Clarion 2000-05-03 Vol. 75 No. 13

              Wednesday, May 3, 2000
The Newspaper of Bethel College
Volume 75 • Number 13
Environmental
Stewardship:
A Call to
Restoration
Environmental awareness has always been an important issue, but taking a
Christian position on this topic
provides a new perspective.
The call for Christians
to be stewards of creation is
an  old  one.Echoes      of
God's   .^gfc
^ admoni-
tion to Jgm
gL Adam
in Ihe S^hH
Wtt Gar-
den of 'KTTJS
■Ur Eden
are still  ^^
W heard in
present
concerns
about recycling
and global
warming.
Spread...pages 8 and 9:
Professors visit Biosphere II
Restoration Project: Serving
the Earth. Serving the Poor
"Consider Creation," by Thomas Becknell. professor of English
Hargis Park is
dedicated. See
pages 14 and 16
for related stories.
Students retrieve
the golden egg.
See page 7 for
the winners.
Paradise Found:
Spring Banquet 2000
Saturday, May 20
Doors will open at
5:30 p.m., with a free
dinner being served at
6 p.m.
In concert post-banquet:
The Waiting
Sign up at the POs from
May 1 through 11.
BCL responds with pilot program
By Sarah Aue
Editor-in-chief
Based on a request from
Student Senate, the Bethel College Library (BCL) extended its
hours beginning May 1.
In response to multiple letters from student leaders and a bill
passed by the Student Senate, the
BCL introduced a pilot program
of longer hours that will run for
the last three weeks of classes.
This extension adds 2.5 hours a
week, affecting hours on Monday,
Tuesday and Saturday.
Library Director Bob
Suderman said, "The Student
Senate has asked for more hours,
and we have produced."
This program, however, is
not the response the studenl sena
tors wanted. Their proposal,
which was first presented to administration during Ihe fall semester, included 13 extra hours of library time.
"It has been frustrating to
get such a little amount," said
sophomore Senator Rory Lemke.
"It doesn't seem like they are taking it very seriously."
Lemke played an instrumental part in this process, gathering statistics from other colleges, taking surveys and writing
letters to the administration.
The BCL has the fewest library hours of the 13 colleges in
the Minnesota Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (MIAC).
Augsburg College comes in second with 11.5 more hours than
Bethel, primarily due to their
loneer hours on weekends.
Currently, the BCL is open
84.5 hours during the week. In
comparison with other MIAC
schools, eight of the 13 college
libraries are open over 100 hours
a week. The majority of these libraries are open until midnight or
1 a.m. on weekdays and from 9
a.m. to midnight on weekends.
"I think it's unfortunate for
an institution—one that strives for
academic excellence—lo sit at the
bottom of the barrel in library
hours," said Senate Chair David
Balmer. "The administration has
shown throughout the process that
they don't take this seriously, and
apparently other schools do."
Junior Sarah Naponelli, senior class president-elect, said
that Bethel's library hours "are
nol adequate for the needs of the
students."
One possible problem with
extending library hours is finding
people who will work them. As
of now, students are working the
new trial hours. Suderman also
said that they are "stretching students pretty far" when it comes
to scheduling. If and when the
need arises for non-student staff
to stay late, that problem will need
to be addressed.
Another issue brought up
by both students and staff is the
lack of financial resources available for work-study in ihe library.
As for next year, possibilities for further expansion will
continue to be explored.
"If students take advantage
of these hours, we will keep pushing for more hours," said Student
Body President-elect Steve
Peterson.
Ricker's letter elicits
student response
Blood drive successful at Bethel
By Christina Rankins
Managing Editor
On April 12, Baptist
General Conference (BGC)
President Ricker wrote a
letter to BGC pastors as an
update regarding the foreknowledge discussion.
This letter refers lo
the "hiring policy" as presented by Ricker and President Brushaber in the September 30, 1999 letter to
BGC pastors, which stated,
"Bethel will not hire, either
at the college or the seminary, other faculty members
who hold the openness theology view."
In the more recent
letter, Ricker said,
"We recommend to
the Board of Trustees
of Bethel College and
Seminary that views
contrary: to God's
exhaustive
foreknowledge not be
taught by any Bethel
professor or
instructor who
espouses such
views."
In response to debate
surrounding the foreknowledge discussion, a group of
students called the Concerned and Committed Students wrote a resolution that
encompasses aspects of the
issue, which range from
support for the BGC Affirmation of Faith to a reaction to Ricker's letter.
This group concluded:
"If this suggestion
were to come to pass,
professors whose
purpose is to act as
catalysts (not
persuaders) would be
forced to remain
silent on issues which
contribute to a well-
rounded liberal arts
education."
The foreknowledge
discussion remains an ongoing dialogue, with the
number of participants continually increasing. Keep
reading for further updates.
See page 3 for the
resolution from the
Concerned and Committed
Students.
Sophomore Leah Tervonen smiles at a Red Cross worker, who is getting
Tervonen ready to donate blood. The drive was last Thursday, April 27.
'Publisher's Weekly' honors Boyd
By Sarah Aue
Editor-in-chief
Presenting a clear explanation of
the Open view of the future of God,
"God of the Possible," written by professor of Biblical and Theological Studies Greg Boyd, received the Star Review
in the April 24 issue of "Publisher's
Weekly."
This review is the first of its kind
for a book published by the Baker Book
House. Criteria for this recognition in
clude the following categories: unusual
interest, potential influence and merit.
Word of its release created controversy for Baker Book House when
other authors under their label, namely
Dr. John Piper, ihreatened to withdraw
their projects. Much of this was a result
of the current discussion involving the
Baptist General Conference's view of
Boyd's theological position.
Released on March 22, "God of
the Possible" has been in the making
continued on page 2