In about a week and a half, visitors representing our accreditors, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, will be coming to talk to Kuyper students about their experienc-es here. Any student is welcome to give their input on the strengths and weaknesses of Kuyper College. This event is not incredibly formal or scripted in any way. Honest responses are hoped for. This meeting is Monday November 5 from 3-4 pm. Meeting room TBA. There will be re-freshments! If you can make it, please email StudentSenate@kuyper.edu.

N O R T H L A N D

Last Friday, Kuyper played the

#2 team in the NCCAA, North-

land International University.

They played well early hold-

ing Northland off the board for

over 20 minutes. Northland

was eventually able to get a

few goals to make it 3-0 at half

time. Things didn’t go much

better in the second half.

Kuyper struggled early in the

half and gave up a couple of

goals quickly. They ended up

losing by a score of 9-0.

F I N L A N D I A

The soccer team played on

Saturday against Finlandia

University. They started out

well scoring 5 minutes into the

game on a header by Noah

Deih. Throughout the rest of

the game, Kuyper was not able

to get the bounces to go their

way. They ended up falling by

a score of 3-1.

I N D I A N A

After numerous match ups

between Kuyper’s volleyball

team and IUNW, in one of the

most hard fought matches up

to this date, Kuyper overcame

the dark cloud and came out

victorious last Tuesday!

I n s i d e t h i s

i s s u e :

To Vote or Not to Vote 2-4

SAC 5

Blog 5

Job Postings 5

November Calendar 6

Kuyper Life Update 7

In the Loop 7

B r e a k i n g N e w s !

1 0 / 2 6 / 2 0 1 2 I s s u e 5

C h a p e l

M 10/29:

Kyle Stowell

W 10/31:

Reformation

Day Chapel

F 11/02:

Prayer and Praise

The Loop!

Monday 10/29: World Series Party at 7:45 in

the Dining Hall

Last day to withdraw from classes with

a “W”.

Tuesday 10/30: Men’s Basketball Game

against Lawrence Tech University,

7pm @ Home.

Wednesday 10/31: Halloween Costume Rave

at 8pm outside the Dining Hall.

Thursday 11/01: Men’s Basketball Game

against Goshen College, 7pm Away.

Friday 11/02: Men’s Basketball Game

against Calumet College of St. Joseph,

7pm Away.

Saturday 11/03: Happy National Sandwich Day!

What kind will you make?

S t a y i n t h e L o o p :

Christ-Centered Community

To Vote, or Not To Vote…

Patriotism. It’s a word that invokes strong feelings

for many people; especially Americans. We live in a

great country, and we take pride in the things for which

the country stands. Despite all of its failures, as far as

earthly kingdoms go, we have a fairly good one. As Dr.

Felch stated, “America is amazing in the way that it

switches party control every two to four years. This

switch is done peacefully and without bullets; we take

that for granted.”

We as Christians have, however, a duty to another

kingdom, which makes our earthly politics more prob-

lematic than before. So what happens when our heaven-

ly duty conflicts with that which is our expected earthly

duty? I have spoken with a number of people about this

topic, and I have some replies and quotes that will

hopefully assist you as you try to make some difficult

decisions this voting season.

Those who are quoted are: Curt Essenburg, Dr.

Felch, Sam Moerdyk, Dr. Parler, Seth Remer, and An-

drew Zwart. Others mentioned will be a few who I

spoke with who will be called Contributors 1, 2, 3.

Voting is expected by the government as a citizen’s

duty. How important is it?

Curt: I think that voting is one of the primary ways in which citizens have to be involved in our country. It is

not, in my opinion, however the most important way

that we can get involved as citizens.

Parler: It is important but it’s neither the totality of one's duty, nor is it the "essence" of citizenship. One can be a

good citizen without voting on all matters, but one can-

not be a good citizen without being informed and

knowledgeable about relevant issues and actively en-

gaging at least some of those issues in one's community

life.

Zwart: I do think it’s important. Parler’s reasoning [in: Why I’m Not Voting] on why not to vote appeals to me

very much, and I could see myself being swayed in that

direction. At the same time, I believe that the only we

can address certain problems is through large structur-

al systems. Michael Harrington makes a pretty strong

argument for this in his classic book on poverty, The

Other America.

Moerdyk: I think it is essential. One of the greatest mis-

takes a person can make is to do nothing because they

could only do a little.

Felch: We often forget, but we are required to be good citizens of the earthly kingdom as well as the heavenly

kingdom. We must remember to have respect for our

government. For the most part we are not good citizens.

So, at the very least: vote.

Contributor 1: It's interesting that though I have this strong sense that Christians should vote, no Bible verses

connected to it come to mind, nor even a very strong

theological framework for it. The simple call to love your

neighbor means that I want a government that will help

with that, and it is certainly Biblical to be concerned for

justice and mercy.

Contributor 2: "Seek the good of the city" comes to mind – the general sense that though we are aliens and

sojourners, we do not keep ourselves aloof (the more

"Amish" response) but settle down, build houses, care

for our community, work a job, etc. And remember, this

advice was given in a completely pagan culture that was

recently unspeakably evil to a whole lot of people. In a

democracy I think it would be hard to argue that voting

is not part of "seeking the good of the city."

Personally, I believe that it is indeed a citizen’s duty

to vote, and as Christians, we also should take part in

this since we are citizens of this earthly kingdom. Fur-

ther, we should remember that to “submit ourselves to

the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1) includes fol-

lowing the duties set in place to keep the country run-

ning.

There is however, one more thing to remember, that

which causes the difficulties we face in our election deci-

sions. That being that our citizenship in the heavenly

kingdom transcends that of our present earthly king-

dom. So we must be aware that we not cross our respon-

sibilities to God in our earthly decisions. This we must

do with care, since the next verse in Romans (v2) says,

“he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against

what God has instituted.” So be mindful, and be careful.

Do you intend to vote in this upcoming election? Why

or why not?

Felch: Yes. I wouldn’t as a matter of principal ever re-fuse to vote.

Moerdyk: Yes. Absolutely. I feel that not voting is the

T h e L o o p !

T h e M a r k o f a n E d u c a t e d M i n d B y S t e p h e n E i s i n g

P a g e 2

same as voting for the candidate that ultimately wins,

because if that was not who you wanted to win, you had

the opportunity to do something about it.

Curt: Yes. I vote because it is my right to vote, I desire to have my voice and opinions heard on the issues that

are voted on. I am also interested in many of the issues

that face voters.

Parler: Yes. I will vote on the ballot proposals because they are direct votes that rely on citizens to weigh in. I

will not vote in the presidential election because (a)

both candidates hold to positions that are egregious

violations of a biblical worldview and Christian social

teaching, and (b) as a symbolic gesture to the relative

(not ultimate) importance of the office of President.

Zwart: Yes. I will certainly vote on the propositions. As for the presidential election, I am still struggling with

what to do, but I will vote in some form, either for the

person whom I consider to be the lesser of two evils or

for a third party. Or, I may simply leave that bubble

empty—in other words, registering my voice without

voting. It’s hard for me to vote for someone who I think

will commit (or is already committing) severe immoral

acts. And while I believe each of us is already implicat-

ed to some degree in these actions, voting for such a

person just seems to make that involvement more di-

rect.

Contributor 4: Yes. If you see something wrong, you as a citizen are called to say and do something about it. As

a Christian you are required morally to take that even

further. People tend to put a lot of weight on the grey

that they see, when there is more than plenty black and

white around them. If you simply say “I’m not going to

vote for either” you haven’t done anything at all. I don’t

see you as furthering the kingdom of God. We are

called do things in this world in light of a present king-

dom that we need to further. There are very few things

that by not doing anything, further the kingdom. You’re

not going to gain any positive ground by ceasing mo-

tion.

I myself will definitely be voting. I enjoy exercising

my right to vote. And while I personally also have a

number of inhibitions about this election, I have been

spending a lot of time in prayer about this and I believe

that God will indeed lead me to the right choice. For I

am not naïve enough to think that He doesn’t care what

decisions are made.

How do you feel about abstaining from voting?

Curt: If I feel that I am unable to confidently say what

the ballot issue is and why I am voting the way that I am

then I will not vote on that issue. This also holds true if I

believe that there is not a candidate who is, in my mind,

fit for the position. Sometimes this means voting for a

third party and sometimes it means not voting for any

candidate.

Contributor 3: “Justice--even very provisional justice--is rarely accomplished by not participating in the system

(even one that is--no surprise--a broken human institu-

tion). The same argument for disengagement could ap-

ply to any human institution (including the church)--all

equally broken.”

Felch: If neither candidate is suited for the position or if I feel that I will not be able to vote for either and come

away with a clear conscience.

Moerdyk: If there was clean proof that the election re-sults were being manipulated so as to make my vote

worthless. Or if I knew nothing about the issue or candi-

dates, I would not then vote.

Contributor 4: Not voting is technically a civil disobedi-ence. Your reasons for not voting cannot simply be, “it’s

not perfect.” It can’t be a gut reaction. If that’s all you

ever do, you’ll never vote, period. If a Christian is going

to be voting, they should be very knowledgeable about

the issue. Many have a make or break issue. Abortion is

one of those. I respect that, because it is black and white

where a lot of other issues are murky grey. Then you

have the legitimate choice of not voting, as a citizen, you

do not. If there are two candidates, citizens have two

choices. Christians have three; they have the right to

abstain.

What should a Christian do before making the ultimate

call to abstain?

Contributor 2: Most elections in our country at least en-tail, choosing the lesser of two evils; and I think Chris-

tians have a responsibility to do that. Abstaining out of

conscience is just copping out because you don't want to

deal with messiness, in my opinion. The world is messy,

and full of grey areas, and Christians are undoubtedly

going to differ remarkably on what the lesser of two evils

are. If you are constantly seeking a black & white world

in which all Christians agreeing on everything is a goal

politics is going to seem particularly challenging.

Moerdyk: They should pray about it and talk to people they trust.

Curt: I believe that if, after careful consideration, a Christian is not able to make a choice on a candidate or

issue that they believe fits with their worldview, then

deciding to not vote may be the answer - though I would

T h e L o o p ! P a g e 3

argue for taking the opportunity to write in a candidate

when you can in these situations.

Parler: Well, in my case, with regard to the presidential election, I relied on trustworthy sources who talk about

the nature of nationalism as a religion, had a good

awareness of Christian social teaching with respect to

issues such as abortion, just war theory, etc., and lis-

tened to how the candidates themselves articulated

their positions. I asked what it would entail to affirm a

candidate and thought deeply about my own moral re-

sponsibility. My conscience will not allow me to support

a candidate (in this case both of them) whose own poli-

cies and practices on different issues embrace what

Pope John Paul II called a "culture of death." My refusal

to vote is not abstaining from civic life; quite the oppo-

site: I have fully engaged the issues and I am very con-

sciously electing not to vote. That is one legally protect-

ed and morally permissible way of making my voice

heard.

Felch: Before deciding not to vote, they should assess their own conscience and their responsibilities before

God.

Other Comments

Contributor 4: Jesus always had stuff to say about polit-ical things. And it was very often followed by talking

about the kingdom of God. So it’s safe to say that poli-

tics is one of the spheres that we need to pay attention

to. Christians are called to be active in many different

spheres of life, being politically active is one of those

spheres. They need to do it well and they need to do it

right. Remember that you’re voting for both what they

stand for, and what they do not stand for. It’s our job to

look for and recognize that.

A final comment I want to make is, if you’re worried

about moral implications when voting, then you need to

make a definite

So, to reiterate my feelings: pray. Then and only

then: vote.

Unless you feel that God is telling you that you will

seriously compromise the integrity of your conscience

by voting for any options there. Then as Curt said: write

someone in, or as Zwart said: leave the bubble empty.

T h e L o o p ! P a g e 4

This week we hear from SAC intern, Matty Grochocinski.

Kelsey: What is SAC/What does it stand for?

Matty: This year, to define our student organization, we sat down to create a mission statement for SAC in order to better understand our purpose. This is our identity: “Our purpose is to create a wholesome community by having events that stimulate togetherness and social relationships. We provide an escape from academia, a way to take a break. We host activities that are free and accessible to everyone in the community for the purpose of forming God-honoring relationships."

Kelsey: What does SAC do?

Matty: SAC is in charge of coming up with and executing all of the recreational student events that occur throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, we sit down and discuss events that we would like to do, either bringing back successful events from prior years or trying new ideas altogether. This year, I really challenged our group to break our traditions. SAC has many events that have become an-nual traditions but I wanted to break the mold and branch out to new ideas. I believe it keeps our ideas fresh and exciting. Some of the more popular events that we’ve passed on this year are The Hunt, which was a Halloween Scavenger Hunt, and Farm Fest. Our biggest event, The Christmas Banquet, will continue just as it has in the past.

Kelsey: What are some plans for the year?

Matty: My goal was to incorporate a number of smaller events that are spread throughout the year, along with our bigger, usually monthly, events. Some of the big things we have lined up this year are a themed bowling night out and a themed skating party, along with some smaller events like a retro video game night and sledding events at the dunes. Right now, we’ve been focusing on organizing the Christmas Banquet. The Banquet this year is going to have a Black & White party theme and will be hosted at The Goei Center in downtown Grand Rapids. We are very excited

Kelsey: What do you want people to know about SAC?

Matty: My goal for SAC has always been to create events that everyone can enjoy together. I am trying to come up with ideas that appeal to everyone so that everyone may be given a chance to meet up and have fun with fellow students. In order for my goal to be a successful one, I rely on two things: to get feedback from student and students to come to SAC events. We are always open to suggestions, ideas, and criticism even if you aren’t on SAC! Just shoot us an email at SAC@kuyper.edu.

Kelsey: Do you have any parting words?

Matty: College is typically the place where you will meet the people you will know for the rest of your life. Your college years are at a time of your life when you have very little to lose. There is no better time to try something you never thought you’d enjoy. I suggest you sign up for everything you can and try everything at least once. You may discover gifts you never knew you had!

Care Delivery Driver for HomeTown Pharmacy

Paid Missionary for Japanese Evengelical Missionary Society

Audiologist Assistant for Lapeer County Intermediate School District

Director of Student Ministries at Manhattan CRC

Director of Music at Orland Park CRC in Illinois

Music Coordinator at Calvary Church in Lowell

Youth Ministry Coordinator for Fuller Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids

Adult Education Instructor for Lapeer County Intermediate School District

Director of Student Ministries in Sarasota, Florida

AmeriCorps openings in Grand Rapids

For more information and openings, go here.

The blare of my morning alarm made my eyes snap

open and my whole body jump out of surprise. I

angrily snatched my smartphone from my bedside

desk, dismissing the alarm and rolled out of bed to

get ready for the day. As I stood in the bathroom

waiting for my straightener to heat up to the highest

degree possible, I suddenly had a rather disturbing

thought. If some creeper/serial killer/robber ever

came into the bathroom to try and attack me, what

would be my plan of defense? Immediately, I thought

of the straightener. If the attacker came close

enough, I could simply clamp down on his arm,

leaving him with third degree burns. That’ll make

him sorry…unless he has a gun. Then he’ll probably

just shoot me. So, I ditched the straightener, and

decided that the Scrubbing Bubbles under my sink

would be a good option. That crap is chockfull of

nasty chemicals. I’m sure it can’t feel nice on the

eyeballs. Hey, it’s not pepper spray, but it works!

After he was writhing on the floor in pain from the

shower cleaner, I would run into my suitemates’ room

(holla to my girls Janet and Katilyn!), lock both doors,

and dial 911. Perfect. Problem solved. Come at me,

bro.

Click here to read more!

T h e L o o p !

I n t e r v i e w

a n I n t e r n !

P a g e 5

B l o g

J o b P o s t i n g s

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

28 29

Last day to

withdraw

from classes

with a “W”

30 31

Halloween

Costume Rave

- 8pm outside the

Dining Hall

1

Men’s B-ball

vs. Goshen

- 7pm Away

2

Men’s B-ball

vs. Calumet

- 7pm Away

3

4 5 6

Men’s B-ball vs. Lourdes

- 7:30pm Away

7 8 9

Men’s B-ball

Tiger Holiday

Tournament

- 5pm @ Grace

10

Women’s B-ball

vs. Marygrove

- 1pm Away

Men’s B-ball

Tournament

- 1&3pm Away

11 12 13

International

Study/Field

Practicum Meeting

- 1-2pm in the

Zondervan Room

Women’s B-ball vs.

Great Lakes

- 6pm @ Home

14 15 16

Overnight

Visit Day

17

Men’s B-ball

vs. Marathana

- 3pm @ Home

18 19

Men’s B-ball

vs. Grand Valley

- Away

20

Women’s B-ball

vs. Rochester

- 5pm @ Home

80’s Skating Party

- 8pm

21

22

Thanksgiving

Break!

23 24

25 26

Class Resumes

27 28 29

Overnight

Visit Day

30

Men’s & Women’s

B-ball NCCAA

Midwest Tip-off

Tournament - Away

November 2012

I s s u e 5 P a g e 6

Look at how happy Vanessa, (and part of) Sara and Mari-

na are after getting their candy from reading The Loop!

This is the last week to enter the Applebee’s drawing!

The winner will be picked on Friday, Nov. 2 at 5pm. You

must be able to recite these three things at the Student

Life front desk from memory.

When is the meeting with the accreditors?

What is the theme of the Christmas Banquet this

year?

Name one event happening in November

If you can name these three things, you can either re-

ceive a candy bar (!!!!) or enter in a raffle for a grand

prize of a $15 gift card for Applebee’s (!!!!!!) at the end of

the month!

A r e Y o u i n t h e L o o p ?

T h a n k s f o r

r e a d i n g ! Click to watch

a video!

Halloween is almost here!

Need some costume ideas?

We’ve got you covered!

Want to contribute? Have poetry, stories, art, comics, or professor quotes?

Email kuyperlife@kuyper.edu