Clarion 2000-02-16 Vol. 75 No. 09

              Wednesday, February 16, 2000
The Newspaper of Bethel College
Volume 75 • Number 9
TriBeta
honored
The Beta Beta Beta
Biological Society recently
announced that the Bethel
TriBeta chapter will receive
the national chapter award
for work done during the
1998-1999 school year.
With over 400 chapters
in the U.S. and Puerto Rico,
this recognition puts Bethel
in an elite class of scholars.
"What sets us apart
this year is the level of research activity that our students carried out, as well as
the excellence in presentations at various conventions
and symposia and also in students publishing their results," said Dr. Weldon Jones,
biology department chair.
Vehicle break-ins
reported at
Fountain Terrace
The windows of four
vehicles parked at Fountain
Terrace were smashed on
Friday, Feb. 4.
Nothing was reported
stolen from any of the vehicles.
The vandalism was reported to Bethel Security,
who in turn notified the local authorities.
"We take as many
measures as we can to minimize risks and to look out for
people's safety," said Derrick
Skoglund, director of security and safety.
There is a security
guard on duty for five hours
of the night at Fountain Terrace, and escorts are always
available from Bethel Security.
BSA elections
approaching
For a preview of the
student body president campaigns of juniors Krista
Kosmoski and Steve
Peterson seepage 3.
Faculty resolution
presented to trustees
By Christina Rankins
Managing Editor
At the recent Board of
Trustees meeting, Jan. 27 and 28,
board members received a statement of resolution from the
Bethel faculty.
The resolution expressed
the faculty's concern surrounding
issues raised by the letter to pastors of the Baptist General Conference (BGC) from presidents
Brushaber and Ricker. The letter,
of Sept. 30, 1999, stated that
"Bethel will not hire, either at the
college or the seminary, other faculty members who hold the openness theology view." This statement raised concerns about academic freedom. The resolution
was written as a response from the
faculty as a whole.
"One of the things about the
resolution is that il is not the result of one person's effort," said
Tom Johnson, faculty moderator
and associate professor of business and economics. "We were
literally completing each other's
sentences."
President Brushaber said
that he "couldn't have asked the
faculty to write a better statement
about what is important here in
terms of failh and learning."
"If you read the document
from the faculty," Brushaber said,
"there were very strong expressions of their deep commitment
to Christ, to scripture and to a
Christian worldview."
After review and discussion, the trustees voted to receive
the faculty resolution, which
means the resolution will go on
record.
"The committee responded
with thoughtfulness and insight,"
said Provost Jay Barnes. "They
tried to make sure they were understanding the message that the
faculty members were conveying."
Regarding the acceptance
of the statement. Barnes said,
"What we don't want here is some
type of a split between the faculty
and the administration, and between the faculty and the president especially."
continued on page 2
Chin Chin Lin plays the Chinese pipa as part of the Asian New
Year celebration at Bethel Seminary. Hosted by Asian Christian
Fellowship, this event also included a traditional Filipino dance
and the performance of a local youth group band.
Bethel Community Council takes action
By Julia Taylor
StaffWriter
"There hasn't been a
multicultural group for al least a
year," said junior Petra Wonders,
the student leader of the new
United Cultures of Bethel.
Students, staff and faculty
have been meeting since last
spring to discuss how to make
Belhel a more ethnically diverse
place, commitcd to racial reconciliation. With the arrival of
Donna Johnson, Dean of Diversity and Community, to harness
the energy of the Bethel community, along with the support and
funding of the president, anew organization has emerged—the
Bethel Community Council
(BCC).
"I am optimistic, because
this group started grassroots, with
us, and has been given a budget.
That is what is key," said Johnson.
"We have the support of the presi
dent who also feels very strongly
about this."
The BCC is a loosely-defined council comprised of the
following eight commiltces: cultural events, admissions recruitment and retention, United Cultures of Bethel, chapels, films and
forums, racial reconciliation
lunch groups, grants and research,
student leadership development
and curriculum development. All
groups welcome students, faculty
and staff to be a part of changing
Bethel. "The Bethel Community
Council is definitely a welcoming place for people in the Bethel
community who are really committed to diversity, not where we
just meet and talk, but take action," said Robbie Ford, head of
the admissions recruitment and
retention committee.
That action has taken on
several different forms. One is the
diverse lunch groups of six or
seven that meet weekly. Marita
Meinerts, head of the cultural
events committee, said of her
lunch group, "It has been wonderful. It is a safe environment to
pose questions you might not normally ask about issues of racism
and ignorance. ... Christ is our
unifier, and that is why it is such
a safe environment. We know we
have that common thread."
Meinerts' vision as an
events coordinator is for Bethel to
build relationships with people of
color in the Christian community.
not just sponsor events. "I want
to know from them what they
would like to see at Bethel."
Meinerts' goal will begin wilh the
upcoming Black History Month
celebration organized by leaders
of local African American
churches.
Wonders echoed Meinerts'
passion for building relationships
and insisted that United Cultures
of Bethel is "not just for
multicultural students. It is important to have diversity and know
about diversity, because as Chris
tians there are so many people in
the body of Christ. Some of Ihem
are overseas and some of them are
with us." Wonders' background is
mostly rural, and she worries that
rural and suburban students may
feel excluded from multicultural
groups. "We arc not looking to
say that being from a rural area, a
suburb or a city is bad. They are
all good. All of those perspectives
arc valuable because your context
defines how you look at things."
Although the BCC has been
meeting for several months, it is
just now beginning to assert a
presence on campus with upcoming events like One Voice Week
and Black History Month celebrations. They are optimistic that
change can take place and hope
that more students, staff and faculty join. Meinerts added, "I definitely need people on my committee. We really want student participation. It doesn't have to be a
huge time commitment and it is a
great place to leam."