All the trouble of signing up for assigned seats, struggling to find enough seats near your friends and committing to sitting next to strangers for the entire year is no longer an issue. This semester Bryan has joined the 21st century and moved to using electronic scanners to keep track of chapel attendance.

Not only is it easier to keep track of attendance, but it will give students the opportunity to sit where they want and not be bound to one seat, said Bruce Morgan, dean of community life at Bryan College.

Sophomore Harry Sherwood scanning his card before entering chapel.

Last week, the scanners had their big debut as students adjusted to the new system.

“I like it because you can sit next to different people [each day],” said sophomore Kate Offutt.

However it has been more congested when getting into chapel because people are red-zoning while looking for seats, said Offutt.

Currently, four scanners are in use at the inner doors of Rudd Auditorium. The College has purchased two additional scanners, but they are not operational yet. Morgan expects them to be ready sometime in the coming weeks.

Attendance, late and absent policy

Unlike the old attendance system, students will not have extra time to get to their assigned seats while the RA’s are still marking attendance.

According to Morgan, at 11:01 a.m. any student who has not scanned his ID will be considered late and at 11:10 a.m. the student will be marked “absent.”

Currently, there is no system in place to ensure that students are not just scanning their cards and then leaving.

“We are really trusting our students,” said Morgan. “We may have to change the system or even have people scan out when they leave if it becomes a problem.”

Working through the kinks

Bryan is still working through a few kinks of the new system including lines as students decide where to sit, student’s cards that are not scanning and incorrect absents on e-student.

If students take a long time deciding where they are going to sit, it could hold up others who need to scan their IDs, said Morgan.

The easiest way to help minimize lines is for students to scan in at the door nearest to where they are going to sit, said junior RA Carlin Nasiatka.

According to Morgan, they are still trying to figure why some of student’s cards that are not scanning. It is possible that the scanner will not read older ID cards.

If students are required to get a new ID card in order to scan in at chapel, there will not be a charge.

The biggest problem affecting students is their e-student account showing that they were absent for chapel when they were really present.

After attendance is taken, the data from the scanners must be downloaded to a computer in order for students to be recorded as “present.” The data is supposed to be downloaded from the scanners around 5 p.m. each day after chapel, but the data from last week has not been added yet, according to Morgan.

In the future, Morgan would like to see the data downloaded earlier than 5 p.m. to avoid more problems.

In spite of the minor problems, RAs and students are both seeing the benefits to the electronic system.

“They are really easy to use, and I think that most RAs like them,” said Nasiatka.

The new scanning system has tended to create more congestion upon entering chapel.

Covering the walls of the Admissions Office are hundreds of colored papers. Each paper has a cartoon figure and each figure represents a real person. It’s a way for the office to visually see the number of students who are enrolled, plus the number of new enrollments, according to Mike Sapienza, vice president for enrollment management.

The green papers represent new enrollments. The goal for next fall’s enrollment is 300 new students, and currently Bryan is “on target,” Sapienza said Tuesday.

While 300 new students wouldn’t normally disrupt residential life, next fall tells a different story. Not only is Bryan planning on having a large incoming class, but also retention is higher than expected, which accounts for changes in the dorms.

The biggest change is for Huston women’s dorm, which will host three students to a room on all four floors. Originally only fourth floor was to be tripled, along with second and fourth in the men’s Long dorm, but a day before room signups an email was sent out postponing signups and announcing the change.

According to Tim Shetter, current RD of Woodlee-Ewing and next fall’s assistant dean of community life, Bryan knows about retention based on notice of intent forms.

“This information was received the day before room signups. So as we crunched the numbers of returning students and new students, we realized the need for more beds and we knew we needed to give students time to make new housing arrangements,” Shetter said.

Many female students who were planning on staying in Huston decided to make their new housing arrangements in Robinson and Arnold.

“I really wanted to stay with my RA and hall in Huston,” said junior Andrea Milligan.

What Milligan didn’t want was dealing with the noise, crowded laundry rooms and showers that would inevitably accompany tripled halls.

While many upperclassmen decided to exodus their beloved dorm, others decided to stay. Last night, after two weeks of postponements, students signed up for rooms.

Twenty-three girls decided to stay in Huston, a bit more than expected, according to Karie Harpest, RD of Huston.

“I’m very encouraged,” she said.

Dean of Students Bruce Morgan said he views upperclassmen living in Huston as “an opportunity for positive influence and mentoring.”

Another benefit includes “class unity” according to Morgan.

Freshman Jessalyn Huffman said she has enjoyed her triple room experience this year.

“A three-person room is more challenging, but you learn to be more gracious and patient,” she said.

Disadvantages of triple rooms include potential for more roommate tension, less privacy and just not enough space or laundry facilities.

Morgan said the school is planning on buying more washers and dyers for Huston to ease the laundry issue.

The ideal situation, Morgan said, would to eliminate triple rooms, but right now that isn’t an option.

However, according to Sapienza, Bryan may not need all rooms in Huston to be triple, but they do need that flexibility. Many students decide not to return during the summer, so it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact number of students returning in the fall.

Sapienza said that a few days ago fewer than 30 students said they weren’t returning. While high retention is good, it was “more than anticipated.”

Some students think the college should have anticipated the need for more space, especially for females, since the college is bringing in two new women’s teams in the fall: softball and cheerleading.

“I feel like they should have built a new dorm instead of new apartments,” said junior Danae Gillespie.

According to Sapienza, while having a whole dorm with triple rooms sounds like a huge number, it is actually only 13 more students per hall.

In addition to triple rooms, RA’s across campus, who previously had their own rooms, now have roommates to eliminate the need for even more triple rooms.

Addressing the issue of building a new dorm, Sapienza said Bryan doesn’t have enough students to fill an entire dorm, although two new dorms are in the master plan.

Right now Bryan is focusing on the second phase of the townhouses, which includes two more townhouses, providing 72 more beds.

“I would love to do this next year,” Sapienza said.

The problem lies in the $1.6 million needed to build the dorms, which Bryan currently doesn’t have.

Even lowering the requirements to live off campus may not be a solution, according to Sapienza.

“Resident community is a unique experience…many students want to stay on campus,” he said.

Basically in response to residential living, Sapienza said, “there are no magic formulas.”

Savannah Stroud

Bryan sophomore Savannah Stroud is in stable condition today in the Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after fainting and going into cardiac arrest Wednesday night. Since then, dozens of prayers and well wishes have covered her Facebook wall as friends, family and fellow Bryan students pray for her continued recovery.
On Wednesday evening, Stroud was working with high school students at Young Life in Sweetwater, Tenn.  According to Savannah’s hallmate, sophomore Sarah Becker, Savannah was setting up a game for the students when she fainted and hit her head.
Savannah’s heart stopped beating for approximately 15 minutes while two Young Life high school students performed CPR on her, according to Resident Director Kristina Anderson. The students had just recently completed a CPR training course.
When emergency personnel arrived, they resuscitated her using a defibrillator.
Savannah was taken by ambulance to Sweetwater Hospital where she was sedated before being flown by LifeFlight medical helicopter to UT Medical Center, said Anderson.
Doctors are currently determining the cause of Savannah’s heart problem.
Savannah’s RD, RA, roommate and three other Bryan girls joined Young Life students and staff who had gathered at the hospital to pray as they waited for news about Savannah, according to Becker.
Beginning Thursday morning, Savannah was gradually taken out of sedation. She was able to squeeze her mother’s hand around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Anderson said.
Later in the afternoon, she regained consciousness and could talk in whole sentences, according to Becker.
The Strouds say they are very thankful for the love, prayer and support that they have received. However, because of the stress on the family and hospital, the Strouds request that prayers be offered from home and school rather than at the hospital, so that Savannah may rest during her recovery and the family can spend time together.
The Stroud family will provide updates regarding Savannah’s health on the Facebook page “Updates for Savannah Stroud.”

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In its second official year, the Broad Street Film Festival held a three-evening event last weekend, April 22-24. Unlike last year, however, the festival was not run by Bryan College.

The Broad Street Film Festival is a nonprofit organization under the umbrella of The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. According to a Broad Street Festival news release, the organization’s goal is to “enhance the film culture of Chattanooga by hosting a film festival that provides community exposure for collegiate filmmaking talent as well as educational and networking opportunities for the next generation of filmmakers in the Chattanooga region.”

The events included a screenings of festival films at the Carmike Majestic  12 last Thursday night, which was attended by over 400 people, an informal evening with Director Scott Teems on Friday for the filmmakers and the formal awards ceremony on Saturday evening at the Tivoli Theatre, which was attended by 600 people.

“By far, at least for me, I thought the best part of the festival was having Scott Teems come in to talk about his film. He was able to show his award-winning film “That Evening Sun” and then discuss what it means to be ‘a filmmaker with Christian concerns’–not merely a Christian filmmaker,” said senior Philip Johnston.

‘That Evening Sun’ is a very dark film, but it is not without what Flannery O’Connor would call the ‘almost imperceptible intrusion of grace,’” Johnston continued.

For those who were not filmmakers, however, the awards event at the Tivoli was the main event.

“It’s my favorite Bryan College event, by far,” said junior Kara Nissley in a conversation about last weekend’s awards ceremony.

The night of the awards ceremony began in a grand style, fitting to the million-dollar theater’s grand, Beaux Arts-style architecture. Ticket-holders, dressed in their formal attire, mingled in the lobby of the Tivoli Theatre, amidst the ambiance created both by the theater’s splendor and by the live jazz band from Covenant College.

The awards ceremony itself was emceed by WTCI’s Alison Lebovitz and featured musical talent from Covenant College and Bryan College, including Johnny Cake Mouth and Crew, the Tough Customers, Suite C and a final performance by the Little Foxes.

When asked how he felt the three-fold event went as a whole, Johnston, who instrumental in helping with the Broad Street Film Festival, said that he was encouraged by this year’s films.

“With any film festival you’re at the mercy of the films that are submitted and filmmakers present at the festival,” Johnston said, “and this year the selections were give-and-take, but all in all it was a much more positive collection of films than in previous years. The festival team was really encouraged by the quality of most of the entries.”

The Aztecs and the Goths marched onto the practice fields prepared to slaughter their enemies by breaking eggs with their handmade cardboard weapons. They are returning for a rematch this afternoon at 5 p.m.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Barbarian Wars, an event from last year, pitted the upperclassmen against the underclassmen in all out warfare with no real objective except to “kill” as many on the enemy side as possible. Each person had three eggs attached to himself, and if all eggs were smashed, then they were dead. Whichever team had the most people left standing at the end of the battle, kept their pride and won bragging rights.

“It is the biggest adrenaline rush that the school has ever sponsored,” junior Justus Stout said. Senior Evan Johnson asked Stout to give the rally speech for the underclassmen, and, according to Stout, it was “very exciting and empowering.”

The event created a chance for the under and upperclassmen to band together in an aggressive way. Stout said that it was a lot of fun last year, and he can’t imagine a way that it would be more fun.

Changes to Barbarian Wars

Last year’s battle lasted about 15 minutes, according to Vice President of Off Campus Events, junior Elijah Ammen, and had no strategy or strict rules. Basic rules did apply such as not hitting people in the face with weapons that were made with cardboard before the event.

“While that (killing everyone) is enjoyable, we decided to put some more structure in there and add other elements such as strategy and objectives other than just smashing people’s eggs,” Ammen said.

This year’s event will incorporate some strategic elements by having mini-scenarios within the overall battle, according to Ammen. These scenarios will include “Protect the President,” “King of the Hill” and “Capture the Flag.”

Obstacles will be added to the field to make it more complicated, he said, but they are still deciding what these obstacles will be.

“We are overhauling the whole system without losing the spirit,” Ammen said. “We want to keep the appeal but change the dynamics.”

Other changes to the event include the division of the teams. According to Vice President of On Campus Events, senior Olivia Pool, there will be four teams divided by classes instead of upperclassmen against underclassmen. The idea of having a faculty team was thrown out because they were uncertain if they could get enough participants.

Even though the event has few rules, the requirements for what weapons can be constructed will be at the discretion of Events Council. Last year, according to Pool, there were some flails that were made, which could have injured participants and will not be allowed this year.

“There were no real injuries, and we thank our lucky stars,” she said. “But we are trying to prevent what could have happened last year.”

Barbarian Wars is intentionally at the end of the year when students have a lot of work they are trying to finish, according to Pool. It only lasts an hour and is “a stress reliever.”

“Most people could use an excuse to hit someone,” Pool said while laughing.

There are no sign ups for the event. People are encouraged to come, make their weapons and support their class. The incentive for winning, according to Pool, is that the class participants receive a T-shirt that says in blood-spattered text, “I am a Barbarian.”

“I would encourage everyone to participate, because the more the merrier. Actually, the more the bloodier,” Stout said. “It’s one of those opportunities to go crazy.”

“Barbarian Wars 2.0”, as coined by Ammen, is hosted by Events Council and will be held today in the Grassy Bowl, 5-6 p.m.

'READ' posters featured People Book authors. Triangle photo by Allison McLean.

by Allison McLean
Editor-in-chief

One of the events that the Bryan College Library held last week in honor of National Library Week was their People Books daily event. People Books is a program to help students get to know the faculty and staff at Bryan College. Bryan College Library patrons may ask the People Book authors about the books that these authors created, which feature something significant about themselves. This video features Jody Cheon, one of the People Book authors, who presents her book entitled, ‘Daughter of a Traveling Yo-yo Man.’

Click here to view the embedded video.

Triangle photo by Staff Photographer Maddie K. Doucet.

By John Moore
Staff Writer

“What is the value of the liberal arts major at Bryan College?” some have asked. At its inception 17 years ago, Bill Brown, former president of Bryan, found the answer he and a few others had been looking for.

In the fall of 2010, the liberal arts program at Bryan will once more take a leap forward as the options within the program are refined and expanded. Along with offering four distinct tracts, Raymond Legg, head of the English Department, will become the new liberal arts advisor.

Currently, the 18 students majoring in liberal arts are under the advisory of Travis Ricketts, associate professor of history. With the retirement of two professors in the History Department, Bradford Sample, academic vice president, said it seemed necessary to find a new advisor for the liberal arts program, which will allow Ricketts to move fully into the history department. Because of his love for the liberal arts, Legg voluntarily came to Sample offering to take on the advisory role.

“I thought I might have something to offer here,” said Legg. Of his interest in liberal arts in general Legg said, “You could call it adult ADHD—I’m fascinated by learning and wanting to learn different things.”

With his love of learning and diverse knowledge, Legg hopes to be helpful to students who have a similarly broad desire to learn.

While many have jested that the liberal arts major is for students who cannot decide which major to choose, this is not always so. “Often students choose a liberal arts degree over one in a specific field because of a wide range of interests,” explained Legg.

The liberal arts major is also often shunned because it seems too broad and unspecified. The question was always asked, ‘Well what can I do with this major?’ The answer is, “you can do almost anything,’” said Ken Froemke, accreditation liaison and former liberal arts advisor.

“No liberal arts graduates have ever said they have been unable to find a career field or a graduate program to get into,” said Froemke.

Senior liberal arts and communications major, Tori Stewart, notes the strength of the liberal arts major not only allows great flexibility in choosing classes specific to one’s natural interests, but potentially helps students see the connections between the different fields of study in a general liberal arts education.

“You get to see ideas play out in history,” Stewart said, referring to her philosophy and history classes.

Under the current liberal arts program at Bryan, students have the option to study the humanities or the sciences. However, in the fall, the program will change to provide four tracks for students to choose from: arts and humanities, behavioral and social science, natural and mathematical science and classical studies.

Sample explained, “[the program] is intended to help students pursue their interests in a way that is flexible but has standards.”

Over the last few years, liberal arts majors have found themselves in the hands of many different advisors. Some students have had a different advisor every year of their education at Bryan, according to Stewart.

Under Ricketts, the program once more began to reach stability; Legg hopes to continue that needed stability and provide room for the changes in the program to flourish.

“Once stability is found, you can have a chance to grow and entertain new ideas,” said Legg.

As the liberal arts program at Bryan is refined and stabilized, it may bear consideration for many students desiring a broad degree with a depth of knowledge. For students looking to further their understanding of ideas, clarity of thought and ability to communicate well, liberal arts may be the major for you.

Does it surprise you that the namesake of Bryan College, William Jennings Bryan, was a three-time Democratic Party presidential candidate? That would seem a little far-fetched for a college that’s been aligned more closely with the Republican Party for years. Well, if you’re a Bryan student and you’re not a conservative Republican, your time has come.

Last Thursday morning, the first meeting for two new political groups on campus was held in Associate Professor of Political Science Ron Petitte’s, Strategy and Politics class. These two groups represent the Democratic Party and the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL).

“I organized this because I think it is good for Bryan,” said Petite. “We need healthy debate. Also, because Bryan accepts significant amounts of federal aid for its students, we, as a college, have to be nonpartisan or we run the risk of losing [that support].”

Kevin Clauson, professor of government and director of the WJB Center for Law, is the faculty advisor for the Young Americans for Liberty group. He also emphasized the importance of these new groups.

“It is important for each group (or as many as possible) to have a “party” for at least two reasons, one philosophical and one practical: (1) to give as many students as possible a voice and a home in the political sphere of life, and (2) to ensure that the tax-exempt status of Bryan College is above reproach,” Clauson said.

For the past three years there has been a desire for more political parties to be represented on campus but just not enough student interest, according to Michael Palmer, associate professor of communication studies and faculty advisor for the College Republicans.

“Now, it seems to be, the interest is there, and the numbers are there,” he said. “These are intended to be student-driven efforts.”

These student-driven groups are twofold in function: to foster political activism and to help politically-minded students to be more informed.

Clauson gave examples of the political activism that the YAL group hopes to cultivate.

“YAL will eventually host some debates, invite candidates to speak or possibly debate, invite individuals⎯not necessarily candidates, but current or former officeholders or candidates⎯to speak and, more specifically for YAL, promote ideas of Constitutional liberty among members⎯students who wish to participate⎯and others,” he said.

Palmer said his hope for these groups is that they would be informative for the student body.

“There are a decent variety of voices on campus, and if people come here and it’s a place which promotes good discourse⎯where you can learn to differ and argue well without being mean spirited and that you can tolerate differences and listen to other voices⎯you can grow in your own position. But it doesn’t happen well if you just go to one voice and sameness is all you’ve got.” he said.

Bill Ketchersid, professor of history and the College Democrats faculty advisor, agreed with Palmer.

“Both views should be represented to cause students to think more thoroughly about domestic and foreign policy. A strong Democrat student party could cause more political divisions, but I believe that would promote more sound thinking,” he said.

With these new groups, “people will have a place and a voice to refine their thinking—iron sharpens iron—the chaffing is good and if it’s good for the democratic nature of the country, it is also good for the  college.” said Palmer.

So, in addition to the College Republican emails that you receive, look for future plans of the College Democrats and Young Americans for Liberty groups in your inbox.

If you wish to join a group contact Keith Bauer for College Democrats, Daniel Grayton for Young Americans for Liberty or Josh Davis and Bethany Diamond for College Republicans.

Triangle photo by Staff Photographer Maddie K. Doucet

by Britney Weber
Senior Staff Writer

My boyfriend broke up with me 2 years ago for a skinnier girl. I’ve struggled with anorexia ever since.

-Anonymous Post Secret from Frank Warren’s website postsecretarchive.com.

It started out last semester as a project for their Social Psychology class. Students were asked to created a slide show containing secrets from Frank Warren’s PostSecret website.

According to Warren’s website, PostSecret.com is a web-based “gallery of postcard-sized images posted anonymously to unveil a secret.” In other words, as Warren says on his site, these postcards are “shared confessions in art form.”

Sometimes I wonder if I have a mental illness. I don’t want to tell anyone because I’m scared my fears will be confirmed. So I don’t tell people what is going on in my head and just pretend to be as normal as I possibly can.

Now, seniors John Wang and Erica Smith and juniors Lauren Pratt and Rachel Hewitt have decided to take last semester’s project even further with their Research and Design project: Masked No More.

I often wonder if life is easier for other people, or if they are just better at faking it.

Smith said that they wanted to do a project that was similar to Frank Warren’s PostSecret website to get students talking about the secrets they hold.

“Sharing your masks is the first step in the healing process,” said Smith. “Masked No More is just getting people to think about if they even have masks they are hiding behind.”

I don’t feel beautiful anymore, because you stopped saying it.

Masked No More was designed to facilitate discussion among peers and to promote authenticity amidst the student body.

“We want students to see that they aren’t the only ones struggling with different issues. And it’s so much less intimidating sharing secrets anonymously,” said Smith.

I secretly wish to get an eating disorder so I can go out in public and not wonder why everyone is staring at me.

On Monday, April 19th at 4:45 p.m. in the Spoede Lounge, students and faculty are holding a prayer vigil to pray over the campus, asking God for healing and strength.

In James 5:13-18, James writes of the power of confessing your sins to each other and praying over one another’s struggles: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16)

Masked No More is being held April 4-14. Cards can be dropped off by the mailroom or in the bookstore. Extra cards can be found next to the drop-off boxes.

I always post deep sayings on facebook with hopes that you’ll like or comment them.

Cards will be displayed on posters in Spoede Lounge April 14-21 in an effort to encourage students by showing them they are not alone in their struggles.

“We want students to be creative with the cards and have fun with it since it will be a display,” said Smith.

I exercise to the point of collapse because I’m too scared to cut myself.

What’s my secret?

I adopt parts of other people’s personalities because I fear no one will like mine.

Reveal your mask. You might be surprised at the result.

The group’s project from last semester, a poignant music video, may be viewed here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Italicized anonymous secrets taken from Frank Warren’s PostSecret website, postsecretarchive.com.