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As Pacific Union College's Pioneers varsity teams in womens volleyball, mens soccer, and mens and womens cross country close their seasons, and as mens and womens basketball opens, the teams exhibit positive sportsmanship along with some serious wins. On November 11, womens volleyball team members Heather and Tiffany Jacobson were named members of this year's California Pacific Conference Volleyball All Conference Teams. Tiffany also received Freshman of the Year honors. The volleyball Pioneers made a positive comeback this year and made it to the quarterfinals for the Cal Pac Tournament, concluding their season on November 11. The mens soccer Pioneers finished their record season with a 3-1 victory at CSU Maritime on November 12. They made it to conference championships and narrowly missed the chance to play in the NAIA national championship, falling into second in standing (behind Holy Names University). They finished their season with nine wins, two losses, and one tie. The mens and womens basketball teams opened their official season on November 8 and 9, with the mens team winning their first game. The men will head to Oregon for two games, followed by a long line of California games. The women have games in California, Oregon,...

For the first lecture in the Presidential Inaugural Lecture Series at Pacific Union College, Harvard professor David R. Williams spoke about religion and the impact on American health. He presented studies examining how religious participation affects a person's health. In most cases, he said, the studies found that religious participation (regular church attendance) has a positive effect on health. Some of these positive effects include lower blood pressure, less stress, less depression, and fewer anxiety disorders. Williams noted, however, that there are exceptions. People who are intrinsically religious people, those who consider religion to be a central and genuine focus in their life and who live their faith, are positively affected. But by contrast, people who are extrinsically religious, those who go regularly attend church as a way to give off a certain appearance or establishing status, tend to be negatively affected and experience more anxiety and depression. Looking at the larger picture, Williams talked about the health crisis in America. In 1994, a study showed that 46 percent of U.S. adults have a psychiatric disorder. Then Williams brought it back to the church: If religion can be such a powerful tool, then we have to address the on-going question...

The second annual 24-hour theater festival was a big hit on Sunday evening, with people lining the walls of Alice Holst Theater and even watching from the lobby. Produced by the Pacific Union College Dramatic Arts Society, the festival was titled "Shuffle" and showcased four short plays created entirely in 24 hours. Four playwrights were given titles (from songs) at 9 p.m. on Saturday evening, November 14. They wrote through the night and handed off their plays to directors the next morning. The directors and their teams of actors spent the day rehearsing. At 8 p.m. Sunday evening, the theater was packed with an expectant audience. PUC film & television program director Rodney Vance wrote "The Final Slowdance"; current PUC student Peter Katz contributed "All the Things That I've Done"; San Francisco playwright Enrique Urueta wrote "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making"; and former PUC student Tim Wolcott wrote "Don't Blame it on Elvis." Five directors, 20 actors, and a crew of six brought the four brand-new plays to life. "Shuffle" producer, PUC student, and drama program intern Timothy Widmer explained that "last year DAS produced the first 24-hour festival and it was so much fun we decided to do...

If you grew up watching Ultraman and Ampanman, you might be Japanese. If you think Ichiro Suzuki is Superman, you might be Japanese. If you can identify a literary work on a wall and immediately converse about its significance to history, culture and society, you might be Japanese. “The Japanese view reading and writing as a patriotic, nationalistic act,” says Dr. Maria Rankin-Brown, professor of English at Pacific Union College. “It’s like they’re saying, ‘We’re being Japanese by reading.’” Rankin-Brown, whose mother is Japanese, returned to the island nation for the third consecutive year this summer to continue her research on Japanese literature and literary behavior, with special focus on manga — a literary form unique to Japan. Rankin-Brown chose to research Asian literature to supplement her Great Books course’s Global Perspectives subtitle, which concentrates on non-western works. Through her work, she hopes not only to publish a book, but also to find a method to motivate her American students to take the same pride and enjoyment in reading that she witnessed in the Japanese culture. Japan is ranked among the most literate countries in the world, boasting a national literacy rate of 99 percent. This high percentage inspired Rankin-Brown...

David R. Williams, a Harvard professor and an internationally recognized authority on social influences on health, will speak at Pacific Union College on November 14. His topic will be "Religion and Health: Findings, Challenges and Unanswered Questions." Williams is a professor of sociology and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and is the Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health. He is the author of more than 150 scholarly papers in scientific journals and edited collections, and his research has appeared in leading journals in sociology, psychology, medicine, public health and epidemiology. He is one of the most cited researchers in the social sciences. Williams' lecture is the first in the Presidential Inaugural Lecture Series, which will bring major speakers to PUC during the inaugural year of Dr. Heather Knight's presidency. Williams will speak on Saturday, November 14, at 4 p.m. at the Scales Chapel on the Pacific Union College campus. Admission is free. For more information, call 707-965-6303....