It's obvious that something very important is going on in Fisher Hall, home of Pacific Union College's art department. Here and there throughout the large open classroom, little groups of people are huddled around laptops and elaborate mechanical setups, gesturing and poking, arguing and collaborating in hushed but hurried voices. Each little cluster is a buzzing frenzy of tension and activity. And then moments later, they step back and unleash their creations: robots designed to rescue the planet. Robots built out of Lego blocks. It's a summer workshop called Lego Robotics, and this is the first time the four-day course has been offered at PUC. The class teaches current and future middle school educators how to participate-and get their students involved in-a national organization called FIRST Lego League. The league holds regional and national competitions where student teams design, build, and program innovative robots based on Lego Mindstorms NXT Intelligent Brick robotics platform. The robots are then tested on a standard course to complete a timed set of functions. Rick Nelson, a teacher at Chico Oaks Adventist School in Chico, California, is presenting the workshop. He and students from his school have been involved in FIRST Lego League (FIRST stands...

Every week the Oakland Grand Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church engages the community with a street ministry of healing. Led by church member Milton Hare, the ministry seeks out the needy and marginalized. The Pacific Union College Theology Club recently heard about Hare's work and decided to get involved. After their first trip to Oakland last May, senior theology major and club president William Wheeler pledged the club's continued involvement in the future. "As theology majors, our ministry starts now, not on graduation day," he says. "Milton's ministry is a perfect opportunity because it gives us a chance not only to further our ministry, but also to learn first hand how exceptional street ministry is done." The day before the ministry sets out, church members and volunteers pack around 250 lunches and gather donated clothes, blankets and basic hygiene kits. The following evening they pile into vans and distribute everything. The group drives through the streets, offering supplies to everyone they encounter. Oftentimes the group will pray with the people. It is in this way that the church builds community outside of the church construct and congregation. Many of the PUC students who went last May were amazed by Hare's ability...

Summer has begun at Pacific Union College, and the campus during the vacation season has changed dramatically from the noise and activity of the main school year. The mountainside is hushed by the exodus of most students from campus, and it's a rare spectacle even to see two or more of them together in one place. But students are still here, and summer classes are in session. Despite the season, all across campus lectures are being taught, discussions are being engaged in, and homework is being assigned. And like the atmosphere around campus, summer session can be very different than the school year proper. Some teachers give their students a chance to relax a little during the summer session. "During the summer, I take a bit more casual approach in order to give students enough time to complete the readings and write the research paper," says history professor Amy Rosenthal. She is currently teaching an upper-division seminar on social deviancy in Victorian England, and finds that the summer session offers both challenges and opportunities in the class. "One of the biggest challenges to teaching a course like this in the summer is the short time frame. I have to choose...

The 285 graduates of Pacific Union College's Class of 2009 marched the final leg of their undergraduate career on Sunday, June 14, in Commencement Grove. The president and academic dean gave 294 degrees (with 84 academic distinctions or honors), as well as granting two honorary doctorates and honoring aviation program director William Price and business department chair Richard Voth as Professors Emeriti. Various programs, dedications, and meet-and-greets take place during the entirety of Graduation Weekend, but the focal point of the affair is Sunday morning in the wooded area known as Commencement Grove, at the top of the hill. Family members arrived not long after a chilly dawn to save the best seats. As graduates began to gather near McReynolds Hall to line up, the most common activities were the adjusting of hats and the snapping of photos, while questions included "Where do the faculty line up?" "Do you sell hot chocolate?" "Where are the leis being sold?" and "Honey, where's your camera?" Although graduation is a time of some pomp and seriousness, students always make it a personally meaningful event. "Not For Sale" lettered on one cap celebrated the cause that students raised $10,000 for two years ago. Pink...

The 4th annual Student Film Festival showcased the work of Pacific Union College student filmmakers to the community, with two screenings at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena on June 4. Enthusiastic audiences viewed seven films, one trailer for a feature film, and the college's video yearbook. The festival featured the work of students Charles Johnson, Marcus Aurelius Klonek, Timothy Wolfer, Peter Han, Nicholas Lampke, and Raphael Jimenez and alums Zach Dunn and Geoff Kegley, with offerings ranging from Public Service Announcement (PSA) to "mockumentary." Han's PSA "Why Would You?" and Wolfer's documentary "Grow Up," which screened at the festival, have both won film awards this year. After the screenings, the filmmakers participated in a Q and A session moderated by Rodney Vance, director of the film & television production program at PUC. The students answered questions about challenges, why they chose their topics, and what will come next. For Raphael Jimenez, creating his comedy film for the first tri-club banquet with the Asian Student Association, Korean Adventist Student Association, and Student Organization of Latinos was a compelling introduction to filmmaking. "I really loved making that film - it was my first one," he said. "I really liked the process."...