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Sister Helen Prejean, social activist and author, will speak about her ministry at Pacific Union College’s Colloquy Speaker Series May 3. Prejean’s ministry focuses on the moral dilemma of the death penalty and her proactive efforts to abolish the death penalty in the United States. Prejean began her work in prison ministry in 1981 when she became pen pals with Louisiana death row inmate Patrick Sonnier. She became Sonnier’s spiritual advisor, while at the same time learning more about the execution process. Prejean witnessed Sonnier’s execution in the electric chair April 5, 1984. Her resulting book—Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States—became a New York Times bestseller, was nominated for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, and was subsequently made into a major motion picture nominated for four Academy Awards and ultimately winning Susan Sarandon the 1995 Oscar for Best Actress. Prejean will give her presentation May 3 at 10 a.m. in the PUC Church Sanctuary. Admission is free. ...

Since 2008, the Green Club has been active on the PUC campus promoting environmentally friendly practices and working to educate students about what it means to “be green.” The rise of the club has been accompanied by several other green movements—a major in environmental studies and the club’s annual hosting of Green Week. “The mission for Green Club is primarily to promote environmental awareness among the students, faculty, and staff at PUC,” says Darlene Teddy, Green Club president. “We try to promote choosing the environmentally friendly option and educate them about the ways that they can be green in their everyday life.” The club has already been active this year on campus with several events. In February, they ran a film series about important environmental issues. “The movies that we've chosen are what we thought would be most relevant to college students or things that the average college student deals with,” says Teddy. Food, Inc., Tapped, Fuel, and The Cove played in the Campus Center, and the viewings were open to all students. The club has also been involved with the student body by putting up flyers around campus with facts and suggestions to help students be more environmentally conscious....

Over 20 Pacific Union College students gave up their spring break to work on construction, health, and education projects on a service trip to Empalme De Boaco, Nicaragua, March 23-31. The trip is part of a partnership between PUC and Developing Communities, Inc., a non-profit group founded in 1988 by PUC alumnus Jake Scheideman. In Empalme de Boaco, students worked with locals to rebuild and renovate the town’s clinic, which had fallen into disrepair. While providing care for residents’ basic health needs, the clinic will also serve as a base of operations for future medical work as Developing Communities and PUC pursue a long-term commitment to the town. “Initially, I heard it was a medical trip; I wanted to go and get some experience,” said sophomore pre-med biology student Meena Kim. “Then they told us we were building a clinic. Regardless of whether I would be doing the actual medical work, I went because we would be providing the assets and the means for them to better their healthcare system.” At the clinic, the students worked with residents of Empalme De Boaco to replace the building’s old tin roof, which had been damaged by a bat infestation. The group also...

For many students, spring break means sunny beaches, fun with friends, quality time with family, or maybe just a quiet week of relaxation. For about 19 Pacific Union College students, however, it meant a week of hard work on a service trip to the former Bennet Freeze in the Navajo Nation, near Flagstaff, Arizona. The trip, which took place from March 23-31, was planned by the Pacific Union College chapter of Project Pueblo, a student-run organization founded at the University of California at Berkeley in 2009. The organization aims to help alleviate the effects of the Bennet Freeze and improve living conditions in the Navajo Nation. This is the second PUC Project Pueblo trip; the first took place over winter break. “The trip helped people restore their homes after the lifting of the Freeze in 2009,” explained Lorie Johns, PUC’s nursing student success advisor, who accompanied students on the trip. “It’s about supporting people as they are working to rebuild and better their living situation.” The Bennet Freeze was a federal policy enacted in 1966 prohibiting any building—even basic repairs—on a 1.5 million-acres portion of Navajo territory.The Freeze resulted in decades of crumbling infrastructure in the affected areas and was...

At Thursday morning’s Faculty Awards Colloquy, PUC business professor Lary Taylor was named Educator of the Year. This is the third time Taylor has won the award—an unprecedented feat in PUC history. The Educator of the Year is decided by student vote, and the results are a closely guarded secret in the weeks between the balloting and the Colloquy program. Professor emeritus of chemistry Bill Hemmerlin, a longtime friend and colleague of Taylor’s, introduced the award, revealing the winner gradually with a series of childhood photos and biographical hints. As the final clue was revealed, Taylor stood and approached the stage with good-humored reluctance as the church audience rose to applaud the repeat honoree. Academic dean Nancy Lecourt presented him with a framed certificate, and then he took a seat on the dais as Hemmerlin delivered a teasing roast of his friend. Later in the program, business department colleagues Wally Lighthouse and John Nunes and business students Chris Madrid and Kelly Chung presented tributes to the professor. Each speaker highlighted the major factor that keeps students voting for Taylor again and again: his warm and welcoming attitude to those around him. “Simply put, my friend Professor Lary Taylor has an...