RECAPTURE is about harnessing excellence in everything and applying it for the cause of Christ. When it comes to the Associated Students, excellence in experience is integral to the success of the organization itself and by extension the whole of Biola.
Allow me to describe my own experience, starting at the beginning. In High School, I was a member of Student Government all four years. After graduation, I was a Legislative Assistant to Oregon State Representative Jim Thompson. My chief duty for the representative was correspondence with his constituents, collecting opinions from and writing letters/emails to those he represented. In Fall 2005, my first semester at Biola, I created the sketch comedy show LATE. Within six months, I found myself at the helm of an organization of over fifty people that was regularly delivering a valuable service to the Biola community. This past year, I have been an RA, in the trenches with the students, walking alongside my peers in their Biola experience. This extensive resume proves:
-Excellence in student government. The only differences between high school and college are budget and student population. Robert’s Rules of Order (the guidelines generally accepted for parliamentary procedure) are universal.
-Excellence in vision casting. With LATE, I was able to find a need of both the film department and the Biola community at large and fill it. The idea seemed impossible, too big to accomplish, but not only did it come to fruition, it has been sustained.
-Excellence in uniting and inspiring for a common cause. LATE was a huge vision, and I was able to draw together members of several majors to put in the 200+ man hours necessary for the proper execution of each show without spending a dime on any member of the staff.
-Excellence in empowering students. In addition to numerous examples with LATE, my short film Winston shines as an example of empowerment. Winston was recently nominated for five awards from the Biola Film Festival, tying Be the Man for most noms. Four of these were best of craft (Best Editing, Production Design, Sound Design, and Score). I collaborated with the excellent members of my crew, allowing them to merge their vision with mine and create a project that was recognized for uniform excellence.
-Excellence in organizational leadership. LATE has allowed me to manage a vast staff of students, developing students in craft and fostering both personal and technical growth. Similarly, as an RA I have worked among my peers on the floor to create a brand new community in Horton while identifying and empowering the leadership of the next generation.
Excellence in communication. Members of AS (Presidents, Senators, and Service Chairs) have had the opportunity in their incumbency, yet the accomplishments simply state the status quo. I have been the main liaison for a State Representative, counseled my peers through ResLife, and have used all manner of new media to promote both LATE and this campaign.
I will let my proven track record of excellence in leadership serve as my case for why I have lived up to the call of RECAPTURE. It is up to you, my friend and fellow student to decide whether this is worthy of the position of AS President.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
THE ISAIAH PROJECT
As we began to develop our ideas for global impact for the sake of the gospel, we reached an important conclusion. The particular organization cannot supercede what the goal is. In other words, even if we are unable to work in the AS panorama, the ideas expressed during the course of our campaign cannot die. Why?
The motivation for impacting the culture so that the nations may come to know Christ is what propels this campaign. Yes, there will be meetings to attend, funds to disburse, logistics to be determined. However, we want to make it clear that the driving force behind our campaing is the idea of bringing Christ into the world, in ways that shift our known cultural paradigms.
With all that said, we would like to announce that we have plans of founding a movement of intentional and focused believers, striving to impact the world, named The Isaiah Project. This project would involve forums and planned conversations between the many represented groups at Biola, whether they be in the vocational, cultural, racial, or denominational settings.
The Isaiah Project would exist as a network of believers wanting to influence the culture, and striving to shift the paradigms by which our culture operates. Unity for the sake of vocational and evangelistic missions.
Why is it called The Isaiah Project? The prophetic, often revolutionary voice of Isaiah fell many times on deaf ears. Who will rise up and stand against a culture that determines what is or is not impossible to achieve? Friends, it is time for you and I to be such people.
We are victorious, brothers and sisters, for we have been redeemed. Dream with us. Pray with us. Help us RECAPTURE a culture that is so influenced by apathy. Let us unite, through this school, in becoming a place where the light of the gospel shines to all four corners of the earth. AS can be an agent of change if we only believe.
Blessings to all, including the other hard-working candidates, during the days to come.
The motivation for impacting the culture so that the nations may come to know Christ is what propels this campaign. Yes, there will be meetings to attend, funds to disburse, logistics to be determined. However, we want to make it clear that the driving force behind our campaing is the idea of bringing Christ into the world, in ways that shift our known cultural paradigms.
With all that said, we would like to announce that we have plans of founding a movement of intentional and focused believers, striving to impact the world, named The Isaiah Project. This project would involve forums and planned conversations between the many represented groups at Biola, whether they be in the vocational, cultural, racial, or denominational settings.
The Isaiah Project would exist as a network of believers wanting to influence the culture, and striving to shift the paradigms by which our culture operates. Unity for the sake of vocational and evangelistic missions.
Why is it called The Isaiah Project? The prophetic, often revolutionary voice of Isaiah fell many times on deaf ears. Who will rise up and stand against a culture that determines what is or is not impossible to achieve? Friends, it is time for you and I to be such people.
We are victorious, brothers and sisters, for we have been redeemed. Dream with us. Pray with us. Help us RECAPTURE a culture that is so influenced by apathy. Let us unite, through this school, in becoming a place where the light of the gospel shines to all four corners of the earth. AS can be an agent of change if we only believe.
Blessings to all, including the other hard-working candidates, during the days to come.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
THE FORUMS
As we have mentioned before, our top goal is to involve students in making an impression in the global panorama for the cause of Christ. To that end, we would establish an ongoing series of public forums put on by AS. These would hopefully be instrumental in the process of uniting different majors and ministries for the sake of vocational integration as it relates to the advancement of the gospel.
What does this look like?
For instance, an ICS major and an Art major forum in which people of different interests and gifts are uniting in order to better influence their culture. What can an Art major learn from an ICS major to make his or her work more universally appealing? How can an ICS major begin to view the world artistically? Vocational integration, and this is extremely important to us.
Another type of forum could be one that unites different ethnicities, to discuss upfront what can be done in the realm of racial reconciliation.
Another type would unite Christians of various denominational backgrounds in order to lock arms in ministry.
Get the picture? Unity in purpose, the kind of purpose that changes the paradigms of a culture.
If you have any questions on this, please email us and let us know.
What does this look like?
For instance, an ICS major and an Art major forum in which people of different interests and gifts are uniting in order to better influence their culture. What can an Art major learn from an ICS major to make his or her work more universally appealing? How can an ICS major begin to view the world artistically? Vocational integration, and this is extremely important to us.
Another type of forum could be one that unites different ethnicities, to discuss upfront what can be done in the realm of racial reconciliation.
Another type would unite Christians of various denominational backgrounds in order to lock arms in ministry.
Get the picture? Unity in purpose, the kind of purpose that changes the paradigms of a culture.
If you have any questions on this, please email us and let us know.
THE INFORMATION
Remember the turn of the century? The millennium? Y2K?
One of the greatest things about the dawn of the 21st century was the way in which information is easier than ever to transmit. The internet has brought the daily video diaries of everyone from CEO’s to teenage girls into the same realm as feature films and primetime television.
It is high time that AS capitalize on new media to distribute information to the student body. One of the AS president’s primary duties is to distribute information about AS to the student body, and Alex and I are deeply committed to keeping the students involved in their government in the following ways:
We will have weekly podcasts. Alex’s will detail happenings and highlights from the Senate while mine will deal with the direction of the University and the thoughts of the administration.
We will create AS-PAN (Associated Students Public Access Network), video coverage of each week’s Senate meetings. The complete and entire goings on of each and every meeting will be made public for all of Biola to observe.
We will create online interactive polls in which students can directly voice their opinion to their senators.
We will include profile pages of all members of AS along with their contact information so that they will be easily accessible to the student body.
We will maintain our blog (currently found at bradleyandalex.blogspot.com) with the most current of information.
We will collaborate with the Registrar and each department to create one University wide calendar detailing every event that happens on campus.
All of these will be assembled in one website, easily accessible by each and every student at Biola, therefore bringing AS fully into the 21st century. All of these ideas are entirely feasible. I personally am familiar with delivery of information via the web through my work with LATE.
Alex and I intend to RECAPTURE thorough efficiency and wide use of the most current media of distributing information to the student body.
One of the greatest things about the dawn of the 21st century was the way in which information is easier than ever to transmit. The internet has brought the daily video diaries of everyone from CEO’s to teenage girls into the same realm as feature films and primetime television.
It is high time that AS capitalize on new media to distribute information to the student body. One of the AS president’s primary duties is to distribute information about AS to the student body, and Alex and I are deeply committed to keeping the students involved in their government in the following ways:
We will have weekly podcasts. Alex’s will detail happenings and highlights from the Senate while mine will deal with the direction of the University and the thoughts of the administration.
We will create AS-PAN (Associated Students Public Access Network), video coverage of each week’s Senate meetings. The complete and entire goings on of each and every meeting will be made public for all of Biola to observe.
We will create online interactive polls in which students can directly voice their opinion to their senators.
We will include profile pages of all members of AS along with their contact information so that they will be easily accessible to the student body.
We will maintain our blog (currently found at bradleyandalex.blogspot.com) with the most current of information.
We will collaborate with the Registrar and each department to create one University wide calendar detailing every event that happens on campus.
All of these will be assembled in one website, easily accessible by each and every student at Biola, therefore bringing AS fully into the 21st century. All of these ideas are entirely feasible. I personally am familiar with delivery of information via the web through my work with LATE.
Alex and I intend to RECAPTURE thorough efficiency and wide use of the most current media of distributing information to the student body.
THE PRESTIGE
Prestige—at one time, Christians were at the forefront of every field that they entered. It is our duty to RECAPTURE this prestige so that we are able to truly and completely impact the global panorama for the cause of Christ.
Biola, being a Christian institution of higher education, ought to be among the top schools in the nation. In the foreseeable future, we need to be able to deserve mention alongside names such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the like.
In order to set Biola on the right track, Alex and I fully intend to collaborate with the administration to RECAPTURE the prestige in the following ways:
-Addition of graduate programs. If Christians are to be considered experts in their field, the best way to give them that credibility is to allow them the opportunity to earn advanced degrees on this campus. Talbot and Rosemead are prime examples of RECAPTURING prestige; Alex and I want to spread this to several more fields.
-Raising the ratio of faculty with doctorates. According to the Office of Admissions, only 2/3 of Biola’s faculty hold terminal degrees (source), compared to Azusa’a 76% (source).
-Dramatically growing the endowment. The top colleges in the nation have endowments worth $500,000 to $1,500,000 per student! Biola’s, on the other hand, is $8,618 (according to Carl Schreiber, Biola’s Vice President for Financial Affairs & Information Technology).
-Joining the NCAA. This would raise school spirit; the prospect of winning contests against other respected institutions raises the stakes drastically. Our teams would attract athletes of even higher quality. The athletic programs of most NCAA schools make money for their school. All this, and we would generate national media attention, much like Oral Roberts University as they made it to the tournament this month.
I realize that all these will not be accomplished in this year alone, but with the new president being hired and a new administration joining him, Alex and I will make it a priority to collaborate in the next round of dreaming, shifting the focus towards RECAPTURE in order to shape the future of our world in the name of Christ.
Biola, being a Christian institution of higher education, ought to be among the top schools in the nation. In the foreseeable future, we need to be able to deserve mention alongside names such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the like.
In order to set Biola on the right track, Alex and I fully intend to collaborate with the administration to RECAPTURE the prestige in the following ways:
-Addition of graduate programs. If Christians are to be considered experts in their field, the best way to give them that credibility is to allow them the opportunity to earn advanced degrees on this campus. Talbot and Rosemead are prime examples of RECAPTURING prestige; Alex and I want to spread this to several more fields.
-Raising the ratio of faculty with doctorates. According to the Office of Admissions, only 2/3 of Biola’s faculty hold terminal degrees (source), compared to Azusa’a 76% (source).
-Dramatically growing the endowment. The top colleges in the nation have endowments worth $500,000 to $1,500,000 per student! Biola’s, on the other hand, is $8,618 (according to Carl Schreiber, Biola’s Vice President for Financial Affairs & Information Technology).
-Joining the NCAA. This would raise school spirit; the prospect of winning contests against other respected institutions raises the stakes drastically. Our teams would attract athletes of even higher quality. The athletic programs of most NCAA schools make money for their school. All this, and we would generate national media attention, much like Oral Roberts University as they made it to the tournament this month.
I realize that all these will not be accomplished in this year alone, but with the new president being hired and a new administration joining him, Alex and I will make it a priority to collaborate in the next round of dreaming, shifting the focus towards RECAPTURE in order to shape the future of our world in the name of Christ.
Collaboration in our services
It is our hope to collaborate with the services of Biola for the sake of their improvement. However, it is not the right response to grumble and complain at what we have available for us. Trust me, I am from a country in which the services do not even compare to the luxuries we have here.
Yet it is an objective we have to improve what we have here. As our school increases in size, we need to make sure we can accommodate everyone. So, services such as food, mail, and internet can be improved. Again, we are grateful for what we have here at Biola, but believe we can collaborate and serve so that we can properly serve the student body.
Why?
First, we believe that this institution deserves the best. In other words, striving for excellence even in the things that are secondary or auxiliary can be a great testimony of the work ethic we have as Christians. Also, in trying to RECAPTURE, we hope not to comply to the cultural stigmas in regards to these services, but to set the standard for them.
Second, we hope to cause global impact; in the pursuit of this higher objective it would be nice to be able to consistently rely on the resources here at Biola. On that note, I would like to thank everyone working in the mentioned departments - the campus is in constant need of humble professionals such as yourselves.
Yet it is an objective we have to improve what we have here. As our school increases in size, we need to make sure we can accommodate everyone. So, services such as food, mail, and internet can be improved. Again, we are grateful for what we have here at Biola, but believe we can collaborate and serve so that we can properly serve the student body.
Why?
First, we believe that this institution deserves the best. In other words, striving for excellence even in the things that are secondary or auxiliary can be a great testimony of the work ethic we have as Christians. Also, in trying to RECAPTURE, we hope not to comply to the cultural stigmas in regards to these services, but to set the standard for them.
Second, we hope to cause global impact; in the pursuit of this higher objective it would be nice to be able to consistently rely on the resources here at Biola. On that note, I would like to thank everyone working in the mentioned departments - the campus is in constant need of humble professionals such as yourselves.
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