Retirement is a word that could mean different things to different people, and those ideas can change over time. As Dr. Linda Swindell, chair of the psychology department, retires this May after 18 years of service at AU, she intends to approach retirement with a Christian interpretation instead of a cultural one. “It is dismal to think of it as the end,” said Swindell. “It is a closing on part of my life, but it is not the end. I should make it a beginning as well.” Having … [Read more...]

AU student Stephanie Cochran recently had the unique opportunity to represent her school in the Indiana Glass Artists Association Show. She received fourth place and sold both of her pieces. As a School of Adult Learning (SOAL) student, her road to AU was not typical. Cochran grew up in Noblesville, Ind. where her grandfather collected art. “My family has a history of collecting it,” she said. “It was almost a museum setting in a lot of ways.” She pursued a career in special … [Read more...]

Each generation continues to witness their societies modernizing and adapting to the demands of new inventions and technologies—and this includes the modernization of education in the classroom. With education reforms prominent across the nation, government officials, educators and parents are trying to discover an effective route to edify students. Some classrooms have introduced new forms of computer-assisted learning, and others have even omitted curriculum that students have been … [Read more...]

Getting married has its challenges. Getting married as a student has even more challenges, but not anything that sophomores at AU Tyler Ewigleben and Brody Reinholt cannot handle. They both recently proposed to their girlfriends last year. Ewigleben’s fiancé, Brenda Woodings, studies at Indiana University Bloomington and Reinholt’s fiancé, Katie Snizek, studies at IVY Tech. This means that both couples have long-distance relationships, but through it, both are committed to their … [Read more...]

A dark blue jumpsuit loosely covers 15-year-old Benjamin Herrick. Not the clothes most teenagers wear in the middle of June, but Ben doesn’t have a choice. Months earlier, an escalated dispute initiated a call to the cops, a court appearance and a judge’s decision. Ben was placed on probation, but persistent harmful activity caused him to violate his probation; he sits at Robert Perry Juvenile Justice Center. The smell of the building is familiar, like a hospital. The only difference … [Read more...]

Congo represents a tangled slew of terrifying battle, rape, incredibly abundant resources, corrupt government, greed, factions, a population with little to no education and a long history of paralyzing foreign abuse which still hinder it from stepping out of its floundering state of warfare and its lack of human rights. Congolese conflict stems from avarice. Beginning with the slave trade, shifting into ivory, and finally to rubber, Congo’s past is riddled with crushing oppression on the … [Read more...]

“I’m an empty box, / a mirage in the desert. / I’m a broken down train, / I’m a lost monster / in the Blue Ridge foothills / in the final days of summer / dreaming of the snow / and hiding in the covers...” “On my way up to school,” Joshua Powell explains, “my family stopped in Blue Ridge, Georgia with no plans but to stay in Georgia, which is honestly a horrible state except for that absolutely breathtaking area.” Powell fell violently ill at the beginning of the trip … [Read more...]

The crisp, cool days of autumn have arrived and that means trips to pumpkin patches, apple orchards, carnivals, hayrides and haunted houses. It is less than two months till the Winter Solstice, so mark your calendars for a few more fun fall activities in the vicinity. In lieu of the upcoming Halloween weekend, CAB is hosting the annual Halloween party in the barn at Timberick this Friday. Starting at 9 p.m., there will be music and dancing, candy apples and a costume contest. Support … [Read more...]