Clarion 2006-09-28 Vol. 82 No. 04

              BETHEL  UNIVERSITY
Thursday, September 28, 2006
http://bethelnet.bethel.edu/clarion
Volume 82 • Number 4
Conference unites faith and journalism
McKibben addresses
need for meaning in
world of reporting
By Travis Grabow
The keynote address
for the Journalism
Through the Eyes of
Faith conference was given by
Bill McKibben on the evening of
Sept. 21. Entitled "The Signs of
the Times," McKibben focused
on both the enormous changes
taking place in the journalism
world and lhe compatibility of
the Gospel message with the
core ideas of the trade.
McKibben is a prolific
Christian writer. His books include a powerful and convicting
look at global warming called
"The End of Nature," and a provocative exploration of genetic
engineering called "Enough."
He has also been published in
various magazines such as The
Atlantic Monthly and Harper's,
which last year ran his controversial article "The Christian
Paradox: How a Faithful Nation
Gets Jesus Wrong."
Throughout his address,
McKibben discussed his views
on the changing world of journalism. He described how many
journalists are leery of the rise
of blogs and the spread of "infotainment." Many people in the
industry are afraid that these
new mediums will pose as serious journalism and degrade its
overall quality.
McKibben, however, was
optimistic about the new developments. He talked about how
one of a journalists first duties
is to the reader, and the Internet allows journalists to interact
with their readers like never before. He was also encouraged by
lhe melding of more traditional
wriiing with audio and video,
and the rapidly growing communities of semi-professional
journalists.
Another topic of discussion involved the main values
of journalism and their relation
to the Gospel. One of the parallels drawn was that between the
continual and absolute commitment to the truth by both the
journalistic profession and the
Christian faith.
McKibben also talked
about how Jesus commands his
followers to help the helpless,
the poor and the needy. Likewise, journalists need to help
the people they serve by giving
them the information they need
to effectively deal with the issues
they face every day, whether on
a local, national or global scale.
Tracking your
term paper
Professors confirm that
buying supposed 'non-
plagiarized' papers
online is still
considered plagiarism
By Marie Hansen
It isn't too far-fetched to
imagine a night when you are
collapsed on your couch at 4
a.m., surrounded by books and
notes, gulping pots of black coffee to stay awake and you still
haven't started that research paper that's due tomorrow.
Wouldn't it just be easier to
buy a pre-written paper from a
useful online paper-producing
service?
Buying
the Times. Term Paper Relief
and Go-Essays each returned
a term paper on time, but their
quality was judged unacceptable by several college professors interviewed for the article.
Many students ai Beihel are
also using these online services
or other internet sources to find
papers, according to Rich Sherry, dean of Faculty Growth and
Assessment,
Services may claim that
they will "sell
er
papers   from  "Facility cH£ UlOTt  you a pap-
online      ser- no   one  can
vices or copy- Sensitive tO  the iS- detect is not
your   work,"
sue. It's less and
ing
from
papers
web
sites is running rampant
throughout
college campuses across
lhe country.
Bethel is
also becoming subject
to the newest
fad of students obtaining papers online.
Faculty members are implementing new measures to stop
the plagiarism.
The New York Times recently investigated several online companies that offer this
increasingly popular service.
Reporters bought three custom-written papers. However,
the results were less than A+.
SuperiorPapers.com never
delivered the paper ordered by
less likely that
[students] will be
able to get away
with it."
-Rich Sherry
said Sherry,
"but the definition [of
plagiarism]
is turning in
something
that's not
your work."
"1 don't
know if students are
aware that...
it's harder to get away with
(turning in papers from online
sources]," he said. "Faculty are
more sensitive to the issue. It's
less and less likely that [students] will be able to get away
with it."
Professors can readily perceive differences in a student's
writing style. "If a faculty member has been reading your writing, and it changes, that's very
easy to see," said Sherry. Even if
Papers continued on page 8
Photo by Danica Myers
During his chapel speech on Friday, Bill McKibbons cautioned that wise use of resources is essential as the
earth is showing great effects of global warming. ;
"I consider the conference an immense success as
a first effort. Across the board, the speakers were
exceptional."
-Phyllis Alsdurf
Conference
coordinator
gives
reaction
By Travis Grabow
One of the biggest reasons
that the Journalism Through the
Eyes of Faith conference was
able to take place was that Phyllis Alsdurf, assistant professor of
English, was willing put in most
of the effort required to organize
such an event.  .
After investing so much
time, she was understandably
concerned about how it would
all turn out. Despite any pre-
conference worries, however,
her impressions were almost
entirely positive. "I consider the
conference an immense success
as a first effort. Across the board,
the speakers were exceptional."
She was also pleasantly
surprised at the eagerness that
some of the speakers displayed
in deciding to come to Bethel.
Friday's chapel speaker Bill
McKibben, in particular, "has
enough speaking requests to
go somewhere every day of the
year, but chose to come to Bethel because he believes strongly
in what we are trying to do with
the journalism program."
Her only regret was that, in
her view, too few people took
advantage of the opportunity
the conference presented.
Alsdurf hopes that those
who missed out last week will
get another chance in the near
future. "I've already got plans
swirling in my head for a conference next year that would
build on the momentum of this
event."
Photos courtesy of Monica Gross
The Europe Term,
which is
focused on
intercultural
communication,
brings students to
Austria, Czech
Republic and
France.