Liberty University’s School of Education students gathered to sponsor the young authors awards service.

“Each school that is part of our large region will have district judging through their school system, and these winners are then sent to the regional judges.” Annyce Maddox, president of the event said. “On April 12 judges came from the surrounding school systems (Liberty) to judge the submitted wirings from K-12.”

According to Maddox, this is Liberty’s second year hosting the event.

Students, parents, teachers and administrators gathered to see the certificates and medals given for first, second and third place in all the many categories.

There were awards for essay, poetry, dictated poetry, dictated short fiction, and fiction for each grade.

The students who received the awards represented the areas of Lynchburg, Pittsylvania, Amherst, Campbell County and Appomattox.

Donna Dunn, president of WordSong.Inc., was the guest speaker for the event.

According to the program for the event, Dunn has many years of experience in the field of writing.

Students from any region in the Piedmont Area Reading Council can participate in this program each year through their school division.

According to Maddox, the organization only has one ultimate goal for this event:

“To give schools the opportunity to encourage students to write.”

A cupcake celebration followed the ceremony where the young authors were able to enjoy each others company and celebrate the success of the night.

The Liberty University Debate Team celebrated the culmination of a successful season at an awards banquet in the DeMoss Hall Grand Lobby, Saturday, April 27.

Winner — Andrew Landrun was awarded Most Outstanding Debater. Photo credit: Emily Becker

The annual banquet was established to recognize members of the debate team and honor key contributors with various awards.

Following dinner and dessert, Liberty University Debate Team Director Michael Hall introduced the crowd to the awards portion of the evening. Hall started as a member of the debate team in 1988 and came back as a coach in 1998. He has been the director since 2006.

“We won our first national championship in 1995, and then, since that time we’ve reached a new level of success,” Hall said. “We’ve gone from a nationally competitive debate team to one of the top two or three debate teams in the country.”

The Alumni Award, given to a Liberty debater who has gone on to impact the world for Christ in his or her given field, was given to Mary Elmer. Elmer graduated from Liberty in 2003 and spent the last nine years of her life as a missionary in Tanzania.

Kaitlyn Schiess was awarded Most Outstanding Novice Debater. Schiess’ freshman year at Liberty was also her first experience with debating.

Wesley Walker was awarded Most Outstanding JV Debater for his efforts as a member of the JV team.

Ana Calizo had debate experience prior to her time at Liberty, but this was her first year on the team. She received the award for Most Outstanding First Year Debater.

Following two years on the Liberty debate team, Alan Apthorp was recognized as the Most Improved Debater.

In the spirit of competition and emotional and relational leadership, Meagan Edwards was given the Team Spirit Award.

The Most Outstanding Debater Award is voted on by the coaching staff, rather than teammates, and seeks to recognize the debater that has meant the most to the team in every aspect, according to Hall. This year, Andrew Landrum, the debate team captain, received the accolade.

“If I had to talk about what I learned at Liberty, most of the things I learned and most of the growing experiences I had were outside of the classroom and inside of the debate room,” Landrum said.
Landrum and his debate partner Aaron Siegrest each received the Director’s Award for debating as members of the team for four years, an accomplishment Hall says is rare.

“Debate has kind of defined my time in college,” Siegrest said. “My closest friends are on the team … Overall, it’s been, by far, the most incredible experience of my life.”
Hall spoke highly of the two men, who debated together for the entirety of their four years on the team.

“There was a level of adversity that this team faced, especially early in the year, that’s unlike any team we’ve had in the last four or five years, and so there was a unique challenge associated with that,” Hall said. “I think it says a lot about the character of the team that we were able to persevere through that.”

Remembrance — Six years after the deadly mass shooting, the country continues to quarrel over the answer to gun control. Photo credit: Creative Commons

There are certain moments in life where an event so monumental occurs that you know exactly where you were when it happened. For our generation, these were moments, such as Sept. 11, the death of Osama Bin Laden and now, sadly, the Boston bombing.

We passed over another one of those days April 16. That day marked six years since the shootings at Virginia Tech, where the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, armed himself with two handguns and littered the campus with gunfire. By the end of the day, 32 people were killed with 23 others injured.

Since that day, the debate about whether guns should be allowed on college campuses has run rampant across the country. On March 22, Liberty revised its own handbook to allow students with concealed-carry permits to take guns into academic buildings.

Some students are convinced this is a better way of doing things on college campus, but I am not a part of that group. It certainly may be a step in the right direction, but I feel that a better solution is out there.

First, I must address my hesitation about students carrying guns. The fact is that just because someone simply has to go through a modest amount of testing does not mean that they will handle their newfound privilege responsibly. Millions of teenagers go through driver’s education each year, and do not many of them drive irresponsibly? And just as with cars, guns get stolen. More guns on campus may equate to more opportunities for theft.

It is also assumed that a carrying student would be able to make a difference in a campus-shooting situation. Yet, when you consider how hard it is for police officers who are trained for these situations to hit their target — a study by the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence found that police officers only hit their target 20 percent of the time — you have to admit that a carrying student has only a small chance of making an impact.

Say you are that student holding a gun when police arrive. We would love to imagine that, just like in the movies, you could simply make eye contact with the police and they would automatically know that you are one of the good guys. This simply is not the case. The time it takes for a group of policeman to apprehend you takes away valuable time from their original mission.

So, before the gun-lovers on campus start throwing bullet casings at me, allow me to offer a different path. I am a gun-lover, and I would bet that I hunt more than most anyone else on campus. I want more guns on campus. I simply want them in the hands of trained professionals.

My apologies to the average Joe who is convinced he could take down a psychotic murderer, but give me more police officers roaming DeMoss. It is a common sense solution. When you want to control speeders on the highway, you add a few extra patrol cars.

This is not a panacea, and sadly, crimes such as the shootings at Virginia Tech will inevitably happen again. Still, we owe it to ourselves to learn from history and try our best to prevent another day where we remember exactly where we were.

Tess Curtis

The feeling I get as May 11 draws near is truly bittersweet. No longer will I walk these halls, get lost on the fourth floor of DeMoss or eat another bite at the Hangar.

No longer will I see that same group of people at the Rot—those people you see again and again throughout your four years at college but never manage to catch their names.

Well, it is too late to catch them now. I am leaving.

The experience I have had here at Liberty has been simply amazing — the friends I have made here, the professors who have supported and encouraged me in everything, have all contributed to the person I am today.

It is a little daunting, the idea of going out into the “real world.” I think I can manage it, though. If not, I always have the friends I made here to lean on if I ever need the support. Thank you for everything, Liberty.

Andrew Woolfolk

Oh the conundrum of summarizing all my memories of the past year and saying goodbye to my readers in 150 words or less.

The past year I have spent as the opinion editor at the Liberty Champion has been a marvelous privilege. I have been able to give my insight on a variety of topics, ranging from the shortcomings of politicians in Washington to the importance of appreciating our military to my thoughts on gun control. Every issue I have covered has helped to open my eyes a little wider to the ways of the world.

Though these discussions may not be as intriguing as the latest status update on Facebook, I beg all those reading this article to stay connected to the news. I take pride in the fact that journalists serve as a tool for history, recording the events that shape who we are and who we will become. When we cease to learn about each other, we cease to grow.

To everyone on the staff, I wish you all the best. Those on the Champion staff are not only my co-workers, but also my friends.
Good luck, let’s make history!

Tyler Eacho

Writing and editing for the Liberty Champion has been my most fulfilling academic venture at Liberty University. For me, college has been a journey filled with unknowns. My job at the Champion has been refreshing, because I was reassured that writing is one of my passions.

In my time at the Champion, I have grown as a journalist and, more importantly, as a person. After hours and hours spent together in the office, I believe that members of the staff have developed close-knit relationships, and I find myself proud to have been a part of this particular group of people.

One distinct phrase, from the brilliant mind of sports editor Kyle Harvey, resonates with me: “This is a newspaper. We all have issues.” He is right in saying that there were plenty of problems that sprouted up throughout the year. The great thing is that, together as a staff, we learned how to work through those problems to produce a newspaper that we could be proud to put on the shelves every week.

As I move forward, I will most certainly miss my time at the Champion, but I know I will carry the lessons that I learned there with me in my career.

Melanie Oelrich

Where do I begin? These last 12 months of my junior year have been a wild ride. It will be hard to compress my thoughts and feelings from this last year into 150 words, but I will try my best.

This time last year, I applied and was accepted onto The Liberty Champion staff as the news editor. The opportunities that have come my way, the hours upon hours spent in the office and crazy amounts of articles that I have written have not only shaped me personally, but also professionally.

I never thought I would be a good writer, but thanks to Deborah Huff and the supportive Champion staff, I have strengthened in skill and knowledge, among other characteristics, which I will be able to carry with me wherever the Lord takes me next.

My prayer for the new staff is 2 Thessalonians 3:5, which says, “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

Thanks to our readers, my family, friends, boyfriend and Liberty University for your endless support in shaping whom I am today.

Love you all!

Elliot Mosher

I’m not really good at goodbyes so
… “that’ll do pig,” “hasta la vista baby,” “stay sweet,” “Zed’s dead baby,” “here’s to looking at you kid,” “good night and good luck,” “fire up the roof,” “see you in another life brother,” “good night sweet prince,” “if I don’t see you, good afternoon good evening and good night,” and finally, as the Von Trapp children would say, “so long, farewell, it’s time to say goodbye, adieu, adieu to you and you and you, goodbyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee.”

Kyle Harvey

I have lots of people to thank for the last year serving as an editor for this publication. First of all, I’d like to thank Deborah Huff, whose expert guidance has been paramount to our success and continued growth as journalists.

I’d like to thank the editing team of Tess Curtis, Ashley McAlpin and Tabitha Cassidy for catching my mistakes and polishing my stories.

I’d like to thank Derrick Battle, my incredibly able assistant who the sports section would have been lost without on a weekly basis.

I’d like to thank all of our athletes — the stars of our pages. It has been a pleasure to witness and record all of your accomplishments from the last year.

I’d like to thank our readers. Without you, this whole operation is pointless. Thanks for turning to us for news and analysis of what matters to you most at school.

I’d like to thank my most devoted reader — my beautiful girlfriend Jeannette Larsen. You’re my best friend, my inspiration and the love of my life.
To God be the glory for every word I write in my future career.

Kyle Harvey — over and out.

Graduation — Kara Wheeler’s father, David, supported her throughout her struggles. Photo provided.

Born 14 weeks early and weighing a mere 1 pound, 15 ounces, Kara was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy at age four. The daughter of Professor of Evangelism David Wheeler, Kara said that whenever someone told her that she would not be able to graduate high school or go to college, she knew that she would find a way to prove them wrong.

Before Kara arrived at Liberty, David said that he and his wife did not know what to expect for their daughter’s time in college.

“We always taught our kids to pursue excellence, not perfection,” David said. “We just wanted Kara to apply herself and do the best she could. She is a very social person, and so we knew she needed to live on campus and have friends. We wanted her to enjoy the college life and … for God to be able to work in her and show her what it is he wanted her to do.”

Kara wanted to spend her life working with preschoolers at a day care, but after going on a missions trip to the Philippines, she knew that God was changing her heart.

“Pretty much throughout the mission’s trip, the Lord (said), ‘Kara, this is your calling. You cannot run away from your calling anymore,’” Kara said, remembering how God had spoken to her. “So I feel like God has called me into the missions field, and in his timing, hopefully after Christmas, I’ll be going back to the Philippines where I was and (will be) doing an internship. Throughout the internship, I’ll hopefully be working with the local school there and develop special needs programs.”

Counting down until graduation, Kara said that the hardest part about college has been the work load, and her favorite part has been the friendships that she has made.

“The people that I’ve met here — I know that we’ll be friends for life,” Kara said. “And I know that wherever the Lord has me, he will be by my side.”

Relationships she has formed not only include her fellow students, but also the professors that have helped her along the way. She said that her Family and Consumer Science (FACS) classes have been her favorite classes, because she has learned essential information for the future.

“To have professors here that will help me with my learning disability and to tell me that they believe in me and that I can do it, it’s been really encouraging, because, through the years, many people told me and my parents that I would never graduate and I would never go to college,” Kara said.

According to Kara, having her dad as a professor at Liberty has been “amazing.” She said that she finds him a couple times throughout the week to catch up and talk.

“I love having my dad as a professor,” Kara said. “I love having students tell me how great he is and how impactful he is with his teaching, because to be a professor here is his passion, and his passion is to make a difference in his students’ lives.”

David said that he cannot express how proud he is of his daughter and how she is letting God use her.

“She’ll come in between classes … and give me a hug,” David said. “It means the world to me to watch her and to watch the kind of young woman she’s become (and) how God’s used her to encourage and influence others.”

Knowing that his daughter has been able to gain knowledge from the professors and pastors that she has listened to throughout her years at Liberty, David said that he has watched how she has grown and how she encourages and influences those around her.

“I think Kara really represents what it means to be a champion for Christ,” David said. “She takes advantage of the things they have here. She loves it. She pushes it, you know, to the degree of stretching herself and doing all those things. She’s been relational. She’s grown in amazing ways. She could easily be a walking testimonial of what Liberty’s all about.”

Attributing where she is today to her family, Kara said that she has overcome challenges by knowing that her family was by her side every step of the way. She said that without them, especially her mother, she would not have been able to accomplish everything she has. She also said that reading her Bible and working on her relationship with God on a daily basis has gotten her through the hardest times.

“Just have those people in your life, especially your family, to support you and just help you through it,” Kara said. “It’s the most encouraging, especially, to have that relationship with Christ. To be like, ‘Alright God, today is hard, but with you, nothing is impossible, with you, everything is possible.’

Investigate — Students had a chance to talk with Carly Kast, left, an FBI agent, at the Employer Open House. Photo credit: Karly Kryza

Kast made an appearance at Liberty Wednesday night, April 25 in DeMoss Hall room 1113 to talk to students about what the FBI is really like. According to Kast, she has worked for the FBI for two years doing multiple things, and is currently working towards becoming a field agent.

Almost 50 students gathered to listen to Kast and her stories on what it has been like for her in the FBI.

“You are never bored — things change very quickly,” Kast said.

“So what do we actually do? Well we protect the United States from terrorist attacks, from foreign intelligence operations and espionage. We protect the United States against cyber based attacks and high technology crimes, we combat public corruption and we protect civil rights,” Kast said.

“A really cool thing about the FBI, if you are interested, is that you can basically work overseas all your career if you want to move around to different countries,” Kast said.

According to Kast, applicants must be willing to move around the country wherever the FBI may need them to go. Employees of the FBI may be called into many different operations very quickly.

“There are over 36,000 employees (in the FBI), which includes 13,000 — almost 14,000 — special agents and 22,000 support professionals,” Kast said.

“It is a very, very competitive field,” Kast said. Typically when you apply, there are about 26,000 other applicants, and that’s just for Washington, D.C.”

According to Kast, the tests applicants go through to be considered at the FBI are extensive and difficult. Applicants must be tested in front of a panel of judges before being approved to complete a four-hour test.

Lie detector tests, as well as other mental tests, must be taken during the training process. Applicants are also required to take a physical fitness test, which is very difficult, according to Kast.
Kast offered some insight into what exactly she does toward the end of her lecture.

“My family finds it hilarious that I work for the FBI, because they tease me about being blond,” Kast said. “My brother made this picture for me saying I pretend to work for the FBI, when I am really just a gift store worker.”

Kast enjoyed joking about her job, but she also noted that her role at the FBI is a serious one.

“I work for the financial resources unit at the training academy. My responsibilities include financial strategy planning, which means, basically, I am not going to tell you what I do,” Kast said.
Kast told students that she knew she wanted to go into the FBI even before choosing her major.

“I have wanted to be an FBI special agent since I was four or five years old,” Kast said. “The first book that my mom gave me was called ‘The Spy Wore Red,’ so I was always very interested in that kind of world, but what really drew me into the FBI is the fact that it is an agency where people really try to help other people.

In addition to sharing her passion for the FBI, Kast also talked about Liberty.

“I love Liberty students, and I really believe there are students … that could help the agency one day,” Kast said.

Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. announced Wednesday, April 24, via his Facebook page, that the school’s administration, along with the Student Government Association, had chosen to revise its attendance policy, effective immediately.

The change gives students four unexcused absences in classes that meet three times per week and three unexcused absences for classes meeting two times per week. The policy for classes meeting once a week will stay the same.

“The policy that we had was a little too strict, so I’m glad I was able to make the change and help the students out a little bit before the end of the year,” Falwell said.

According to Liberty Senior Class President Chad Atchison, the Student Government Association had been attempting to change the policy since it went into effect more than two years ago, and talks intensified when Falwell decided to review the policy in detail earlier in the spring 2013 semester.

“It’s sort of my end of the year gift to the students,” Falwell said.

According to Falwell, the change was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from students, especially those who had already exceeded their unexcused absences in certain classes.
“Between my two Facebook pages, I’ve gotten over 500 likes (on the announcement),” Falwell said. “I think it’s something that was badly needed.”

The Student Government Association originally proposed a system in which students with higher grade point averages would be allowed more unexcused absences, Atchison said, but they were happy with the compromise.

Although some students, such as sophomore Jesse Pearson, preferred solutions like a system that allows students to attend class whenever they want or that allows Liberty professors to set their own attendance policies, Atchison said that the students’ concerns are always at the forefront of the discussion.

“There’s always going to be structure, because the administration does care about providing students the education that they’re paying for,” Atchison said.

ON set — Professor James Walz helps position a boom mic on location at White Hart Café. Photo provided

It is approximately 1 a.m. on Easter morning, March 31, on the campus of Liberty University. Most of the student body is away — traveling, in some cases, hundreds of miles to be home for Resurrection Sunday.

But there is still plenty of activity on the Central Virginia campus, even in the middle of the night. The cast and crew of the film “Letting Go” are hard at work and nearing a lunch break during an all-night session. It is day five of a 25-day shoot.

The set is bustling with about 40 crew members and several others in the cast. Tonight’s scene involves the male lead, played by Andrew Cheney (Behind the Mask), attempting to rescue the female lead from certain death.

Downtown —A green screen was set up in front of Monument Stairs in downtown Lynchburg. Photo provided

Cheney’s fictional character is akin to those in popular films, such as Groundhog Day and Source Code, who find themselves trapped in a time loop wherein they are forced to live the same day over and over.

The female lead, played by Rachel Hendrix (October Baby) dies every day, and will continue to, until the hero can circumvent the time loop — she is hit by a car during tonight’s shoot.

What is unique about this movie set is that there are 32 cinematic arts students in training — each one learning under an experienced industry professional. The students are enrolled in Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts program, and the industry experts are contracted by EchoLight Studios, a Christian production company based in Texas.

According to the film’s director Tracy Trost, each department head has a group of students underneath them who have specifically requested to train within their discipline for the film. With a four-to-one, student-to-professional ratio, students are ensured an opportunity to get plenty of hands on training.

At supper, the cast and crew gather for prayer over a hot meal that has just emerged from catering vans. Some students still linger over pieces of equipment with their instructors.

As everyone begins to form a line, Chris Morrow, co-founder and Chief Global Strategist of EchoLight Films, addresses the crowd, praising the efforts put forth in the first half of the day. He and his family are leaving in the morning to return to Texas.

EchoLight Studios

Morrow and his associates started Texas-based EchoLight Studios in 2011, emerging from an already-established Christian film company, christiancinema.com. The goal, he said, was to better cater to what he calls a severely under-served market of Christian moviegoers.

Morrow and his team just signed a deal with Liberty to fund, market and distribute five films to a national theater audience, of which “Letting Go” is the first.

The university has recently launched a brand new film school in connection with the Zaki Gordon Institute in Arizona.

The groundswell of enthusiasm for film at the world’s largest evangelical Christian university is something that faith-based filmmakers hope will infuse large numbers of skilled and creative young people with a Christian worldview into a movie industry which seems to possess few
others.

“Our goal is to create a professional hands-on learning environment where our students, working with state-of-the-art equipment and world class faculty, are prepared to become artists whose faith infuses all they write, direct or produce,” notes Dr. Norman Mintle, dean of the School of Communication & Creative Arts.

The path to legitimacy

There are strong arguments to be made for Morrow’s beliefs that the Christian film industry is an undeserved market. In recent years, Sherwood Pictures and Kendrick Brothers productions, including “Fireproof,” “Courageous” and “October Baby,” have enjoyed marked successes.

“October Baby” received praise — however reserved — from the L.A. Times and the late Roger Ebert, and “Fireproof” and “Courageous” each grossed roughly $35 million at the box office, despite their small budgets, according to Box Office Mojo.

Further support for the theory exists in the success of other Christian-themed flicks such as “Soul Surfer” and “The Blind Side,” as well as the History Channel’s “The Bible” miniseries, which Entertainment Weekly reported garnered ratings that equaled the enormously popular drama “The Walking Dead’s” season finale and beat out most other Sunday-night offerings.

But while recent successes in the box office for several Christian films have generated considerable excitement among the church crowd, it is understood that the road to widespread recognition of the industry is long — and narrow.

“It’s in infant stages,” Cheney said. “They’ve been making Christian film for decades, but it seems like we’re at this kind of crossroads where they’re really trying to step up — the production quality, the story telling, the performances, the distribution — and in that, the budgets are growing…”

Off set — Director Tracy Trost and Script Supervisor Casey Rieboldt go over a scene with actors Andrew Cheney and Rachel Hendrix (October Baby). Photo provided

Those within the business readily admit that there are tremendous hurdles of pre-conceived notions about Christian film that must be overcome.

“It’s going in a new direction,” Hendrix said. “It’s turning from being stapled and labeled as low quality, bad acting, or this or that, and this kind of other stuff we’ve all heard — nobody’s hiding that, it’s not a secret.”

But every dollar that goes toward tickets to Christian films, Hendrix said, is essentially a vote being cast for the future of the industry.

“What you buy when you go see a film, in a lot of ways, it’s a vote of what you love, what you stand for, what you believe in, what your own life experience is like,” Hendrix said.

But even as the figurative votes begin to increase for Christian film, the most enthusiastic supporters of the movement readily admit that the process is slow and will take time.

Radio/Film parallel

Morrow likens the slow change that he says is occurring in film to what occurred in the now more mature Christian music industry, which has given rise in recent years to such Grammy Award-winning artists as LeCrae, TobyMac, Matt Redman and Mary Mary, who have enjoyed success in both secular and Christian markets.

“Christian radio 20 or 30 years ago wasn’t where it is today, and over the last 20 years, we’ve seen artists who start out being Christian artists that are now singing country and pop,” Morrow said.

The development of Christian radio, which allowed Christian artists a platform large enough to reach national audiences, is what helped bring Christian music to its current level of popularity and profitability. In theory, Christian film will enjoy the same success when the filmmaking infrastructure has developed enough to support it.

“(It used to be) if you were a phenomenally talented singer and you were a Christian, pretty much the only place you could sing was in the church,” Kirk Cameron, the child star of the popular ‘80s family sitcom “Growing Pains,” said. “But if you were phenomenally talented and wanted a career in singing, people weren’t really singing Christian songs on the radio or in concerts, so you’d sort of have to cross over and become this secular, godless sort of artist.”

Night — Actor Andrew Cheney (Jason Shaw) gets in a vehicle on Main Street in Downtown Lynchburg. Photo provided

But investments in the Christian entertainment led to a more inviting climate for artists to produce God-honoring art.

“Once Christian radio stations started and you give the opportunity and the platform, now you’ve got really talented people who love the Lord that go, ‘I could make a career out of this,’ and we can just blow this wide open,” Cameron said. “We see that in the music industry, and I think we’ll start to see it in the film industry.”

According to Cameron, who as an official partner with Liberty’s film school visits the Virginia campus with increasing regularity, Christian colleges and universities are going to be the leaders in adapting the climate for artists. For many years, Christian schools were places that trained only pastors and missionaries, but that is changing.

Places like Liberty recognize the ability to share the Gospel message to the world by preaching through film and by evangelizing through arts, Cameron said.

“That’s why I’m partnering with Liberty,” Cameron said. “It’s because I see that they’re doing that, and I want to help throw some wood on the fire.”

Hendrix could not agree more with the notion that film is, and should be, considered as a powerful instrument for Christians to use to impact the culture.

“I think God is moving and has been moving a long time in the direction of there being a pillar — the entertainment industry being a pillar of ministry, and it being a tool to use to communicate with a generation of young people,” Hendrix said.

COMS 485 students Jeremy Angione and Tahesha Moise also covered the film “Letting Go” for their final broadcast project.

Play — Liberty’s team placed second in their conference. Photo credit: Courtney Russo

According to the National Collegiate Paintball Association (NCPA), Liberty’s paintball team ranked second this year in the Southeast Conference of the Class A division.

The first match was played in Lakeland, Fla. Liberty started off slow with a 15-1 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University, according to Liberty’s website.

“We all kind of kept a cool head and decided that we hadn’t played Liberty paintball that first match,” team member Nathan Hawkins said. “Also, we discussed what had worked and what hadn’t so we could come up with a better game plan.”

Opening with a devastating loss did not stop the Flames from winning their next two matches against Northeastern and Temple before conceding defeat to the University of Connecticut Huskies, 4-3, in overtime, April 20.

“Our goal is always to win a national title, so I think we all were a little disappointed,” Hawkins said.

“We had been doing drills, running and scrimmaging amongst ourselves,” Hawkins said.

The national championship is the biggest event in which the paintball team competes, according to Hawkins.

According to Flames Head Coach Todd Hoglund, this year was a rebuilding year for the Flames.

“We’re just doing what we can with what we got,” Hoglund said in an interview for Liberty’s club sports website. “For some of these guys, it definitely was a learning experience, their first time playing and starting on the Class A (Red squad).”

According to Hoglund, the NCPA championship was an opportunity for the Flames to show themselves as champions for Christ.

“It was a fun experience but a very different atmosphere then at Liberty, which is one of the main reasons we go — so that we may show how we are different because we have Jesus,” Hawkins said.

Food — Students present their recipe secrets to guests. Photo credit: Jillian Springer

“The students have been working on this for three weeks, and it was a success because the students enjoyed telling other people what they learned,” Professor Linda Kitchel, who led the event, said.

According to Kitchel, she has been teaching at Liberty University for nine years. Kitchel teaches cooking classes and FACS education classes. She also supervises current FACS student teachers.

The event was a walk-through where free food that students prepared was put on display. Guests had the opportunity to visit four different stations where students introduced their foods and discussed the ingredients.

The “Old-Fashioned Meetballs” station had turkey, beef and pork meatballs prepared by Rachel Robbins and Tori Brock.

“It was really good,” Jonathan Holmes, a junior psychology major, said. “I’ve never tasted meatballs like that before.”

Another station called “Can You Taste a Difference?” by Ashley Rutherford and Bailee Palmer held a variety of cookies. Instead of using granulated sugar, the cookies were made with honey and maple syrup.

“There are healthy benefits in maple syrup and honey, such as vitamins and minerals, that you don’t get, obviously, with a chemically manufactured sugar,” Palmer said
The third station was called “Do You Know The Muffin Man … and his SECRETS?” and included three variations of muffins made by Alyssa Oliver.

“I’m trying to give people options if they don’t have a certain leavening agent that their muffin recipe is calling for,” Oliver said. “Most muffin recipes called for baking powder, so instead I have also used vinegar and baking soda as a replacement.”

Last but not least, there was a “Gluten-Free” station that included chocolate cake, cornbread and cheddar cheese rosemary biscuits by Charles Furman.

“For my project, I have decided to go with a gluten-free route for people who have … celiac disease,” Furman said. All who came to the fair were welcomed to take recipes so they could make the foods themselves.

“I think it’s great, and I like that they had recipes to give out,” junior Amanda Prater said.

Kitchel, who earned her Bachelors of Science from Radford University and her master’s in education from North Carolina State, explained why she became a part of FACS.

“Because it was family based and that’s where I am with life,” Kitchel said. “Everything revolves around the family. The family is the core. It is the institution God created, and it is the core of everything we do.”

According to Kitchel, all students wishing to learn about the culinary arts are welcome to sign up for the basic cooking class, FACS 130