWC choirs, choruses, bands, and orchestras pulled off yet another amazing Christmas at Northwestern. Krista Kastle, who is part of the College Choir, said it was “amazing.” It “was (her) first Christmas at Northwestern, and (she) didn’t know what to expect each night and the amount of time you have to commit to.” But it was worth it to be sure! Highlights?  Passing around notes reading “Beware of the Cheetah” between songs and singing “Silent Night” up and down the aisles, candles and all.

Looking ahead to this week, then:

Tuesday night is Christmas Extravaganza! Each of the halls in Knutson, Hartill, and Knuha will pick a theme and decorate their hall accordingly. Last year’s themes included a Snow White Christmas (from a guys hall!!!), a Christmas Movie Christmas, and a Christmas Lights Christmas. Judges make rounds and choose the best decorated hall at the end. Walk the halls Tuesday between 7-9 pm to choose your favorite hall!

The Annual Bathrobe Drama Festival also kicks off Tuesday night!!! Students have been working hard to prepare four original mini-plays and a full-length (3o minute) play. Show time is 7:00 pm in the Patsy Miller Studio (aka Black Box). Two dollars gets you in, unless you wear a bathrobe, which gets you in FREE!!! If you can’t make it Tuesday, though, don’t fear! They run every night through Friday, same place same time.

Thursday features a Chamber Winds/Chamber Singers Recital in Naz Chapel at 1:2o. Come out and support NWC’s music students!!!

In Northwestern sports – the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams both play Wednesday at University of Wisconsin -Superior. The Men’s team plays again Friday at home against Luther College, 7:30 pm. The Women’s team plays at home Saturday against Augsburg college, 1:00 pm. 

That’s what this week’s got in store! Merry Almost Christmas!!!

WVOE’s 97.7 Hours of Christmas

As a broadcasting major, there’s one thing I particularly look forward to each year here at Northwestern College. It’s called the 97.7 Hours of Christmas on WVOE.

As a reminder, WVOE 97.7 is Northwestern’s student radio station, on-air at 97.7 and online at wvoe.fm. Well, for the past three years, WVOE has held a 97.7 hour marathon in which there is a DJ in the studio at ALL TIMES! The first year, back in 2007, one of WVOE’s legends, Ryan “Goose” Nissley, hosted the marathon - staying in the studio FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT! It’s said that he only left the studio to wash up in the mornings, seeing as he couldn’t leave to take showers. Food was brought to him, and he only occasionally slept when someone came to run the board for him. As great as a success as it was – and again, he truly did earn the status of “Legend” – he was tired by the end to say the least. Last year WVOE decided to get more of the broadcasting majors involved, dividing the 97.7 hours into shifts. Shifts are usually 4 hours long, and oftentimes students have to cover more than one. This system makes for a great weekend – actually, Thursday afternoon through Monday afternoon.

Well, the time has arrived yet again for us to cover the 97.7 Hours of Christmas on WVOE. We officially kicked off yesterday (Thursday, Dec. 3) at 3:30 pm. As I write this, we’re only 24 hours in…another 73.5 hours to go! I had the second shift of the marathon – from 6-10 pm. It was by far one of the BEST shows I’ve ever had!!! For one, I had put a lot of preparation into my show: I had an interview with an elf, played some Christmas mini-skits, played some games with call-ins for free cd giveaways, and enjoyed chatting with in-studio guests. As if that all wasn’t enough, we also decorated the studio for the first time ever! The studio was COVERED with flashing Christmas lights, a Christmas tree, and wrapping paper. There just seemed to be an aura of excitement and Christmas cheer. You couldn’t help but smile when you walked in. Well, I pulled off my four hours seamlessly, but I feel I should mention the two who hosted after me. My roommate Derek Murphey and WVOE’s head of the Music Department David Youso covered the next 10 hours in the studio – from 10 pm to 8 am!!! They pulled it off, but not without the help of some energy drinks.

Now, I haven’t given a reason for why we even host 97.7  Hours of Christmas. I mean, sure, we could do it just for the fun of the Christmas season. But we’re thinking bigger than that at WVOE. We want our station to be more than just a learning place; we also want our station to be a ministry. So, for the second year in a row, we’ve teamed up with Christmas With Dignity. Christmas With Dignity is a program local to the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis) that collects or receives donations in either cash or, preferably, un-opened gifts/presents. They then turn right around and offers these gifts back to under-privileged or low-income families at a significantly decreased price. That’s where the “Dignity” part comes in. The program doesn’t want to just give gifts away. Instead, it wants those who don’t have much still be able to feel like they’re providing for their family. We at WVOE want to help raise support and awareness, and, ultimately, gather donations. That’s our reason for hosting the 97.7 Hours of Christmas. Much of our on-air content strives to emphasize Christmas With Dignity and encourage you, the listener, to donate. Which is exactly what I’m going to do now. Last year, Christmas With Dignity was a great success, and though many groups and organizations help with it, WVOE is a large factor. We want to do even better than we did last year. If you think you’d like to be involved, prayerfully consider donating money or a gift. Checks can be made out to Christmas With Dignity and mailed to WVOE’s mailing address, which can be found on our website. http://wvoe.fm/ If you’d like to donate a gift, drop-off locations can be found at Northwestern’s Mel Johnson Media Center, Ericson Center, Bernsten Resource Center, Marantha Hall lobby, and Student Center. A list of requested gifts can be found on the 97.7 Hours of Christmas tab on WVOE’s website. http://wvoe.fm/events/wvoeevents/112-977hoc 

In conclusion, I’d encourage you to tune in to WVOE this weekend! You can hear us online or, for the weekend, watch us live at http://www.ustream.tv/. Just search 97.7 Hours of Christmas. Merry listening!!!

- Adam Rozanas

Week at a Glance

Wow. Thanksgiving is done, we’re back at school, and I’m not sure if I’m more tired or rested than before break began! Good thing we’ve only got a 2 1/2 week haul before Christmas break!

That said, let’s take a look at what this week’s got in store for us…

Tonight, Monday night, kicks off the Christmas season here at Northwestern. Even as I walked to and from classes today, I saw the maintainance guys putting up Christmas lights on trees and buildings. But at 6:00 pm is the official tree-lighting ceremony in the Naz Courtyard. This will actually be the first year that the “traditional tree” won’t be lit. And the reason for that? Northwestern lost it’s Christmas tree of 20 years to the recent construction covering the main lawn.  Fortunately, we’ve adapted, have a new tree to light, and are still filled with Christmas cheer. Hot drinks and cookies will be provided.

Also tonight is a sleigh ride around campus. Pick-up points are the Student Center, Berntsen Resource Center, and Naz, and will be run from 5:30 to 7:00. Grab a ride to the tree lighting ceremony!!!

Wednesday night, Arden Hall will be hosting a Christmas party from 7-9! For more information, contact Ryan Britt – the RA in charge of Arden.

Thursday kicks off WVOE 97.7’s annual 97.7 Hours of Christmas. For exactly 97.7 hours straight, WVOE will be hosted live. Northwestern’s very own broadcasting students will take turns hosting 4-hour long shifts, playing the best in Christmas music (new and old), DJ-ing fun-filled segments, and promoting Christmas With Dignity. This is the second year the WVOE has combined with Christmas with Dignity, a program that buys or receives brand new toys, electronics, etc. and sells them to low-income families at a lower price. The program was a HUGE success last year, and the students are looking forward to bringing joy and blessings to those less priviledged again this year. Tune in between 3:30 Thursday afternoon to 4:42 Monday afternoon for exactly 97.7 hours of the most amazing Christmas radio you’ve ever heard!!!

Friday kicks off what’s perhaps the most anticipated annual event at Northwestern – Christmas at Northwestern. For three days – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – Northwestern’s bands, orchestras, and choirs bring their  very best and most impressive performances. Friday and Saturday, the performance begins at 7:30 pm. Saturday, the performance 3:00 pm. If there was a performance you didn’t want to miss, it’s this one. So BE THERE!!!

The Northwestern sports teams also have a big week ahead of them. Upon beating Trinity University from Deerfield right before Thanksgiving break, the women’s volleyball team has made its way down to Florida to play in the National Tournament. Thursday they play against King College and Bryan College. Friday they’re scheduled to play against Mount Vernon Nazerene University and Southeastern University. Good luck girls!!!

Men’s and Women’s basketball teams also play this week. Both teams play Friday at home against St. Scholastica, 5:30 and 7:30 pm repspectively. They each play again Saturday at 3:00 and 5:00 pm.

That’s a look at the first of our two busy weeks before Christmas Break. Have fun!!!

Memories from a Freshman Year

So, they say that college is the best four years of your life. It’s pretty much true. They also say that some of your lasting memories are created during your time in college. That’s true, too. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be right of me to set you up with all this, then not share one of my own memories, right?! So here’s a memory from last year, my own freshman year.

Me, Danny, and Colton

It was late at night. About 1-ish, on a weeknight. My two rommates and I were getting ready for bed. (We lived in Knutson. Guys – it’s the place to be!) I was already in bed, which was against the wall and lofted over our couch. My roommate Danny (about the FUNNIEST kid you’ll ever meet) was just walking around the room. He likes to wander. Colton was brushing his teeth at the sink. Well, as I was lying in my bed, I got the brilliant idea that it would be fun to pin my feet between my bed and the wall, and lean straight out  over – parallel to – the ground. Like Superman. My bed’s about 6 feet off the ground, just to give you an idea. So, I manage to pin my feet, brace myself, and lean out over the floor. I thought it was neat and called Danny over. Suddenly, I got another brilliant idea: “Hey Danny! You should stand beneath me and hold my arms up!” So he, thinking it was a great idea, too, walks underneath me, raises his arms, and holds me up. So he’s standing there, I’m lying there, and we’re both giggling like little school girls. Colton’s still over at the sink, but as we start giggling, he looks over and breaks out into laughter, too. Well, Danny’s arms get tired, and he lets go. That’s where things get interesting. (As if everything up till now wasn’t, right?! ) Because he had been holding me up, I had relaxed. So when he let go, I wasn’t holding myself up. Instead, my torso dropped down over the side of the bed, my feet slipped out from between my bed and the wall, and I flipped entirely over my myself and landed six feet below on my back. Danny and Colton break out into hysterical laughter. I was too stunned to do anything. They fall to the floor, crying with laughter. I finally regain my breath, and, curling up, start laughing helplessly. Well Danny, realizing the seriousness of the situation (and thinking I had landed on my neck) stops laughing and rushes over to make sure I’m alright.  I’m still curled up, laughing, but he thinks I’m crying. He begins asking if I’m ok, but I’m laughing too hard to respond, so he thinks I’m hurt. Colton’s still laughing all this time. I finally regain some composure and roll over to face Danny, who’s seriously concerned. He realizes I’m laughing, and lightens up a little. “I’m fine.” I reassured him. “Oh man,” he says, “ I was worried you’d landed on your neck!” “Nope,” I replied. “My back hurts, though!” We continued laughing for at least another five minutes. I swear I’ve never laughed so long or hard in my life. Eventually, we picked ourselves up, climbed into bed, and fell into a bemused sleep.

Adam Rozanas

Meet the Majors: Theatre

Drama, drama, drama. The world’s full of it. And Northwestern’s theatre department isn’t helping.

Ok, maybe I need to clarify what I’m talking about here. Granted, the world is full of drama,  like girls talking about boys, and guys talking about food. But the drama I’m talking about is that which takes place on the big stage under bright lights in front of an enraptured audience – Theatre. Now, the thesbian is a curious folk. (For those of you who don’t know what a “thesbian” is, I’m not being innapropriate – it’s another name for an actor. ) He devotes his life to song and dance, to pretending to be something or someone he’s not. He is Troy Bolton. He gets the girl, and sometimes even plays a girl. Well, that’s what I thought, anyways, until I asked NWC Senior Kurt Bender what being in theatre really means. Here’s what I learned.

Kurt Bender is in his final year here at Northwestern. In addition to a Theatre Major, he’s also double minoring in Music and Psychology. I asked when he really became interested in theatre. He said it was when he was in 7th grade and he played Friedrich in The Sound Of Music. He put it off as impractical, howevever, until he was about 17. At that point, he realized theatre was something he enjoyed doing and as going to do with his life.

Though he’s been involved in just about everything Northwestern’s had to offer, Kurt recounts some of his highlights doing theatre here at NWC. In The Twelfth Night, Kurt performed in a giant popcorn box-shaped costume. He played a 15-year old boy in The Music Man. He was in charge of props in Godspell. He even directed his own One Act last year called Trifles. Kurt’s portfolio includes a whole lot more, to be sure!

I asked Kurt what the highlights are in theatre, whether Northwestern or theatre in general. His immediate and natural answer was, “Performances – either to a large Maranatha audience or the tight, Black Box audience.” There’s a thrill, an adrenaline rush to performing live. The enthusiastic responses of a live audience make all the countless hours of rehearsal worth while. To give you a better idea of Northwestern’s workspace, we have two “stages” to perform on. Maranatha stage is our large, auditorium stage – the stage an audience is accustomed to viewing a performance on.  Northwestern also has a smaller theatre called the Patsy Miller Studio, aka The Black Box. A Black Box is a small space encosed on all four sides. Seats usually fill two or three sides, with the performance taking place in the middle and/or against a wall. NWC’s Black Box seats about 100 people, making it a smaller, more intimate audience. Maranatha tends to host the bigger performances, like the Fall and Spring Productions. The Black Box is for smaller productions, like the Christmastime Bathrobe Dramas or the One Acts.

I wondered what kind of difficulties or struggles theatre can have. Kurt said that the idea of casting can be difficult…accepting a role that you got that maybe you didn’t want, or maybe not getting cast at all. Actors and actresses have to be able to accept whatever roles they get.

Kurt gave me some incite into the Northwestern Theatre professors as well. Or should I say professor. Though we have a number of men and women who help out with the department – directing or teaching – the only real professor right now is Don “Doc” Rainbow. Doc’s like the grandpa everyone wishes they had – just a character. Kurt describes him as “very knowledgable. A wonderful director.” Doc knows what he wants out of people and works to get the most of them. It may take some work, may stretch the actor, but Doc Rainbow knows how to help his students perform their very best. Concerning his classes – they’re “always fun, interactive, and experiential.”

I asked Kurt what he hopes to do with Theater in the future. His obvious answer – performing professionally in musical or straight plays. Everyone’s dream is to perform in Broadway, and rightly so. But Kurt says he’ll be happy performing anywhere, so long as he’s working with quality actors and actresses and producing quality performances. His goal is to be a ministry to other thesbians. (Yes – I just used that again. Probably not the best word for the situation, but I really wanted to use it again. ) He wants to take the talents and abilities God has given him and use them to help create something that reflects His glory and His creation in a way that’s meaningful to the audience.

Lastly, I asked Kurt why a high schooler might want to study theatre at Northwestern. His response – “It’s a wonderful environment for learning theatrical arts in a way that glorify God. NWC provides a strong foundation for going out into the secular world of theatre. In addition, Northwestern simply provides quality entertainment for Christians.”

Well, my knowledge of Theatre has certainly improved since first I started this blog. I hope you know more about it too! If you want more information about Northwestern’s Theatre department, my advice would be – come out and see a performance! No better way to learn about theatre than seeing it!

Check in again next week to learn more about Northwestern’s Studio Art!

Week at a Glance

Well, Northwestern’s production of The Crucible may be done and over with, but the theatre season is far from done! Tonight is auditions for the 3rd annual Bathrobe Dramas. Four original shows are directed by student directors Sarah Howell, Kristi Meyers, Seth Conover, and Andy Johnston.  A fifth production will be led be Jeremiah Gamble. Men and women are needed for roles large and small. Theatre experience is not required; neither is audition preparation. Auditions are at 7:00 pm for those with a last name beginning with A-M; for N-Z, at 8:30. Head on over to Maranatha and try out for a drama! And bring your bathrobe!

Tuesday night is perhaps one of the year’s most anticipated events. Every year, the 8 girls halls known collectively as Hartill face off with a dance/song choreography in an event called Nostalgia Night. Audience members can vote a dollar towards their favorite hall’s choreography. In the end, the winning hall gets bragging rights for the next year, and each hall gives its money towards a cause. This year, the cause of choice is shoes towards deprived children in other countries. $10 will buy a new pair of shoes for some underpriviledged child. Last year, choreography ranged from the Oompa Loompa dance to the “Evolution of Music” to Annie’s “Hard Knock Life” to Mulan’s “I’ll make a Man Out of You.” Last year’s winning hall was Selah One with the Mulan rendition. It was pretty impressive, if I say so myself. See the attached link to watch that performance. The entire campus looks forward to what the halls will bring this year. [http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=95539305371&subj=541288436]

Thursday night is another annual event – Row Around the World. Each hall in the three buildings that make up The Row – SouthEast, Snelling, and Antioch – pick a country to represent. They decorate the halls according to that country and even make food native to that country.  Students get to visit the halls, learning more about the countries and even trying the food. It’s a cultural experience, to say the least! Come visit The Row beginning at 7:00 pm Thursday night!

 Well, that about wraps things up. Also worth noting is Oasis on Wednesday night at 9:00. Just as a reminder – Oasis is NWC’s bi-weekly praise and worship service held in Naz Chapel. It’s a great opportunity for additional spiritual growth and refreshing. Next week begins Operation Christmas Child. Get your gift boxes ready and bring them to the Mel Johnson Media Center!

“Replay” on Replay, is Christian Music?

The song “Replay” has truly taken our culture by storm! The song by Iyaz…or is it Sean Kingston…both?…is constantly blaring from car speakers, stereos, and ipods alike. But what is it about the song that seems to have the song literally replaying? I have to admit, I like it myself. A lot. It’s a catchy tune, to be sure. But I’ve asked around to see just what it is that’s got everyone replaying the song, and this is what I’ve discovered. For guys, a song is all about the beat. We like anything that gets the head banging, particularly anything with good bass. For girls, it’s all about the lyrics. They like songs that tell a story or are full of emotions or feelings. Iyaz, or Kingston, or whoever sings the song, seems to have ingeniously accomplished both. Guys and girls alike love the song. Not everyone, of course…there are those who just don’t like hip-hop or rap or whatever, which is totally fine. But our culture seems to be growing more and more into the hip-hop genre. Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say,” Jay Sean’s “Down,” even Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” (we won’t go there ) are all top faves.

Now, my purpose here is not to analyze or criticize these songs or wonder why we Christians spend so much time listening to them. Rather, as a Radio Broadcasting major myself, I can’t help but wonder where revolutionary music like this is taking our culture. I work with WVOE 97.7, Northwestern’s College radio station. It’s an incredible station, run in a professional manner by us – the college students. We play a whole variety of Christian music – from hip-hop to electronica to rock - and our shows include everything from Talk to Sports to Politics to all-out Music. We’ve got a pretty varied station to boast of. However, compare us to KTIS (Minnesota’s big Christian radio station) or maybe K-LOVE (the national Christian station). From my experience, larger stations as these don’t seem as varied. It’s not that WVOE doesn’t have a set format or personality, but I sense that the larger stations – granted, because they have a larger listenership – have a more restrictive style to them. I feel that on a day to day basis, these larger stations are on “replay” themselves.  I’m not referring to the song here; rather, I mean that the stations play the same thing over and over. Sure, that’s not literally the case – they certainly switch music up. But they only seem to play music by the same bands or artists, or songs by those same bands or artists. And the “style” that I mentioned certainly isn’t the hip-hop flavor that our culture is into now. In light of this, I can see why the music I originally opened with would be so attractive. I fear that our culture is going to fall farther and farther away from Christian music. The simple reason is that the Christian stations aren’t adapting to our culture. The fact is, the Christian music industry is keeping up with the “secular” industry. We’ve got artists producing incredible albums with great beats and powerful messages. Their music just doesn’t get the air-time it deserves. So what I’d like to do is give a plug for those artists. A lot of the music I’m about to mention is stuff we actually play at WVOE, so if you find yourself tiring of the Christin station “replay,” check us out. Some music to give Derulo, Jay Sean, and Cyrus a run for their money:

TobyMac came out recently with a new cd titled “City on Our Knees.” The song for which the cd is named has a powerful message of hope, love, and unity and a beat that’s hard not to like.  http://www.tobymac.com/

KJ-52 also just released a wicked-sweet cd titled “Five Two Television.” KJ’s new theme is his own colorful tv station, and the “channels” are just as colorful. “End of My Rope” and “He Did That” have some exceptional KJ-52 beats that are easy to jam out to. http://www.kj52.com/home/home.html

Last but not least, how could I talk about Christian hip-hop without mentioning Lecrae?! Lecrae’s “Rebel” has rocked the Christian hip-hop industry. Songs like “Jesus Muzik” and “Don’t Waste Your Life” have heads banging within seconds. http://www.myspace.com/lecrae

If any of these albums or songs are new to you guys, definitely check them out! Christian music is alive and prospering, even Christian hip-hop/rap. Let’s turn our “Replays” off replay and start listening to something new.

Meet the Majors: Journalism

Keri Fickau is the face of Northwestern Journalism. Literally. Maybe not the face, but certainly one of many. Pick up any edition of The Column – NWC’s student newspaper, and you’re about guaranteed to see her picture by page two. Makes sense – she’s the Editor-in-Chief. Though this role focuses specifically on making sure the newspaper is in order – stories have been proof-read, the format takes advantage of all available space – Keri is also in charge of the Opinions section (which is on page 2) and teaching the Journalism workshop. She’s got a full plate, to say the least. I appreciated the time she took out to tell me more about the Journalism department.

Keri Fickau is a Senior Journalism major with a minor in Graphic Design. She says she first became interested in the field her senior year of high school. Even before that, she remembers she had a teacher  her sophomore year that she really enjoyed. Wanting to take more classes by this teacher, she took Advanced American Lit. Keri recalls it being a hard class, but definitely a good one. Wanting to take more, she joined the Journalism class and quickly fell in love with it. One of her favorite assignments in the class was when they were given a news story and had the class period to rewrite it a better way. Keri loved the whole idea of editing and writing something better.

I asked Keri what she’s involved with now and how she’s using Journalism. Like mentioned before, she’s Editor-in-Chief of The Column. Basically, she reads through the entire 20-page paper to make sure everything’s spelled correctly, placed correctly, looks right. She does a lot of Office Manager-type stuff, too – receiving/checking emails, making sure the paper is ready for press release every two weeks. She also writes her own 1800 word article every edition. She also teaches the Journalism workshop class. Amidst all this, Keri still manages to do some freelance work on the side – namely graphic design work for wedding invitations and t-shirts designs.

Upon graduation, Keri hopes to work as Production Manager for a publication company. In a position like this, she could really utilize her love of graphic design, editing, and overseeing. Concerning the graphic design aspect, Keri loves formatting a newspaper – putting the physical look together, placing stories, “making sure everything fits on the page, that no white space is left over.”

I asked Keri what some of the struggles or difficulties are inJournalism. She said it’s definitely an intense job – there’s always a deadline. Timeliness is a huge aspect to Journalism; if a paper’s not finished by the time of press release, there’s no story. As far as being a Christian and working in Journalism, perhaps one of the greatest difficulties is the matter of  morals. Morals are very likely to conflict if you are a Christian working for a non-Christian. Sometimes your boss may want to publish a story that you just don’t think is appropriate or necessary. Keri’s advice in a situation like that – you know who and what you’re working for when you go into a job. You can do the research, find out what this publisher’s stance is on various matters, and decide for yourself if it’s someone you’d want to work for or something you’d want to be a part of.

The reason that Communications is one of Northwestern’s strongest programs is probably the fact that the department is so small…relatively speaking. The Journalism department itself has only one professor – Doug Trouten. Trouten specializes in “religion writing, print journalism, mass media as social institutions, and media bias.” He spent some 20 years as a journalist before becoming a professor; his experience is invaluable. Keri describes him as “brilliant, smart,” and “witty.” “He cares more about the class learning than doing it right; he doesn’t expect perfection.” Instead, he reminds the students that they (The Column) are just a college newspaper and are expected to make mistakes. But he certainly encourages them to reach for perfection as much as possible. The Journalism classes involve lots of class discussion and writing.

When asked why a prospective student might be interested in Journalism, Keri says it’s definitely a job for a people-person: if you like interacting with people, telling people about other people or other things. On the production end, it’s fun to be creative. You get to format something (a newspaper) as you think it looks or works best. You can take something that looks mundane and turn it into something aesthetically appealing. The best part is feeling a tangible reward when you’ve finished your work (again, newspaper is a good example). Keri closes out be saying that once you’ve got the fundamentals down, it gets easier. It’s fun.

Check in next week to learn more about one of NWC’s most dramatic majors – Theatre!