By: Caleb Gonzalez The cafeteria is at the center of campus and is the only of the spots on campus to unload and enjoy a good meal as students return from dorms, classes, and practice. With significant changes in the last 2 years, the cafeteria has drastically improved for the better in terms of options, taste, and quality of food. In the Fall semester of 2021, Simpson University began to invest and partnership with a food company called SAGE. SAGE General Manager for Simpson University, John Daniels explained, “SAGE prides itself in hard working, custom menus based on demographics and taste. SAGE gives back to the community by sourcing locally, so our produce so our products are local.” Daniels explains that the number one thing that the Simpson cafeteria needs to do is figure out students' patterns when it comes to dining. “We, as a staff, have to learn the eating habits of students,” Daniels stated. The history behind SAGE is that the food company has been partnering with independent schools and colleges for 32 years. When the company looked at Simpson they sent physical representation to the university before partnering because they wanted to see the community before they invest. Daniels said “Simpson legitimately invested into a partnership with SAGE, is what helped the value and appreciation of food improve”. But Daniels wanted to be clear that the improvement also comes from the workers students see every day in the cafeteria. “Our staff is accessible, willing to listen and hear the students because SAGE lets us. We can act on the needs and wants because of our partnership,” Daniels emphasized. The improvements are noticeable, especially among returning students. Simpson senior JT Branch, recalls how the cafe was his freshman year; “My freshman year the cafe did not have a lot of taste or options, but slowly improved”, JT recalled. “But now in my senior year, there are more options, better and tastier,” JT said. The better options and incredible improvement in the cafe has helped the overall student experience at Simpson. The workers and partnership of SAGE and Simpson make the cafeteria a safe place for students to unload and enjoy a good meal. Daniels was very passionate and proud of the cafeteria and said, “Our staff is a large group of talent. We are dedicated to creating fresh, appealing food, and we will never stop progressing in food services, as long as the world progresses, so will we.”

By: Timea Horvath Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, making it the largest conventional military attack in Europe since World War II. Major Ukrainian cities are being bombarded and more than a million Ukrainians have escaped their home country. Many of us have heard about this but do we truly understand why it is all happening and what consequences will it have on the world? The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has been preparing for the invasion of Ukraine for a long time and he certainly has his reasoning for it. According to BBC News, last year, President Putin wrote a long piece describing Russians and Ukrainians as “one nation,” and he has described the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 as the “disintegration of historical Russia.” While Ukrainian and Russian ethnicities are similar in culture and language, they have some important differences. In terms of language Ukrainian has a different alphabet and is linguistically as close to Russian as it is close to Polish. For an untrained Russian speaker, it would be difficult to have a full understanding of the spoken Ukrainian language, even though they sound similar. Some other differences include traditional clothing, food, music, and national character. Just as Canada and the U.S. are different countries, so are Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine may be overseas; it doesn’t mean the war won’t impact the U.S. Most of us have already noticed some major changes when getting gas for our cars. The prices have gone up dramatically over the last few days, making driving far more expensive than before. This is all happening because Russia is a major exporter of crude oil, accounting for about 12% of the world's supply. Any disruption to those exports is likely to drive prices at the pump higher for consumers. “Oil currently stands at about $100 a barrel, but if it hits $110, the year-over-year inflation rate would climb above 10%” according to an analysis by RSM shared with CNN. That's up from the current 7.5%. American inflation hasn't climbed to 10% since 1981. Ukraine is also the world’s fourth-largest producer of corn and wheat, the largest exporter of sunflower seeds, and a leading exporter of barley. The current war will make it difficult for Ukrainian farmers to get seeds in the ground during the coming planting season, obtain the fuel needed to run farm machinery or the fertilizers needed to ensure high crop yields, or succeed in harvesting and shipping their crops. “The potential loss of Ukrainian exports will send global food prices higher, and possibly generate political unrest in countries that depend on grain imports,” shared the Council on Foreign Relations. What happens in Ukraine, won’t stay in Ukraine. Until the war between Ukraine and Russia ends, we must be prepared for changes in different fields of our lives, especially economically. However, we also need to be grateful that we are safe. Citizens of Ukraine, and even Russia, are going through the most difficult times of their lives, not knowing what the future will bring.

By: Timea Horvath A completely new mentor-finding portal will soon be accessible to all Simpson University students. The Student Success Center, with the cooperation of the Tutor Matching Service, is launching a new website where students will be able to find a mentor for a specific class, writing a paper or general study skills. This means no more Microsoft Forms or waiting for the mentor to contact the mentee. “The website will be accessible straight through Canvas; you don’t even need to create a separate login for it. A special button saying, “Find a Tutor” or “A+” will take you to the Simpson Tutor Matching Service landing page in which you will see all of our tutors hosted and be able to select a tutor and engage with them directly,” Alex Thiemann, the head of the Student Success Center, explained. The website will show the mentors’ majors, their basic information as well as the classes they have taken, their fields of expertise and availability. This way the mentees get to choose who they want to have as their mentors. All that at no cost. Can’t find a mentor that would be able to help you with what you need? No problem. “This service also allows for you to search for online tutors from other institutions,” Thiemann said. “As long as the student has exhausted all the options for peer tutors that are free for them through Simpson University, they can come to the Student Success Center, talk to the SSC employees and potentially be awarded vouchers and pay for outside tutoring services.” Thiemann followed. As we are still living in a pandemic, many people have mixed opinions about whether mentor sessions should take place online or in person. The Student Success Center has thought about this when creating policies for mentor sessions. “The mentee will have the freedom to choose. There are some areas where the mentor or mentee will want the session to be online. They may show their preference on the Tutor Matching Service, but there can always be communication to see whether in person can happen or if online is preferred. It’s mostly case by case,” said Jessica Stanley, a current Student Success Center employee. The official launch date of the Tutor Matching Service has not been given yet, but Thiemann and Stanley have promised that there will be a special announcement once everything is ready and working.

By: Eric Norris Recycling does not affect any of the students at Simpson University. The campus at Simpson has tons of recycling cans in every classroom, meeting hall, and dormitory. But not every recycling bin is met with the same fate. Facility workers all around campus take care of the trash. Their job is to gather every full trash bag and place it in the dumpsters near the dorms. Those dumpsters are then moved to the front of the school where a garbage truck comes by early in the morning every three days to avoid pile ups. Long time facility worker, Caleb Gonzalez, said, “I have only been tasked with collecting recycling a few times, but the job is frustrating to collect all the bins hidden around campus. The hardest part is separating the trash from recyclables.” A big problem that prevents Simpson from recycling and making money from plastics is when recycling is mixed with non-recycling. Brian Jobson, the facilities coordinator, said, “We do have separate recycling bins behind the cafeteria and library where we put recyclables. Unfortunately, what often happens is that people throw their trash in the recycling bins and when that happens, we usually must throw that bag in the trash.” According to NWF.org, the average college student produces about 640 pounds of trash each year. An amount that can be reduced if trash is separated from what can be used to make other things. The issue at Simpson is teaching students what can be recycled and what can’t be recycled. Items that can be thrown in the recycling bins at Simpson include plastic bottles, glass, and cardboard. The items that cannot be thrown in the recycling bins include Styrofoam containers, paper cups, and food. For any questions, contact Brian Jobson, bjobson@simpsonu.edu

By: Armando Barcenas The heat has arrived in Redding so it’s time to explore the great outdoors. All throughout Redding there are plenty of trails to walk and bike. Speaking with two locals - Joel Forseth, and Dr. Timothy Orr- they recommended plenty of trails that are both easy and challenging. Dr. Orr has lived in the local area for 5 years and has quite a bit of experience with local trails within and surrounding Redding. Orr’s recommended spots are Chamise Peak and a trail in Oak Bottom Marina. “Chamise peak is a nearby hike that takes you up about a 5 mile open back trip about 700 feet elevation. So not that hard, but enough that you are going to feel like you got a hike in,” Orr said. Chamise peak provides a beautiful view of -Mt. Shasta, Shasta Lake, Shasta dam, the Sacramento River, the Trinity Alps to our west, and you can see Lassen peak to the east. Orr’s second recommendation is Oak Bottom Marina at Whiskeytown Lake. Orr states "I would go west, and I would park actually at Oak Bottom Marina and then there’s a trail that runs along Whiskeytown from Oak bottom marina. You should go a little bit up from the marina itself, but it just follows around the outside of Whiskeytown lake where you can find secluded spots to swim”. Forseth has been a local of Redding since 1977 and has been on lots of scenic hikes around the area. Forseth recommended Hill Loop and Burstarse Falls. Forseth said, Hill Loop is quite a distance from Redding, but it is well worth it. “There’s a scenic overlook of Clear Creek, it’s a pretty deep creek gorge, it’s rolling hills and a lot of it, you can see the trail across the way and its horse, dog, and mountain bike trail. It’s a Moderate trail as well nothing too steep or difficult,” Forseth shared. Burstarse Falls is about an hour's drive from campus. ” I like this one because it’s not really known, and you hike a lot of single-track at Pacific Crest Trail. Eventually, tapping into a creek that you follow up in the Box Canyon.” Forseth said. Forseth specifically recommended this trail should be done around March, April, and May; Since the waterfall will dry out when the snow fully melts. These hikes are a wonderful way to spend some time with friends and family or just a terrific way to get out and see the beautiful scenery nature provides.

By: Timea Horvath Students sunbathing on campus’s lawn, trees blossoming, and sunny weather are not an unusual view these days at Simpson University. While it all feels wonderful and makes studying more pleasurable, we must remember that this is not normal. Our climate is changing drastically. California is currently in the process of breaking new drought records. This year’s first two months are shaping to be the driest January and February in state history. And currently there is no change likely to come. In a recent article by Cal Matters, Erik Ekdahl, a deputy director with the State Water Resources Control Boards, shared, “There’s no precipitation forecast through the remainder of February. And there’s very little precipitation in the long-range forecast for March. All this is pointing to, again, some pretty dire conditions statewide for drought.” It is much easier, however, to understand the seriousness of the current drought by directly experiencing it. Dr. Nicodemus, the Associate Professor of Biology at Simpson University agreed to address this issue. “On campus, it is more difficult to see the signs of warming because we use supplemental watering to keep the ponds full and the landscaping green. So far this year, we have had very little rainfall and high temperatures. One year does not make a trend that we could attribute to climate change, but these patterns of warm weather and less rain have been consistent over many years.” As soon as students leave campus, though, evidence of drought is noticeable in many places. “Around Redding, the nearly empty reservoirs, the low depth of the Sacramento River, and the drought in general indicate that this year so far has been drier than what it should be. When we combine that with the droughts we have experienced over the last decades and the increased prevalence of fire both here in Shasta County and all over the state, it suggests that there is trend to a change in the overall climate,” Dr. Nicodemus continued. Droughts do not happen without a reason. They are part of a bigger problem. Global warming. It is one of the most controversial issues nowadays and it is difficult not to get lost in the flood of mutually exclusive information and news. That is why it is so important to look for credible sources and double-check things. Redding has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with very hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The winter season (October – April) is supposed to provide the most precipitation of the year and the weather during these months tends to be either rainy or foggy with occasional snow. December, January, and February are, in theory, the wettest months with up to 10 inches of rain on average. This year is much more different, and the future may be worse. Data provided by the Shasta County Cooperative Extension shows that this January Redding got two inches of rain, and in February, zero. “If this year holds to the trends we have seen in recent years, it would be likely that this summer would be dry, hot, and that there will again be many wildfires,” Dr. Nicodemus added. Global warming is not a problem that can be solved in one day. It requires the determination of millions of people around the world and knowledgeable leaders who will introduce a smart action plan. Even though college students do not have the resources for making a drastic change, we still have a lot of power to make a change in our local society. Dr. Nicodemus explained that raising awareness through the people around us, reducing our personal use of fossil fuels, and conserving energy are things we can do easily and can make a difference.

By: Andrew Galindo Things have been crazy this year for the Simpsons Residents Assistants (RA), from naked men walking into the dorms to flooded bathrooms because of clogged pipes. The RAs handled it all. The spotlight this week is going to be on Thompson's 3rd floor RA Dylan Cabral and Currie’s 2nd floor RA Noah Bryerton. RA jobs are not always easy, they are responsible for what goes on with their floor, they must deal with people they have never met, and it can require them to get out of their comfort zone. “The struggles I have had so far are writing guys up for incident reports which is always tough, especially if it is a friend because it definitely damages the friendship,” Bryerton said. But being an RA has many benefits too. Cabral said it has had an impact on his life and his social skills. “Being able to network has been good, it also brought me a little out of my comfort zone,” Cabral said. “I am not usually one to be a leader so being an RA helps with leadership qualities.” Maybe you should consider being an RA. “I have loved being an RA so far, it has had its ups and downs. Having a great team and great bosses such as Brian, Michelle, and Sarah it has been a phenomenal time,” Bryerton said. The chance to create community on their floors is both of their biggest goals. It creates lifelong friendships, a better sense of feeling at home, and gives everyone the chance to feel like they have someone to talk to when nobody else will listen. For the future RAs here are some helpful tips that Cabral and Bryerton put together. -Time Management -Balance your personal life and RA life well -Be yourself! No fake personas -Hold good events to keep your floor involved

By: Cole A. McMahon The Men’s Volleyball team is perfect in the Cal Pac conference. After a road trip to Southern California that started on Feb. 19, Simpson University Men’s Volleyball swept both St. Katharine University and Westcliff University. However, both dominant wins come shortly after the Men’s team shockingly lost their head coach about a week ago. Taking over as head coach is Mike Haworth, the head coach of the Women’s Volleyball team. “We have gelled really well since then and the switch has been smooth and seamless. Coach Mike has done pretty well so far,” Freshman Quinn Wright said. Freshman Cody Baker had some positive insight into Coach Haworth’s coaching style. “He doesn’t sugarcoat things so if you do something wrong, he’ll let you know which is what our team needs,” Baker said. “He is the best person to lead this team in the right direction for the rest of the season.” Coach Haworth lead the Men’s Volleyball team to sweeps against St. Katharine and Westcliff on the trip. Wright believes that the quick success under the coaching change has to do with “a lot more freedom” Coach Haworth has given to the team. “He doesn’t want to step on our toes too much because he’s a new coach,” Wright said. As a freshman in college athletics, it can be difficult to get locked into a game. Wright went over his mental preparation before going into a game explaining, “I just try to stay as calm as possible and just work really hard. I give it my all on the court.” The Red Hawks had their first home game on Feb. 25, hosting UC Merced as it looked to stay undefeated in conference play. A tough opponent to start conference play, the Red Hawks were able to take the win 3-1, extending their win streak to 3-0 in conference. Wright was especially excited to play “in front of the fans at home and to feel the atmosphere.” The atmosphere was electric at the Men’s first home game. Crowds were formed and the stands were filled. After the men won their first set, the whole gymnasium erupted with cheers and applause. The team now has only lost one set in the past three games. This hot (now) three-game stretch according to Wright “shows we can be a really good team no matter who we play.” Three of their players won conference Player of the Week awards three weeks ago. Steven Brasher won Defender of the Week, Nikos Kalagasidis received Setter of the Week, and Jordan Mills won Attacker of the Week! This accomplishment for the three players made history for Simpson as they swept the Player of the Week Awards! “Our expectations are obviously to go to the national championship, but our main goal is to win conference this year,” Quinn said. Be sure to go and support our Men’s Volleyball team at Simpson’s home gym on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 as they take on Benedictine University at Mesa and Park University Gilbert as they continue their hot streak in conference play.

By: Caleb Gonzalez Melendez Simpson students came together as a community and engaged in a friendly kickball competition, with 300 dollars’ worth of gift cards on the line. On Feb. 12, , international and domestic students participated in a kickball tournament. The event was run by Gateway leader Scott Studebaker, and new international admission coordinator, Sam Crawford. Scott has been serving and aiding international students since his days at Michigan State University in the 1980s. Scott recalls, “Michigan State University had the biggest international student population in the United States at the time. Me and my wife promised when we were retired and settled we would do whatever we could to help internationals.” While welcoming internationals to his home, Scott also wanted to run school events for the internationals that would be engaging and exciting. “It was the pastor from Trinity Alliance church, Shawn Van De Mark, that suggested kickball, and Sarah Jobson recommended the time slot” Scott said. To give everyone a chance the game did not keep track of who scored and the purpose of winning the prize was not based on home runs or anything like that. Scott explains “Participants were given tickets for each base attained or outs made. The more tickets accumulated the greater the chance to win prizes.” The prizes were 25 dollar gift cards from fast food places included Chipotle, In and Out, Panda Express, Dutch Bros, and Starbucks. To make sure International students were playing, every domestic student that wanted to play had to bring a friend that was an international student, and if any domestic student won a prize they had to share it with the international student that they brought. Awards were given out from a drawing, based on tickets collected during the game. In total 40 students, 6 faculty and staff members participated in the tournament. The participants were split into 3 teams and several students observed the game. Scott emphasized “Dr Pat Blewtt, Dr. Sloan, Dr. Thomas Omwando and Dr. Smith each helped with the raffle and selected the winning tickets, as well as handing out the prizes”. Participant and team captain Fatima Venezuela expressed “It was so much fun, beautiful day and just play” Overall, students were able to have an amazing experience on a Saturday morning and showed friendly competition while welcoming students foreign to the United States. Whether different language, culture, or lifestyles, Simpson students came together in unison to play a friendly fun match of kickball. Scott’s next event for Internationals will be a Board Game Extravaganza on March 5, starting at 9 p.m.

By Christian Valdez One’s identity is simply not discovered overnight, but Spirit Men can provide a guiding hand in uncovering who you are. Make sure to wander up the stairs of the Owens Center to room 204 to participate in the small group, Spirit Men. This men's group meets every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Not only is this weekly event worth chapel credit, but also offers the incentive of discovering your identity with the help of a knowledgeable group leader. Riley Waggoner is a biblical studies major that you might recognize from his involvement in chapel. Waggoner is a vocalist for the worship team and a campus ministry leader. Waggoner said his Christ-centered life inspired him to take up the role of leading the group, Spirit Men. Waggoner has led small groups before including a holiday group last semester. The experienced group leader says that his meetings are “another way to encounter the Lord” outside of chapel. Waggoner explains that Spirit Men is all about creating an environment where guys can discover who they are. “By doing that, we can build a culture on campus where men are walking in their true calling to be who they were born to be and I felt this was something the Lord was calling me to do,” he said. Spirit Men is a small group with big goals for shaping the culture on campus. Waggoner’s group follows a unique and interactive format in pursuit of this goal. For instance, last week’s meeting was built around the theme of servanthood. The meeting opened with a Kahoot to break the ice. Waggoner then presented a scripture passage. Later, the group leader provided commentary on the scripture. Not long after this, Cars and Rudy movie clips were played on the screen. The leader then related the clips back to the theme of servanthood. Light questioning and prayer followed. After the meeting, Simpson student, Timothy Isenberg who has attended two sessions shared, “I really appreciate that the small group goes into deep topics like what it means to live as a servant or what it means to have a father son relationship with God. It’s not only giving me head knowledge, but also helps me draw closer to God. Additionally since it is a guys small group, it is very relevant and applicable to my own life.” As Isenberg said, this is relevant. The small group lasts the entire semester so come on by. The topics will vary from week to week, however, some of the themes will be on how to be warriors, servants, lovers, and more. Waggoner said he is passionate about what he is doing at these meetings. Waggoner says, “God fuels everything I do” and he wants people to encounter God as well as uncover their identity through Spirit Men. Source: Riley Waggoner Source: Timothy Isenberg

By Louis Down Being able to walk around one’s home barefoot is a liberty that society takes for granted. This is something that several residents in the Currie and Morgan dormitories have come to realize, as on Feb. 7, the toilets began to overflow. This overflow of toilet water even made its way to the corridors. This is not the first incidence of bathrooms overflowing and flooding resident’s bedrooms. The almost always present Brian Jobson came to the rescue of the residents. Making his way back onto campus after hours, in order to try and clean and dry carpets that had become waterlogged due to the flooding. However, the drying of the carpets was a lengthy process that required large fans and time to help the carpets dry. Currie resident, Kelly Odabashain, was asked his feelings on his room flooding, to which he jokingly replied, “which time?” before following up with saying, “I feel its highly unsanitary, the water was shut off, so I was unable to shower after practice and, to make matters worse, my floor was disgusting with the smell of dirty toilet water soaked into the carpet.” Residents were unhappy with the situation; however, it is not the fault of anyone directly. An email was sent out by Brian Howell at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, notifying residents that: “When facilities opened up the pipeline to see what was causing the blockage, they noticed that the waterway was blocked by various items flushed down our toilets (condoms, tampons, paper towels, candy wrappers, etc.)” Residence life attempted to assist students directly affected by the blocked water way and were offered temporary rooms, whilst the heavy-duty fans dried their room. Some students took this offer as they found the smell and idea of sleeping in the moist room uncomfortable. Even after the carpets dried there is still an unusual smell residing in the corridors of first floor Currie and in the bedrooms of those directly affected by the backed-up water system. Outside of residents being diligent in their efforts to not throw inappropriate items and objects down their toilets, perhaps other measures may be explored in order to prevent this from happening again. When staying on campus the dormitory is a student’s home and sanctuary. Every student should feel comfortable to treat it as such. Which is why being able to walk around barefoot is something residents should feel comfortable doing. The idea of the carpets being saturated with water from the toilet doesn’t allow this and hopefully action will be taken in the future to ensure that residents continue to feel comfortable in their temporary homes.

By: Armando Barcenas The Simpson University Men’s Wrestling Team is reaching the end of a very rigorous season. The wrestling team’s journey started in October leading all the way to Feb. 18, when it will start its post season. The men’s wrestling team will compete in the Cascade Collegiate Conference where the men must do well in the regional tournament to qualify to enter the NAIA National wrestling tournament. Rodney Forseth, the head wrestling coach said, “This year we’ve had a lot of traveling involved. We’ve had a decent season considering that we’ve lost some of our best wrestlers to injuries. And basically, we are getting prepared for regionals, because of that we are focusing mostly on our individual wrestlers that will be traveling to Montana for regionals as opposed to worrying about a dual meet team at this point of the year.” As the regional tournament gets closer, Forseth said he feels good about being able to qualify some individuals on the team to be able to participate in the national tournament. The wrestlers on the team have been working hard for months to prepare for the cascade Collegiate Conference Championships. They have been pushing their bodies to the limits in the wrestling room practicing for hours a day and cutting weight just to be ready for the next competition. For the wrestlers, the pressure is on where they must give it their all to qualify for nationals. With the pressure of completion closing in, Jacob Vincent, a sophomore wrestler at Simpson university, has agreed to share some words on his season. He shares that he has not been wrestling his best this year so far but is hoping to pull it together at the end to qualify for nationals. In asking on how does he feel about being so close to competing in post-season and finishing the season he shares that. “Obviously our bodies are beat up with a few bumps and bruises and need to heal a little bit but what can you do, and I feel good mentally.” Vincent also expresses that he feels pretty good overall and hopes that a few guys on the team will qualify for nationals. With the end of wrestling season coming ever so close for the Simpson wrestlers. Let us wait and see how the Simpson Red Hawks do in their conference championships, and if they will qualify any wrestlers to go to the NAIA National Wrestling Championship.