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Green Chips? Student Perspective Blog

Mar 09
Posted by tmyke in Previous Blogs

SAMMI SHEPPARD | STAFF WRITER

“Did you buy that bag because it says it’s compostable?”

My roommate knows me too well.

I was in Vons the other day looking for something to make for lunch. I decided I wanted to make a grilled cheese sandwich with some chips on the side. As I made my way toward the chip aisle, I saw a display of Sun Chips. I like Sun Chips, but what really caught my eye were the words written on the bag: World’s First 100% Compostable Chip Package.

Since I’m all about protecting God’s creation, (I mean He made it; would you want to mess up His work?), I thought it was a really cool idea to have a package that is compostable.

The package is made from more than 90% renewable, plant-based materials, meaning it will break down completely into compost in a hot, active compost pile. It’ll take about 14 weeks for the bag to break down completely.

Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar. When a compostable product breaks down, it must be able to break down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass, at the same rate as paper, without producing any toxic material since it is used to support plant life.

So instead of having the package sit in a landfill for years upon years, Sun Chips has decided to make a smart and more sustainable choice in their packaging, especially since composting is starting to catch on in the green movement.

More and more people are making a composting bin in their backyards to make fertilized soil for their gardens. (Even APU is planning on using composting piles when they make a green living area where students can grow their own vegetables.)

And going green isn’t just for Al Gore, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Silverstone, Orlando Bloom and Cameron Diaz are putting forth an effort to protect the environment.

As I ate my Sun Chips from their 100% compostable bag, I flipped on the TV. Living with Ed was on, a funny show about comedian Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife. (You might recognize Begley as the crazy dad in Pineapple Express, but he’s also been in A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, and lately, commercials for the Census.) The show takes a look into the Begley lives as they try to reduce their carbon footprint on the earth.

The front of the Begley house has drought tolerant plants, many of which can be eaten. As you progress through the house, you can see all the energy efficient appliances the couple owns. Ed is so committed to reducing his impact on the planet, he only rides his bike or drives his electric vehicle. He also installed solar lighting panels on his roof to provide electricity for the whole house.

While I might not be able to live as environmentally friendly as Ed Begley, Jr. since I don’t have the money for it yet, I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint on the environment. If that means buying delicious chips in a compostable bag, I’m all over that. I’m just making the world greener one chip bag at a time.

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Senioritis: Student Blog

Mar 02
Posted by tmyke in Previous Blogs

KARLA SHIRVANIAN | STAFF WRITER

Ten weeks, 67 days, 1608 hours, 96,480 minutes until graduation. I do not think I am alone in the fact I am counting down until the end of the school year. This is not because I have not liked my college experience or because I am not having fun, but simply because, well it is graduation. It is the end of the school year; it is a new step, a new chapter, and a big deal. Oh, and because of this other thing called senioritis that is kicking my butt.

I am excited to graduate, excited to move on, excited to grow up. Yet, with all that excitement come nerves, expectancy and a little bit of anxiety. The idea of graduating sounds so fun, but then all of those big decisions come along like where am I going to work, where am I going to live and even, so I want to go to graduate school.

Those are all the things that seem to come to mind when I think graduation, a lot of fun things laced with some crazy things too. It is amazing. But before I get there I keep realizing there are some things I keep forgetting to do, like homework. I have always been a hard-working student that tries hard and works to keep grades up, but there is this thing that gets in the way of it. I keep trying hard to get all my work done but my mind has become easily distracted.

I always thought it was funny that people were rushing last minute to get their MAS hours signed and turned in; I became one of those people. My to-do list has “turn in MAS hours” but every time I mean to, I get preoccupied with something else.

I was the person who thought that it could not be that hard to get through the last couple of weeks of college since the finish line was so close, I was wrong. Looking ahead has taken over my time and left me with no time to look at the present and keep up. It is not like I am slacking or doing bad, it is simply the struggle of motivation. It is t he struggle to know I am so close, but yet, still have so much to do.

I never thought this would be so hard, and I do not think I am the only one struggling. I have heard of so many people counting down to the end of the school year. School becomes hard to do when you are preoccupied with the idea that in 10 weeks, nine if you do not count spring break, eight if you do not count spring break and finals, school will be over.

Did I mention getting a job is also on the to-do list. Oh yes, all of the hard work, studying and all-nighters were to get a degree in order to get a job to live, make money, survive, and eat after caf days are over. This is a big one. Applying for jobs is also something on the mind, but I do not even have a resume yet. I know this is also on the minds of many a senior out there.

Through all of the thinking, over thinking and to-do lists I have come up with one solution. Breathe. That is right. Simply sit, take a breath and relax. Because if there is one thing I have learned in college is that everything works out and it all seems to find its place in life naturally. So, even though it is crazy to think that 67 days from now I will be thrown into the realm of adulthood, I know it will all work out, because somehow it always does.

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GYRAD: Student Blog

Mar 02
Posted by tmyke in Uncategorized

KARLA SHIRVANIAN | STAFF WRITER

This week I had three GYRAD events. This is not because I am sought after all the time, but because I am an resident advisor (RA) in University Park and I am engaged to another RA in the Shire Mods and this week was GYRAD event time in both living areas.

I remember when I was a sophomore living in the Shire it was one of the most fun events I had attended. It was right before Christmas so there were pictures with Santa Claus and a lot of hang out time. We then went to ESPN Zone in downtown Disney, ate, hung out and played games at the arcade. It was fun.

Yet, I definitely did not feel the same way about this week. It may be because there were some many I felt the pressure, but I was a little less than thrilled to go.

Now the first GYRAD, a staff date so it was relatively small, was a little bit of an adventure, we had a scavenger hunt and then were going to eat at the Rainforest Café in downtown Disney, reminiscent to the first time I had attended GYRAD two years earlier. But, we are poor college students so we ended up going to Denny’s. Not going to lie, would not say the best date ever, but I did spend a lot of time laughing with my friends and the ridiculous things that happen at Denny’s.

Number two: this one was for UP B-Court. It was chill and relaxed. Pizza party and roller-skating, nothing too crazy or full or fancy clothes. My date was working so I instead went stag, along with a couple of people on my staff. It was a little bit rushed, trying to get the food there on time, printing directions, cleaning up and then heading to Chino to roller skate.

Yet, I must say some of the most fun. I tried to skate, but when we were doing a chain I fell right on my butt and took my friends down with me, making it the end of the night for me. Instead, I sat around and talked to people, and, did I mention, people watched.

We were at a roller rink, so it was fun to see the different kinds of people that were there, there were kids in about the fifth grade, families and a bunch of APU college students. I sat there with friends and talked about life, I also watched people skate backwards and do all these crazy tricks I clearly cannot do (remember earlier I fell on my butt?). It was just a fun time to relax chill and listen to music, did I tell you it was disco night?

The next night, GYRAD number three. This was in the Shire and it was the night I got to dress up and hang out without being one of the planners, wonderful. The “night under the stars” was a time to hang out in the RecRoom, where they had a raffle, awesome music playing (props to Daniel Atwell and Clifford Gee), and a photographer.

We then headed off to a restaurant, delicious, I would recommend crab and artichoke dip if you have never had it. The night was then topped off by going to the Griffith Observatory with a lot of Shire and APU to hang out under the stars.

So, although I was not excited to go to three GYRADs in one week, it turned out pretty great and I spent a lot of time laughing, having fun and relaxing where I did not have to think about homework or the worries of life. Now back to the reality of studying, school and responsibilities, it was fun while it lasted though.

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Living In The Wilderness: 3-3-2010

Mar 02
Posted by tmyke in Uncategorized

ALICIA BORDER | STUDY ABROAD BLOGGER

Alicia Border is a Junior at Azusa Pacific University and is studying abroad in Jerusalem and will be blogging weekly, so check back every week for her posts.

I have never seen a place as beautiful in my life as the rolling hills of Senonian chalk running through the Judean wilderness. It rained this weekend and everywhere was green, there were pools of mud and muck in any low spot that caught water through the hills. All sides of the rolling waves of soft limestone were dotted with green life from the once a year that they actually receive adequate rainfall. The deep Wadis that were just a week ago bone dry were filled, flash flooded, with rich fertile soil filled water, running through them so fast that it seemed they could take out anything in their way. Seeing the wilderness in its most fertile state, just after the rains, watching the land that has nothing, have everything it needed was a sight I will never be able to get out of my head.

One of my classes hiked into the middle of the wilderness in order to climb a mountain that was once a Herodian fortress. It was about a two mile walk up, most of which consisted of wandering amongst the soft rolling hills before reaching the actual climb of the mountain. It was almost hard not to stop and just gaze into the nothingness around as we walked. Looking off the top we could see the Dead Sea in the distance. The sunlight was there, looming over the water while everywhere else over the land of nothingness were clouds, ever moving on, shadowing the wilderness for a much-needed rain.

On our walk back we there was a pool surrounded by more green than anyone ever expects to find in the desert wasteland. The pool was about six feet long and no more than two feet wide. It was mud filled and there were little ripples filling it from the wind and sprinkling rain that was falling. Everywhere around it was the sand colored dirt that is stereotypical of the wilderness. Looking at that pool and its surroundings gave a beautiful picture of who God is, and was, for His people.

God provides. Even in places that seem that no life could ever possibly exist, not to mention flourish, God shows up. God intervenes when everything is dry, lifeless, and seems hopeless. Even in places that only get four inches of rain a year, the rain that does come, (or the mercy, love, presence, forgiveness, grace etc. of God) comes in such abundance as to provide life enough to sustain until the rain returns. Even in times where it seems helpless and dry, the hope of knowing that the abundant rains will come to the rescue is how we get through. It is in the contrast between the dirt dry barrenness of the desert and the amazing green life it takes on after the rain that God shows who He is for those who know Him. God restores. The wilderness itself is a wonderful sight to see, whether dry or full of life, it takes your breath away at its vastness and greatness. Likewise, God is beautiful, and will make you stand in awe of Him.

All of that to say, that standing there in the wilderness I felt the qualities of God that I have just been told of my whole life. God is good. God provides. God sustains. God shows up even when all is helpless. God is beautiful. God is always present, regardless of what His presence looks like at certain times. God captures your attention. God is a never-ending mystery and will always continue to keep you coming back for more.

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