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After months of preparation and promotion, the Pacific Union College campus mall was alive and packed with people on the night of May 18 as the twilight hours welcomed the first REVO PUC. The event was the brainchild of graphic design major Rachel Thompson and inspired by a campus visit from activist David Batstone, encouraging awareness about human trafficking. The awareness of this cause encouraged Thompson to take it up as her own and encourage her peers to do the same. With hundreds of students in attendance, REVO (short for “revolution”) provided a variety of entertainment and features to draw attention to its cause. There was a spoken word poetry slam, a fashion show, several student organization booths and a concert by Hawaii-based indie band, Goodbye Elliott. Corn dogs and lemonade were on sale and the Amnesty International booth was right at home in the awareness-raising event. The marquee feature of the event was the student-run benefit sale. Hundreds of items that were donated by students, faculty and community members were resold and auctioned off. All proceeds went to a project of Batstone’s “Not For Sale” campaign, building a shelter and vocational center for trafficked and abused children in Lima,...

For the first time, Pacific Union College’s annual Spring Fest found a new home this year: the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. As a collaboration with the Napa Valley Cinco de Mayo festival, the May 4 event came as a result of careful planning on the part of student activities director Juliana Dalotto and the 14 clubs that took part in the festivities. Spring Fest has traditionally been held in the PUC gymnasium, but when the Cinco de Mayo festival was reported to be happening the same day, the organizers decided that this would be a great opportunity not only to give PUC some visibility within the Valley but also a great way to get connected with the local communities. Dalotto stated, “I always thought it would be wonderful if PUC could play a bigger role in the community at large. This was a perfect venue to set that precedent because the committee members were very supportive about helping PUC get involved and they helped me make it happen.” The day began with a Cinco de Mayo parade that ran down Calistoga’s main street. In the midst of the rancheros on horseback, the cultural dancers and the sounds of Latin...

On May 18, 2008, at 7 p.m., REVO PUC, a student-organized fundraiser for social justice, will be held on the Pacific Union College campus. It will feature a fashion show, a poetry slam, a flea market and a live concert. REVO (short for revolution) started in Hilo, Hawaii, in 2007 and has since become a chain of awareness-rasing events geared towards different causes of injustice around the globe. REVO PUC is directed towards increasing awareness and funds to stop human trafficking. Event organizer Rachael Thompson says that the inspiration for the event came to her after activist and entrepreneur David Batstone visited the campus and talked about the “Not for Sale” campaign to stop human trafficking. Thompson said, “Our hope for REVO, as it relates to the community, is that people will understand PUC to be a place where people are stirred to action in place of apathy. I've seen people's lives transformed as they learn about the truths of modern day slavery, and the idea that they can do something practical to abolish it.” The flea market will sell items collected from PUC faculty, students, and staff. Donors were asked to give careful consideration to their gifts. “[This is]...

On Monday, April 14, the PUC community received a special opportunity to experience the California premiere of Chinese filmmaker Jian Yi’s documentary, “Super, Girls!” PUC resident artist Mei Ann Teo introduced the screening to a full audience and hosted a Q & A session with the director after the screening. As part of a brief U.S. tour for the film, Yi’s visit to PUC was preceded by a packed screening at NYU and followed a day later by a stop at UCLA. The event presented students and faculty with a chance to experience world-class independent filmmaking.The film, “Super, Girls!” is a provocative and private glimpse into the world of the media machine and how it permeates the most personal depths of Chinese society. It begins by introducing the “Supergirls” singing contest, an anyone-can-win singing game show structured in the tradition of “American Idol.” “Supergirls” quickly became the most popular television show in the nation’s history, garnering nearly 450 million viewers during its peak of recognition in the latter half of its two-year run. The show wasn’t just a sensation, it was a movement. At the height of its popularity, it was banned by the Chinese government on accusations of being...

One question stood at the center of this year’s Student Week of Prayer: What do we believe? Despite any misconceptions that young people may have about the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of Adventism, the reality, campus chaplain Roy Ice says, is that they are “pretty basic things.” Starting Monday, April 7, and going through the Sabbath of April 12, 11 students shared their unique testimonies on 11 different fundamental beliefs and how they make up the fabric of Adventism. The theme was about understanding your reasons for believing. As Krista Brieno put it, “It is important to know the faith you claim. I say I’m an Adventist, but do I really know what all that includes? The 28 fundamental beliefs really seal the deal in that respect.” Part of the purpose for covering the fundamental beliefs was to clear up the stereotypes. Brieno stated that there is a misconception of the 28 beliefs as “a set of very strict and rigid regulations telling us what we can and can’t do. But they are really inspired and we should be proud of them.” The pattern of breaking down the old stereotypes continued throughout the week. The programs not only gave students a...