REVIEWSpaGe 8

The Northerner | April 9, 2014

On March 29, the Coffman Memorial Union at the Univer-sity of Minnesota-Twin Cities hosted local artist, writer and self-described emcee Dessa. Better known as an integral member of the Minneapolis-based rap collective Doomtree, Dessa returned to her alma mater to bring not only genre-

traversing tunes, but social con-sciousness as well.

The venue itself was well-accommodating for students as it was more than large enough to house a medium-sized crowd, though the crowd did not even take up half the floor. That be-ing said, there was not too much pushing and tension that

By shaNNoN hill

dessa in concertMinnesota-born rapper shares her talent with her homeland

can be typical of larger venues. The stage set-up itself was very minimalist with simply one rack of lights that blinked brightly in various colors. There were no props otherwise, which left more room for the effect of the music and less for distracting gimmicks.

After much anticipation from the audience following sleepy opener Tiny Deaths, Dessa made her way onstage behind her band of miscella-neous musicians, and the crowd seemed anxious waiting for the concert to begin. The show started out with the melancholy yet punching rap song Alibi. The audience definitely knew the song and went along with all of the ups and downs of the track. Dessa herself brought an endless flow of energy right away by moving with the beat and navigating across the entire stage. Not only was this helpful in getting the audience into the show, but it helped me be able to see better to snap some quick pictures, as the stage in the Union was rather small and low.

However, Dessa is not only a rapper, but a balladeer. Dessa along with songwriter Aby Wolf created exquisite harmonies through songs like Dear Ma-rie and The Man I Knew that

photos by shannon hill

resounded throughout the entire venue. Each note sounded well-practiced and each verse hand-crafted with wit and poeticism. The vocal chemistry between Dessa and Wolf was stunning to watch as the vocals were spot-on.

Dessa continued with the song Mineshaft 2, which in-corporated both rap and sing-ing. This song makes references to Twin Cities localities with lyrics such as headed west on Hennepin, which established a deeper connection with the au-dience. At one point, Dessa even jumped down into the audience and continued to sing and rap seamlessly while dancing and interacting with the audience around her.

For the encore, Dessa broke

out some Doomtree songs, much to the chagrin of the audience. At one point, the lights flickered and I half expected Doomtree member Mike Mictlan to jump onstage out of nowhere and rap his part of the song, but Dessa did not disappoint as she took on the part herself.

Once the encore was seem-ingly over, Dessa approached the audience once more and qui-eted everyone down by speaking without a microphone. She then gave a small manifesto about how both she and Doomtree market the music they create in-dependently and do so in a way that they believe in. Because Dessas music is both rap and ballad-like, she remarked that it shouldnt sell in the typical mu-sic market, but she encouraged

the audience by stating that their participation is what keeps them going and making music.

After the show, I was pleasantly surprised that Dessa come out by her merchandise table and interacted with her ad-mirers, signing CDs and taking pictures with everyone. She was conversational and friendly to everyone despite her dominating and slightly intimidating stage persona. I was very pleased with both meeting Dessa and by the show itself.

You can purchase Dessas most recent album Parts of Speech, along with her other albums and written works on the Doomtree website: doom-tree.net.

The Northerner is Hiring!FALL 2014 SEMESTER

news editorfeature editoropinion editorsports editorphoto editordesign editor (2)business manager

all positions are scholarship-based

open to ALL students

emailncunortherner@gmail.com

for applicationapply By april 16

Available positions:

dessa opens the night by singing her most popular song alibi.

dessa also sings in the indie hip hop group doomtree.

OPINIONpaGe 9

April 9, 2014 | The Northerner

respond to this article by emailing ncunortherner@gmail.com.

World vision shows our true colors, and they are not pretty

By alex rose

Response to World Visions decision to hire men and women in same-sex marriages causes uproar in the Church

I was embarrassed to be a Christian for two whole days. Not because I hate gays or their lifestyles, but because I claimed to be part of a Body whose parts could not coincide or agree.

Last week World Vision, the parachurch organization giant noted for being one of the largest humanitarian third-world relief organizations, an-nounced that they would be hiring men and women in same-sex marriages. Keep in mind

these people would have been Christians being hired, accept-able by law due to ministerial exemption. The policy lasted all but two days before supporters and denominations as a whole threatened to withdraw support and sponsorships for the various relief avenues that World Vision provides.

World Vision should not have hung their heads in shame, the Church should have.

World Vision cooperates with a variety of denominations. Many of these denominations, including the Assemblies of God, threatened World Vision President Richard Stearns that if this policy remained apart of World Visions organization, that all denominational funding would cease.

I am thoroughly disgusted that my very own denomina-tion would go to such lengths to continue condemning a people that our clergy has already dug graves for. The denomination that plans to credential me as a pastor basically said with their actions that they would allow for all those children they have funded to starve, the economies they have been funding to stabi-lize to fall, and those they have funded to be cared for medically to die. All of this could have happened simply because of a moral disagreement in another organizations hiring process.

Interdenominational poli-tics have divided the church for two millennia, and I have been able to stomach it until now. Our dear denominations flexed their

wallets in order to strike fear into the people who are actu-ally making a difference in this world because they disagreed and refused to be wrong.

Many would say that it di-rectly contradicts Scripture for a church to hire someone who is living in sin. Many would argue even further that regard-less of Scripture, World Vision must yield to the demands of its funders. Truthfully, after reading the statement released by the chairman of World Vi-sion Jim Bere, I cannot help but believe that World Vision was backed into a corner. Scriptur-ally, Christ surrounded himself with those living in sin, and it was not until they were actu-ally allowed to see the works of Christ firsthand that their hearts

changed. Moreover, does it line up with Scripture that as we threatened to remove funding, nearly no one mentioned the thousands of people who rely on World Visions support who would suffer as a direct result of our actions?

Call me a gay-lover. Call me a blasphemer. I would rather bear that title than have to live with myself knowing that I stood idly by while the Church I have called mine abandoned its well-known generosity for the propulsion of Kingdom work simply because we could not possibly have gays in the struc-ture of an organization we send money to.

If we cannot become a global, spiritual family of like-minded and unconditionally

respond to this article by emailing ncunortherner@gmail.com.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in response to a question on diversity in the church in 1963, We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most seg-regated major institution in America. At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most seg-regated hour in this nation. This is tragic.

In the 50 years since Rev. King said this, have things changed very much? Unfortu-nately, it does not seem to be the case.

According to a study done by the Multiracial Congrega-tions Project, a group headed up by a sociologist from Rice Uni-versity, multiracial churches are

extremely rare. The study, which defined multiracial churches as one where no racial group is more than 80 percent of the con-gregation, found that only 2 to 3 percent of mainline Protestant congregations and 8 percent of other Protestant churches fit this criteria. In contrast, 20 percent of Catholic parishes would be considered interracial.

Why do we have this lack of diversity in the American church? When we get to heaven, it is not like there will be white, black or Hispanic sections. We will all be mixed together.

The subject of interra-cial relations has always been something on the forefront of my mind because of the family that I grew up in. When I was 11 years old, my brother was adopted from Colombia, joining my two younger sisters, my par-ents and me. Because we were only two years apart in age, we quickly grew close and I have never considered the fact that we have a different skin color.

When I find myself in a church or situation that has no

diversity, I feel very uncomfort-able.

I think the fact that we quickly become comfortable around people that are similar is part of the problem. Too of-ten, we are willing to stay places because of a fear of failure or a satisfaction with success.

A North Central professor that I have had is the perfect reflection of this willingness to get out of his comfort zone. He always tells stories in class about how he goes to different congregations on a regular ba-sis to make a connection with more than just with one church. I am not saying it is a bad thing to spend your whole life at a church. I think that is honor-able. Churches need these kind of loyal members in order to function. But there comes a time when church becomes a once a week mental exercise rather than an encounter with the King.

In order to truly embrace the global church, we need to make a conscious effort to have more diversity in our churches. This can refer to everything

every tribe, nation and tongue: separately?We cannot be done with diversity in the church

By BlaKe mayes from music to the actual congre-gants at a church. Step out.

Our own denomination is a perfect reflection of this di-versity even though it may not seem this way in America. The Assemblies of God, the sixth largest denomination in Christi-anity and the largest Pentecostal denomination, has over three million American members and over 60 million worldwide.

I had the privilege of grow-ing up in an Assemblies of God church that was multi-ethnic. When I was younger, my church had three churches that either met in our church, did take part in our services, or both. We had Cambodian, Indian, and Eritre-an congregants that all were a part of the melting pot that was my church. Over the years, each group eventually wanted to get

their own building or have more space to run their services and gradually my church grew more homogenous. The days where our childrens ministry was filled with kids of all different nationalities and backgrounds quickly slipped away as the people wanted their own space and service time.

As the Assemblies of God moves into the next 100 years of existence, our fellowship must continue to remember where we came from. The Azusa Street revival, where Pentecostalism draws its roots from, was inter-racial, which was completely striking to people who came to visit. They were shocked that the races were so willing to pray over each other and participate in the same service. This was a culture shock to the people who

were used to the Jim Crow laws of the time. Our generation is not like this.

While we are not quite a post-racial society, race is no longer as big of a deal as it used to be. The American church must begin to become an accu-rate reflection of where society needs to be, especially with in-terracial relationships.

Maybe if we all just work a little harder to establish interra-cial churches, we can get closer to achieving Rev. Kings dream.

loving individuals, the King-dom of God will continue to be delayed, and the Church will continue to bear the image of a house of tyranny and judgment rather than a house of grace and truth.

Let me be clear, I do not think a homosexual lifestyle is pleasing to God. Still, my desire for the Church as a whole is that we could be able to cast aside all hatred, to be able to handle these disagreements quietly and with-out life-wrecking and church-embarrassing threats, and to love every single soul that we set our eyes on.

editorial Cartoon sketChed by katie detloFF

OPINIONpaGe 10

Th e Northerner | April 9, 2014

Staff Editorial: open dorm policy

Open dorms is a subject that is impossible to avoid. Whether students want to cultivate rela-tionships with their brother or sister fl oor, have a family mem-ber of the opposite sex visit their dorm, hang out with their signif-icant other, or work on a group project, the open dorm policy is going to affect every student liv-ing in the residence halls. Many students do want the structure of the policy and a time to not have to worry about the oppo-site sex being on the fl oor, and at the same time many feel that students ought to be trusted with more open dorms hours than they have been given. Much of the student body believes that the current open dorm policy does not allow for adequate vis-iting hours.

For one thing, many North Central students have weekend or evening jobs. Students of-ten leave for a job before open dorms start and return to campus after open dorms are over. Ex-tended open dorm hours would

allow for working students to cultivate more relationships.

A part of the open dorms issue is that North Central cou-ples often have no appropriate place to talk. During the week, they cannot talk in each others dorms, and unless they have a car it is diffi cult to fi nd a con-venient place to go off-campus. Perhaps this is part of the rea-son why there several places on campus that are notorious for awkward couples. Because open dorms is not long enough, couples are pushed to have their private conversations in a public setting.

Outside the boundary of romantic relationships, the limited amount of open dorms times can be inconvenient for other situations as well. For example, it is hard to tell fam-ily members of the opposite sex that they cannot visit the dorms and that they have to stay in the car instead. That is a common scenario if family members visit on week nights or on a Saturday

afternoon when the dorms are not open.

The open dorms hours also make it challenging for group projects to meet. On-campus areas like the library or the com-puter lab are not always able to provide enough space, and if it is not during open dorms, the meeting places become ex-tremely limited.

Extended hours are neces-sary in order to allow students more chances to socialize with classmates, family, and sig-nifi cant others. Based off the options listed in the student Senates survey, the best solu-tion is to extend the open dorm hours to 2 to 10 p.m. on Satur-days (versus the previous 6 to 10 p.m.) which would allow for more visiting opportunities for students.

Letters to the Editor(Response to Vol. 53 Issue 5)

Hello,

I just wanted to provide some feedback on the paper that came out today! I have no complaints. Some articles, namely pertaining to sports and changes around campus,

were dry but I imagine that is hard to work around. Good reporting though.I thought it was put together in an aesthetically pleasant, and logical manner. The content was

also of a high quality. My favorite article was Stairway to Heaven. Caleb did a great job on this article - it was a fun

and informational read with colorful vocabulary and relatable (funny) situations.I was excited to fi nd out about the downtown development project. I am impressed that I found

out something in this issue, that I hadnt heard around campus. Good Deeds for the likes of Men had a very clever title and was very thought provoking. The Band Box ad was helpful - I now know the hours! The article on the theater was great also. I always look forward to Crystals pieces because she is a brilliant writer. Sports is not my cup of tea, but Eddie Chishams wonderfully written article on basketball got me interestedalmost.

Lastly, I really appreciated the Letter from the Editor. I hope we will begin to see love for our brothers and sisters who fall into sin...rather than branding them with a pink triangle and fl ushing forgiveness down the drain.

I love the NCU Northerner, I thank you all for your hard work, and Im excited already for Issue 6!

-David Putman

I was drawn to North Central because of its commu-nity and spiritual atmosphere. In fact, the university prides itself in these two strengths. But the two things that attracted me to this school also create the well-known North Central bubble enclosing the campus, which hinders students from getting involved in the Minneapolis community.

Last week I was biking back to North Central, when a woman named Barbara called out to me on the corner of Chi-cago Avenue and eighth Street. I stopped and started talking to her. I learned that she had been kicked out of her house in St. Paul and she had been living on the streets in Minneapolis for three days. After hearing her story and mentioning my faith to her, I asked to pray for her and gave her money to ride the bus back to St. Paul.

Interactions like this are not common among students at North Central. Students generally leave the campus to go out and entertain themselves. Now, it is not wrong to go out for dinner or coffee with friends, but if we turn off our faith and simply blend in to the rest of

our surroundings while on these outings, then we have forgotten our call as Christians to go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19)

Some students have put up invisible walls to shield them-selves from the other residents of the Minneapolis community, whether they are intentional or not. Some students walk past their neighbors without even giving them a glance, and when a neighbor sparks a conversa-tion with a student, he or she might move on without stop-ping. Either students are too busy to interact with their neigh-bors, or they are afraid of people who are different.

I think one of the causes of these reactions is over-en-gagement in the North Central community, including student leadership. North Central devel-ops great leaders, but the leaders need to share the love and hope of Jesus to others in the neigh-borhood rather than just pour-ing into other Christians. It is important for students to be ac-tively involved both within and outside North Central walls.

There are several organiza-tions in the Minneapolis com-munity that students can get involved with, including the El-liot Park Community Center and People Serving People. Even if it is not a formal volunteer po-sition, students can serve oth-ers by simply talking to people in Elliot Park or buying dinner for someone they meet walking back from class. Students need to be ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus at all times.

I also think our Christian culture plays a role into our lack of participation in the neigh-borhood. Instead of engaging ourselves with unbelievers, we stick together like a clan. While it is important for us to be ac-tively involved in the body of Christ, if we are ignoring the rest of the world on the outside, then our purpose as believers is lost.

Jesus did not call us to stay in our church circles. By disengaging ourselves from the neighborhood around us, we fail to fulfi ll the call of Jesus.

There is no reason for us to hide behind the invisible walls we have put up. We are at the heart of the Elliot Park Neighborhood, surrounded by a diverse community. Our So-mali neighbors, the elderly at Augustana Care Corporation, and the men and women who walk past our buildings every day are waiting to experience an act of Christ-like love. They are waiting for a simple smile that would lead into a conversa-tion, and maybe this conversa-tion would share the hope of the Gospel with them.

Let down the invisible walls and reach out into the community. We cannot let our inner community and spiritu-ality interfere with the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31)

Letter From the Editor: the North Central bubble is unhealthy

By reBeKahJaCoBsoN

opinions expressed in the opinion section do not nec-essarily refl ect the views of administrators, faculty or north Central university. Editorials refl ect the views of the northerner editorial board

respond to this article by emailing ncunortherner@gmail.com.

respond to this article by emailing ncunortherner@gmail.com.

/NCUNortherNer@NCUNortherNerWWW.NCUNortherNer.Com

CoNNeCt With UsComments? Questions? Concerns?

Interested In Getting Involved?

Contact the Northerner at ncunortherner@gmail.com for more information.

So proud of all the @ncunortherner staff ! Great work on the issue! It addresses tough, informa-tive, interesting info. Check it out everyone! -Amanda Breister

Todays issue of @ncunortherner was SO good! Well-written articles on interesting topics, awe-some editorials and great photos! Loved it! -Leah Dees

tweets

the Northerner @ncunortherner

the Northerner @ncunortherner

Great job, Matt Allen. I love it when a newspaper can delve into topics that every-one is thinking about but no one is talking about.-Camden McAfee

NCU Northernerfacebook

SPORTSpaGe 11

April 9, 2014 | The Northerner

All of the events will be held in Elliot Park, starting at 3 p.m. on April 25. At the end of each competition, points will be awarded to the competitors based on their ranking of time and distance. At the end of the day, the man and woman with the most points will win the grand prizes and be awarded the titles of NCU Ironman and NCU Ironwoman.

According to senior com-munications major and recre-ation and wellness director Paul Brunner, the Ironman competi-tion is just one of the many ways the recreation and wellness de-partment is trying to promote a healthy lifestyle for students.

We are really trying to give North Central students every opportunity to create and main-tain their healthy lifestyles, said Brunner. This competition creates an opportunity for those who have been working so hard to maintain their fitness to show how far theyve come, and also give them a new challenge in their workouts.

Because the events are specific to certain muscles and

techniques, the competitors have to train ahead of the competition in order to perform to the best of their abilities.

It gives these athletes even more incentive to not just come in and workout, but to instead train their bodies, much like a professional athlete would, said Brunner.

With the competition looming, the competitors are kicking their training up a notch in order to be in top shape come April 25.

Senior business adminis-tration major Ben Peters works out in the weight room every-day, but since signing up for the Ironman competition he has restructured his workouts to pre-pare for the competition.

Ive really been focusing on the specific muscle groups that I will use a lot in the com-petition, which has been a lot of legs, said Peters.

According to Brunner, though, you do not have to ini-tially be an ironman or iron-woman in order to participate.

Any student can take part in the competition, said

5 on 5

By Crystal GoUtierez

Q. What is the main goal you have for your team this year? A. I want to have a better record than last year. I want the team

to have fewer errors and I want our team batting average to be higher than last year.

Q. How is this year going to be different than previous years?

A. We lost two four-year players and one three-year player that was key to our team. Their loss means that my sophomores have a big job in front of them to fill those roles. They have already proven their worth and they have started the season strong!

Q. What do you enjoy about coaching?A. I love seeing my students grow both on the field and off the

field. To be able to see students grow in their skills and to see them continue to grow as followers of Christ is the most rewarding part of my job.

Q. What are your coaching goals?A. My coaching goals are always to leave my team better than

they were before I came to them. Sometimes that is a win-loss re-cord; sometimes that is building community. I want my students to give their best, create great relationships with their teammates and grown in the discipline of hard work.

Q. What are you hoping your athletes will get out of this season?

A. I am hoping that they will form and strengthen lifelong friendships. I also hope that every player will be a better softball player than when the season began..

softball and womens soccer

coach allison meadows

Allison Meadows is in her fifth year as the softball head coach. She was the assistant coach for the team the three years prior. Meadows also coaches womens soccer.

Coach Meadows on goals for the softball team in the 2014 season

recreation and wellness department puts on ironman event

photo by Crystal goutierez

2014 Mens Tennis StandingssChool UmaC overall

Northwestern

Minnesota Morris

St. Scholastica

Bethany LutheranMartin Luther

4-03-12-20-00-30-3

14-34-102-90-20-30-3

2014 Softball StandingssChool UmaC overall

Minnesota MorrisSt. Scholastica

NorthwesternMartin Luther

Bethany LutheranNorth Central

NorthlandCrown

3-12-22-30-44-01-22-01-3

8-56-113-172-6

10-106-112-123-15

North Central

2014 Womens Tennis StandingssChool UmaC overall

Minnesota MorrisSt. ScholasticaNorthwestern

Martin LutherBethany Lutheran

North Central

4-03-11-21-30-00-3

10-410-61-41-130-20-3

2014 Baseball StandingssChool UmaC overall

Minnesota MorrisSt. Scholastica

NorthwesternMartin Luther

Bethany LutheranNorth CentralNorthlandCrown

2-01-00-00-00-00-00-10-2

10-94-73-54-81-110-51-91-12

Brunner. Whether you are an experienced weightlifter or just a beginner, this is a good way to

see where you are at.

continued

proVided by uMaC Website as oF april 6

Rachael Therain and Megan Myers flip tractor tires as they train for the upcoming Ironwoman competition.

photo proVided by Megan Myers

Jorie Grenell sets new all-time scoring record for womens basketball

Senior youth ministry ma-jor Jorie Grenell broke the ca-reer scoring record for womens basketball after playing against Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 18. The record, previously held by Amy Sletten who played from 2004 to 2008, was 1,422 points.

Grenell wrapped up her ca-reer by scoring a total of 1,534 points throughout her four years playing for the Lady Rams.

However, the season did not start so optimistically. Grenell had surgery on a tumor, which cost her the fi rst nine games of the season and nearly kept her out for the season, but she was able to overcome her injury and get back onto the court.

Womens basketball coach, Jeff Grenell stated that Jorie built on her offensive, de-fensive and ball handling skills to accomplish her goal.

SPORTSpaGe 12

Th e Northerner | April 9, 2014

By JaCoB tverBerGGrenell breaks previous record by 112 points

Are You . graduating and looking for a career?

needing a summer job?

hoping to line up a job for the fall?

seeking patient care or healthcare experience?

wanting to work, but dont have a car?

trying to find your passion in life?

...wanting to make a difference?

ACR is an EEO/AA employer

Contact Phil Baumgarn for more information at

651-294-4727 or recruiting@acrhomes.com

w w w . a c r h o m e s . c o m

photo proVided by Jorie grenell

To set records in life, you have got to work outside court. stated Coach Grenell. There are many hours off the court that are not seen that she used to become a better player.

Jorie Grenell has dedicated much of her life to basketball; as she has been playing since fourth grade. She stated, It will be very diffi cult not playing next year. This was her fi nal season playing for North Central be-cause she is graduating.

Jorie Grenell discussed her relationship with her coach. I love having my dad as my coach. On the court hes my coach and off the court hes my dad.

Post-graduation, Jorie Grenell hopes to work with an anti-human traffi cking organi-zation. She wants to help those who seem to have no hope and give them a way of starting a new life.

photo proVided by Jorie grenell

However, Jorie Grenell has left the door open to continue being involved with basket-ball, saying, I could see my-self coaching one day. [I] defi -nitely want my future kids to be ballers.

Jorie Grenell states that she feels blessed to have played at NCU, and she gives God credit for everything she has accom-plished. Jorie Grenell said, [I] really wanted to give Him the glory and worship on the court.

Jamie high congratulates her teammate Jorie Grenell on her accomplishment.

Jorie Grenell embraces her dad, Coach Jeff Grenell.