“Why is Thanksgiving break so short?” This question is often heard from students, parents, and even some staff at George Fox University (GFU). Currently, students only have Thursday, Friday, and the weekend off for Thanksgiving. While some students look forward to going home to see their families, others have to wait until winter break for that opportunity.
Read MoreSince the start of the 2024 fall semester, George Fox University (GFU) has faced significant parking shortages due to ongoing construction and an influx of students, causing frustration and safety concerns for drivers.
Read MoreIn the 2020 Presidential election, 76% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump. Today, two-thirds of white evangelicals continue to have a ‘favorable view’ of the former president, including 30%, who hold a ‘very favorable’ view. Although many of Trump’s political positions are widely considered extreme and not representative of American values, he continues to maintain a cult-like status amongst white evangelicals, who seem more devoted to him as a person than they are to his politics. While it may seem like the white evangelical worship of Trump came out of nowhere in 2016, the modern evangelical right does not exist in a vacuum.
Read MoreOn Feb. 16, the Supreme Court of Alabama issued an unprecedented ruling and determined that embryos, stored for in vitro fertilization (IVF), have the same legal rights as children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. As a result, IVF treatments shut down in the state until an additional bill was signed by the governor protecting IVF providers from criminal liability. Nothing in this bill addressed the repercussions of declaring frozen embryos “extrauterine children.”
Read MoreThe desensitization of millennials and Gen Z has become a common occurrence on social media and pop culture. However, is this true and is there scientific evidence showing desensitization of these younger generations? If so, what does that mean for us now?
Read MoreAs Gen Z spreads its wings, it’s developing its own generational trademarks. Some of the more obvious markers of this generation are its heavy use of the Internet and social media and its hankering for social justice. These factors have, however, helped construct this generation’s political identity. One facet of Gen Z’s politics is in its support of feminism, but these feminist trends of the 2020s are still being counteracted by misogyny.
Read MoreIn 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, decriminalizing drug use within the state. Now, addiction rates remain high and overdose deaths a consistent problem, and the Oregon state legislature is considering backpedaling and making drug possession once again a low-level misdemeanor. Although this may be well-intentioned, especially as fentanyl deaths continue to spike across the US, criminalizing possession has never worked in the past, and it isn’t going to start working now.
Read MoreI have had my driver’s license since high school, but I came to college without a car. Instead, I brought a bike. Although having a bike certainly has its disadvantages, it is a good and feasible option for many students at George Fox University (GFU).
Read MoreWhen I watched this year’s Grammy Awards with some friends, one of them asked, “How many of these people do you think are on Ozempic?” This question was a reaction to the recent wave of celebrity weight loss. I hadn’t noticed before, but once you see it, it can’t be unseen: dozens of celebrities of all body types have been losing weight in the past year. This amusing yet disturbing moment makes me wonder, “Are we still doing weight loss trends in 2024?”
Read MoreCinnamon cookie butter hair? Blueberry milk nails? Are you a coquette Lana-core girl or a cottagecore witch? Do you do clean girl makeup, clean goth, or soft grunge? If you know what any of these words mean, congratulations, you probably spend too much time on TikTok.
Read MoreSince its foundation in 1663, the gilded halls of Harvard University have nurtured American political leaders, academics, and millionaires. As a part of the notorious “Ivy League,” its prestige depends upon its legacy of keeping out women, racial minorities, and the poor; this dedication to exclusivity has been difficult to uphold and defend in the 21st century. Its recent instability, which led to the resignation of its first black president, Claudine Gay, exemplifies the continuing problematic nature of elite higher education.
Read MoreOn Dec. 28, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard was released from prison and the internet went wild.
Read MoreThis December–just over 2,000 years after the birth of Christ–Bethlehem was quiet and somber. The town, which sits in the present-day Israeli-occupied West Bank, is normally bustling during the Christmas season. Tourists and Christian pilgrims, who come from all over the world to see the historic birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, usually fill the town. But this year, Bethlehem was markedly lacking in its normal festivities. Over two months into a catastrophic war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, tensions were too high to attract many tourists, and residents of Bethlehem were too grief-stricken to celebrate.
Read MoreThe use of boycotts as a tool for social change is a well-documented phenomenon throughout American history. Most notably, the Civil Rights movements used tactics like the Montgomery bus boycott to push for desegregation. Boycotts have historically been a powerful way to bring awareness to social justice causes, but do they actually lead to tangible change?
Read MoreAs a sophomore at George Fox University (GFU), I remember sitting on my bed staring at my next assigned reading, “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu. It was a brand new Penguin Classic: shiny and unadulterated by pen scribbles. This was it. The infamous novel that had unraveled the senior class.
Read MoreEver since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the region has been plunged into an increasingly bloody conflict. Instead of reckoning with the complicated history of colonialism in the Middle East, much of the world understands the conflict as something it fundamentally is not: a clash between Jews and Muslims. This misunderstanding, heavily fueled by Zionist rhetoric, serves only to dehumanize the Palestinian people and encourage global anti-semitism.
Read MoreCollege has long been a surefire route to job security, higher pay, and life-long benefits. More Americans seek out a college education to obtain those things now more than ever. However, many believe that a bachelor’s degree has lost its potency and that the master’s degree is the new bachelor’s. This phenomenon is a consequence of education becoming a product and the constantly evolving barriers of access to high-paying jobs.
Read MoreFor millennia, Christianity has led thousands to leave their homes for remote places to minister to the community through evangelism, scripture translation, and church planting. In recent decades, however, the face of mission work has changed to American young people with a savior complex going to economically underdeveloped countries to build schools, hospitals, and homes with a determination to display their hearts for Jesus. This work often does more harm than good to those communities and undermines the purpose of mission work.
Read MoreChristianity is supposed to be a faith rooted in community, but what happens when the community picks and chooses who it accepts? Grace Semler Baldridge, who goes by Semler, has been exploring this question through music since they became the first openly queer artist to top the Christian music charts in 2021. On Sept. 15, Semler released “Night Aches.” Their new EP contains songs like “Faith” and “Be Like Jesus,” which specifically explore the pain and beauty of being a queer Christian in spaces that try to lock queer people out of religion.
Read MoreEvery fall semester, George Fox University (GFU) hosts Serve Day. According to GFU’s website, students, faculty, staff, and alumni go across the community to support local organizations on this day dedicated to service which aims “to utilize serving as a means of greater proximity, deeper learning, and mutual empowerment with our neighbors.” The goal of this event is to inspire students to volunteer year-round and, through this, deepen their relationship with Christ.
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