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Roommates Choose Each Others Outfits: Day 4

Three Spring Arbor University (SAU) students decided to let their roommates pick their outfits for this week. Naturally, “The Pulse” is tagging along to see what happens. If you haven’t read the introduction post yet, click here to do so!

Day 4: Dressy

Bekah

There’s really not too much to report on today (which is probably a good thing). The dress that Jessica picked out for me today was one that I bought, loved and proceeded to wear only three times in almost two years. It was nice to wear something that I really like but never wear. I am sure that I will wear it more often now that I remember how much I like it. My only complaint for today is that I miss pants. Like a lot. I’m excited to see what tomorrow has in store!

Bri

I was really nervous about what Bekah’s idea of dressy would entail. Would I have to wear another dress? Or even worse, heels? Trust me, I look like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time when I wear heels and I was hoping – no, praying Bekah wouldn’t put me in them.

We’ve dressed up all week and quite frankly, I miss my black jeans. But when Bekah picked this black skirt, striped shirt and flats – an outfit that isn’t that dressy, but enough to qualify for today – I was happy. Plus, what’s better than medicine when you’re not feeling well? A really cute outfit and just in case you haven’t already gathered that I really like this outfit, let me make myself clear: I REALLY like this outfit.

Will I wear this again? Absolutely.

Jess

Last night when Bri picked my outfit she asked if I had anything to do today. I said, “I have an eye appointment,” to which she responded, “I hope your eye doctor is hot!” When I got back this morning I told her my eye doctor was not hot, he was old. The remainder of my day was spent in my room, aside from the trip to Ada’s Kitchen for lunch. But it’s not a bad outfit to lounge around and do homework in (or procrastinate and watch Grey’s). The skirt is another piece of clothing I have not worn since August and the shirt belongs to Bri, but I loved this outfit! Probably my favorite so far and a beautiful day for it, much warmer than yesterday. I will say this though, I don’t really enjoy being photographed, so I’m glad there’s only one more day of that.

By Bekah Kinney, Bri Loomis and Jessica Tower

Edited by Amber Cekander

Only one more day to go, but anything can happen. Make sure you check back tomorrow to see the final outfits and overall reflections!

*all photos provided by the participants and used with permission*

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Roommates Choose Each Others Outfits: Day 3

Day 3: Your Least Favorite Color

Bekah

After two days of letting my roommates pick my outfits, I was feeling pretty confident about the rest of the week. That is, however, until Tuesday night rolled around. That is until the topic of least favorite colors came up. It quickly came to light that I do not own a single item of clothing in either orange or yellow. This is for very good reason – orange and yellow do not look good on people with a pasty complexion. This, of course, meant that Bri picked an orange dress. Seriously. She put me in orange. To be fair, in some lighting it looks coral(ish) and orange in other lighting. I love the dress itself, but not the color. If I had this dress in a different color, I’d wear it all the time.

Bri

If you were to look in my closet, you would see a bunch of green; olive green to be exact. This is because green is the best color known to mankind. You know what you wouldn’t see in my closet? Blue. And do you know why? Because blue is nice in the sky and ocean but not on me.

With that said, today we had to wear our least favorite color and you guessed it, I had to wear blue. As you can see, the dress Jess picked out has flowers on it, so it’s not like it was solid blue. (Thank goodness) Once I woke up and remembered I had to wear blue, I – well, I guess I got a little blue myself. But then, Jess dropped the real bomb. She wanted me to wear my hair up.

The only time I wear my hair up is when I’m in my room wearing my favorite camp sweatpants and an over-sized t-shirt. I’ve always felt more comfortable with my hair down. I did, however, put it up and it was weird. Not only did I feel super exposed, but I realized that I care way too much about what people think of me. Who cares if I wear my hair up? No one, except me. After finally getting over myself, I actually started to like the freedom having my hair up gave me. For example, the wind had nothing on me today. No more awkward wind comb over for me!

Overall, I didn’t hate the outfit and while I probably won’t wear my hair up again for a while, it reminded me that it is a possibility if I ever want to. One thing that didn’t change, however, was my dislike for blue.

Jess

So, when Bri brought up the idea of wearing our least favorite color my initial thought was, “Please don’t put me in orange.” And what does Bekah do? Puts me in an orange dress. Now, I don’t hate the color per se, I just don’t like it on me. I think it washes me out. Also, my legs have not seen the light of day in about 6 months. Not only are they pale, it’s not quite bare leg weather. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, my disdain toward orange is a little less. I also love the style of the dress and the pattern is really pretty, as opposed to being solid orange. It was really soft and comfy too. And while I don’t like myself in orange, a lot of people seemed to. Does that mean I’ll wear orange again anytime soon? Probably not, but I didn’t totally hate it either. Now, I’d like to thank Bekah for putting me in something completely out of my comfort zone.

By Bekah Kinney, Bri Loomis and Jessica Tower

Edited by Amber Cekander

Seems like Wednesday was a little rocky. But hey, we win some and lose some. Let us know in the comments below what color you wouldn’t be caught dead in!

*all photos provided by the participants and used with permission*

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Roommates Choose Each Others Outfits: Day 2

Day 2: A Casual Look

Bekah

While yesterday brought the anxiety that comes with wearing something you wouldn’t typically wear, today I was totally comfortable. Jessica and I have totally different styles. For this reason, I was nervous about her choosing my outfit. Don’t get me wrong, I totally trust her, I was just a little nervous. To my relief, Jessica selected dark blue skinny jeans (which I decided to cuff), a tan t-shirt, and a cozy grey cardigan. I had to laugh as Jessica was looking through my closet because she had to ask where my grey cardigan was. I asked which one, she sheepishly said the one she wore last week. In the harsh fluorescent lighting found in SAU residence halls, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the tan shirt with a darker grey cardigan. However, once I saw the clothes in better lighting, I liked the color match a lot more. Overall, I would say that today was another successful day trusting someone else with me clothing choices.

Bri

You know that piece of clothing that you never wear? The one that is stuffed in the back corner of your closet and hasn’t seen the light of day in some time, but you swear you’ll either wear it or give it away soon? Yeah? Well, Bekah found said piece of clothing and thanks to this experiment, I’m now wearing it.

While I don’t hate the outfit, because contrary to what Bekah thinks I really don’t, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I love it either. It matches and on anyone else, I’d think it was cute. Really, I would. But on me? I’m just not into the color or style.

I will say, however, that because I haven’t worn it since…high school?, wearing it now has brought back a lot of good memories. For instance, I can clearly remember sitting in class senior year while wearing this shirt, and hearing a buzzing sound only to look up to see my best friend shaving in class. I mean like full on out, has an electric shaver and is going to town on his neck and face. I still don’t understand what was going through his mind in that moment, but the point is that I had forgotten about it until I put this shirt on again.

Overall, while I think the outfit is cute, it’s just not my style. But hey, props to Bekah for being creative and showing me that getting outside of my comfort zone is okay – in fact, it’s really great.

Jessica

Bri’s inspiration for today was 90’s grunge. I’d say she nailed it. I may have been the only one on campus wearing purple lipstick, but how can you do 90’s grunge without dark lips? I’m glad Bri chose a top knot for my hairstyle because I love them. I would have probably worn yogas, but the green pants are one of my more comfy pairs of jeans, so bless her for choosing those. Unfortunately, I usually always make a mess of myself while eating, so white doesn’t stay white for long. I got sauce from my sesame chicken on the front of Bri’s white t-shirt (sorry, Bri). I loved this outfit, thought, and probably would have picked it out myself.

By Bekah Kinney, Bri Loomis and Jessica Tower

Edited by Amber Cekander

So far, so good! The first two days were relatively tame, but there’s still plenty of days to go!

*all photos provided by the participants and used with permission*

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Roommates Choose Each Others Outfits: Day 1

Day 1: the Hipster™ Look

Bekah

Today’s outfit was picked out by Bri. She chose a striped skirt, white shirt, navy blue jacket and brown oxfords. There are no words to adequately describe the anxiety I felt knowing she was riffling through my closet (and the closet of our roommate) to put together a “hipster” outfit. This was like some crazy trust exercise. When Bri showed me the pieces she had artfully selected, I thought it was a cute outfit, just not for me. It was finally morning and time to get dressed. I had to admit the outfit was cute. I spent the morning feeling uncomfortable wearing something I wouldn’t have picked out on my own. Fortunately, the more the day went on, the more I fell in love with my outfit of the day. By the time the day was over, the only down side I could think of was that the skirt wasn’t mine.

Bri

If you haven’t noticed recently, SAU students love their half buns and half buns love SAU students. Seriously, they’re everywhere! Now, I’m not knocking them – believe me, I’m not – but when Jess first suggested I wear my hair in a half bun, I cringed. I’ve tried them before and due to the lovely forehead I’ve been graced with, they just don’t work. Not to mention they fall out of my hair and end up resembling something like a slightly under-cooked curly fry. You know, the kind where it’s still in a hair tie and therefore has some bun-like dimensions, but most of it has slowly unraveled. Nevertheless, I tried to do as Jess said and put it up, but as you can see from the picture – I’m bunless. Let’s just say it was a slightly undercooked curly fry kind of day.

The outfit, however, I loved right from the get go. It was simple, cute and made me feel BA. Always a good sign, right? The only downside was the tights and boots were more for a cold winter day and therefore, I was hot – all day. Overall I liked it, though, and will definitely wear it again.

Jess

I bought this jumper over the summer and have not worn it since…until now. I wasn’t sure how to rock this particular piece in my wardrobe, but Bekah figured that out. I loved this outfit and felt super comfortable in it. Would I have worn it had Bekah not chosen it? Probably not. Would I wear it again? Absolutely. Except the heels. I rarely wear heels. When I do, they’re off in about 2.5 seconds (I took them off every chance I got). Also, stairs. If heels weren’t elevated enough, stairs add a whole new level to walking. Then there’s my roommate. She was at least two feet ahead of me all day. So, aside from the struggles of my unpracticed walking in heels, this outfit was great.

By Bekah Kinney, Bri Loomis and Jessica Tower

Edited by Amber Cekander

Day 1 has been completed but tomorrow is a new day and anything can happen!

*all photos provided by the participants and used with permission*

Roommates Choose Each Others Outfits

Recently, a Buzzfeed video was posted where a couple chose the others outfits for an entire week. The outfit, shoes, makeup and hairstyle were all decided by one half of the couple, the other didn’t get a say.

A group of Spring Arbor University (SAU) students decided to try the experiment for themselves and “The Pulse” will be following their journey. We’ll post an update at the end of every day so you can follow along as well!

Meet the students!

This is Bekah.

“I love jeans, boots or sandals and cardigans. I like to keep things fairly simple with an emphasis on staying warm.”

Meet Bri.

According to Bri, her style is “black jeans and lots of blazers. Occasionally, I’ll mix things up with a dress or skirt. To quote Jess, “You dress librarian-chic.””

And last but not least, Jess.

“Usually you can find me in an oversized sweater and leggings. I keep my style pretty simple and most of my clothes are very neutral.”

By Bekah Kinney, Bri Loomis and Jessica Tower

Edited by Amber Cekander

What happens when you relinquish ownership of your wardrobe? We’ll be posting every day to let you know!

*all photos are provided by the participants and used with permission*

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Diversity, the Indigenous and the Limits of Being Human

By Taylor Reed

It’s impossible to say how many cultures there are on Earth. Lines of division blur, the sheer number of people groups make accuracy impossible and the dynamic nature of societies presents a moving target. What can be said, however, is that distinct social systems are disappearing as trends in globalization indicate shifts toward homogenization.

Which is progress, right? A simpler world is easier to handle. It’s especially helpful if cultures have much to offer—political and religious freedom, career opportunities for economic security,civil infrastructure to protect the safety and rights of humans, so on and so forth. These are conceptions often thought to be inherent in Western societies.

The prolific and enigmatic 20th century environmentalist, David Brower, compressed four and a half billion years of Earth’s history and that of its inhabitants into Genesis’ six-day creation.When that time frame is considered, it isn’t until 4:00 p.m. on the last day that dinosaurs walk the Earth. By 9:00 p.m., these dinosaurs are extinct. At 11:57 p.m., humans appear on the scene.Jesus is born forty-five seconds later. The Industrial Revolution occurs 1/40th of a second before midnight. Since this moment of innovation, more resources have been extracted and consumed than by the rest of the people who’ve ever lived combined.

Brower states, “There are people who think what we’ve been doing for the last fraction of a second can continue indefinitely. They are considered reasonable people, but they are stark raving mad!”

Humans have existed for a long time, yet it wasn’t until recently they began to alter the planet and its ecological balances as significantly and seriously as they do now. It’s no coincidence that 95 percent of the areas identified by the World Wildlife Fund Global 200 as harboring exceptional biodiversity are home to indigenous peoples. This isn’t to paint pre-industrial societies as utopian. Survival entails struggle, and bouts of starvation and disease aren’t to be considered lightly. Today, we think we have answers for these. We think we have answers for everything. We’ve essentially circumvented natural selection. But despite—or perhaps due to—this feat, creation groans.

Lack of clean water, food, medicine and decent sanitation threaten many today. This is well understood. The solution cannot, however, be to bring all into the same conditions that we as Westerners live in today. This “flourishing” is literally impossible, as it would require four Earths to support the world’s population living as Americans, as according to the Global Footprint Network. Developing technology is often brought up as an answer, but gambling on things that do not, and may not exist, may not be the wisest or most responsible choice,especially as it is in our collective power now to make changes with positive repercussions among humanity and creation.

We must lower our conception of ourselves to the point where we can consider that necessary changes, developments and the shaping of lives very well might ask the transformation of ourselves as much as it does others. How do we use technology responsibly? How do we love,interact with and learn from those who live differently than us? And, most importantly, and possibly all encompassing, how do we humble ourselves before God, and find ourselves back in the correct order of creation? We have been given much. We are responsible for much. And for the many cultures, perspectives and ideologies, we are thankful. We have a lot to learn.

De Graaf, J. (2015). Black Friday is Buy Nothing Day. Retrieved February 29, 2016, fromhttps://www.prforpeople.com/news/black-friday-buy-nothing-day

Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the World and Ecoregion Conservation (p. 28,Publication). (2000). Gland, Switzerland: WWF International- Terralingua.

United States of America. (n.d.). Retrieved February 29, 2016, from http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/trends/united_states_of_america/

Illuminating Worship

Student created petition against trafficking gains support

You might not have noticed it, or ever thought anything of it. But when driving on Interstate 94 heading towards Spring Arbor, it’s almost impossible to miss certain billboards that advertise peculiar services.

Bold yellow and pink letters over a solid black background promote an Oriental Health Massage parlor. While seemingly innocent enough, the strange part comes further down the billboard where it says they are conveniently open seven days a week…until 1 am. Many people in the Jackson and Spring Arbor area know this as blatantly promoting human trafficking.

Currently, a petition with over a thousand signatures on it is being enforced through Change.org. When enough people have signed the petition, Michigan Representative Tim Walberg will receive a letter asking him for the removal of these billboards in Jackson.

“Every time I drive on I-94 I’m reminded that Jackson is a safe place for human trafficking,” said Dr. Matthew Hill, Spring Arbor University (SAU) professor of philosophy. “That sign is a physical reminder that the political leaders in the city of Jackson and Jackson county (many of whom claim to be Christian) are too scared or impotent to do anything about such depravity.” Opinions like these were expressed during one of Dr. Hill’s Ethics classes, which actually sparked the idea for the petition in the first place.

Josh Riddick, Lindsey Fluharty, Caleb Smith, Quinn D’Ascenzo, and Nikki Bonnema pursued the idea in Dr. John Hawthorne’s Spirituality, Faith, and Justice course as an “action” project. According to Riddick, his group was struggling to get things done with their other project ideas until the subject of the billboards came up in Ethics class and they decided to do something about it.

While there is currently no lawful proof that human trafficking takes place in these parlors, there has been questionable activity. Senior Lindsey Fluharty, as part of the action project, tried calling the phone number on the billboard to make an appointment, but reported that they wouldn’t let her do it and insisted she should make an appointment “for her husband” instead.

During further research of the subject, it was also discovered that the massage parlor has a profile on “Naughty Reviews.com.” A website who’s tagline is “Find naughty girls near you.”

o[1] — A picture of the parlor’s entrance

In past interviews, SAU sociology professor Jeremy Norwood has said “There is no reason that a massage parlor should be open at 1 a.m.; nobody wants to purchase a massage at 1 a.m.”

At the time of this writing, the student-led petition currently has 1,157 out of the 1,500 signatures needed to continue the petition process. Dr. Hawthorne said he has started introducing the action projects to his class because his students said they “wanted to actually do something.” This is exactly what this group of students is doing, and if others continue to sign the petition, they will be too.

To look at and sign the petition, visit this link

By Nate Bortz

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Bubble Soccer

Eight people, inside giant inflatable balls, chasing a soccer ball around and more often than not, knocking each other over and sending the other person bouncing across the floor. Sound amusing? That’s Bubble Soccer, which took place in Dunkel Gym on the 14th. Teams of students who had signed up for the event in the previous weeks faced off in several games during the tournament, which was set up as a double elimination play. Even Student Government president Ty Davis joined the fun, along with several Peer Advisors and other students.

According to Student Government Association Intramural Sports Coordinator Austin Gatza, this is how the game workes:

There are 4 players on a team, and each has his or her own bubble, which is basically a large inflatable ball with an open center tube that the player stands inside, with straps and handholds to keep the bubble from being bounced off if the player is knocked over. The games were timed in two six-minute halves, and teams alternated play in order to give the others a chance to rest.

There were no out of bounds. Balls could be played off the walls and then if it went completely out of play, staff members or spectators just kicked the ball back into the game. I quickly noticed that this rule meant that even sitting on the sidelines was no guarantee of staying out of the action. Stray soccer balls and sometimes even players often bounced in the direction of spectators, and ducking was certainly a common thing to see when a the soccer balls were kicked more wildly than usual.

While the supposed object of the game was to kick the soccer ball into the goal, the game sometimes became more of a human bumper car tournament, as students attempted to bounce into each other hard enough to knock their opponent over. Getting up after being knocked down seemed to be quite a challenge. Players bounced and rolled across the floor trying to find good footing only to be slammed into again seconds after getting up. Some even became wedged in the goals when their bubble was knocked into the net.

Bubble soccer was certainly a very amusing event, both to watch and to be a participant in. This event gave students a fun and more protected way to participate in a sport that they normally do not play.

By Heather Clark