Christmas at Carey

VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011
Carey statue arrives on campus
Namesake’s life on display in piece
NEWS
By Christopher Dixon
Senior Staff Writer
A statue of the University’s
namesake William Carey has
recently been added to the
Hattiesburg campus.
The seven-foot, 600-pound
bronze piece, which sits in
front of the Sarah Gillespie
Museum, was sculpted by local sculptor and Columbia
native Ben Watts. Watts has
achieved fame over the years
for works like a Golden Eagle
statue outside of the
University
of Southern
Mississippi’s Alumni
House,
a
statue
of
Walter
Payton for
the Columbia football
stadium and a John Wesley
statue for the Millsaps College
campus.
The statue was placed on
the campus in commemoration of the yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary
of the birth of William Carey,
who is known as the “Father
of Modern Missions” for his
work in India.
The completion of the clay
model of the statue, which is
titled “Carey Turns To The
World,” took approximately
five months of work in Columbia, with the firing, or finishing, process taking place in
Texas. Funding for the statue
was gained through private
donations, with about 20 miniature versions of the statue
being sold by the University
to gain the funds necessary to
complete the project.
The sculpture symbolizes
“Transformed...
by the renewing of
your mind.”
- Romans 12:2.
Christmas
Decorations
page two
SPORTS
Flag football
champs
page four
Photo By KELSEY WELLS
A statue of the University’s namesake William
Carey recently arrived on campus.
the exact moment when Carey decided to depart from his
humble profession as a cobbler (a person who mends
shoes) to dedicate his life to
ministry and missions abroad.
The various objects included
in the scene, whether the Holy
Bible in his grasp, the cobbler
tools on his work bench, or the
mystical copy of Flora, his
historic work in botany that
is found under the beach, all
represent various accomplishments and aspects of the life
and work of Carey.
“The presence of the lifesize statue on our campus will
be a constant reminder to students and visitors of the impact of this remarkable man
and a challenge for us to accept his challenge to expect
great things from God and attempt great things for God,”
said WCU President Dr. Tommy King.
OPINIONS
page five
CAMPUS LIFE
Madaris
Stays Strong
page six
Christmas at Carey
THE BACK PAGE
Pictures on page two
Carey Center
Artifact
page eight
NEWS 2, 3
SPORTS 4
OPINIONS 5
CAMPUS LIFE 6, 7
THE BACK PAGE 8
“EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD; ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD.” - WILLIAM CAREY.
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
News
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P2
A Very Merry Carey: Christmas Decorations
The Missions Plaza
Common Grounds
Thomas Fine Arts Center entrance
Photos By
SARAH ALLISON and CHRISTOPHER DIXON
Byrd-Braswell Lobby
Merry Christmas
from all of us at
The Cobbler!
The Cobbler
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Joshua Wilson
SENIOR STAFF:
Anthony Achée, General Manager
Matt Gully, News Editor
Patrick Goode, Opinions Editor
Joseph Jones, Sports Editor
Sarah Allison, The Back Page Editor
Kelsey Wells, Campus Life Editor
Christopher Dixon, Senior Staff Writer
ADVISOR:
Dr. Marilyn Ellzey
CONTACT:
601-318-6100
cobbler@wmcarey.edu
Polk Hall Lobby, the winner of the “Deck Your Halls” contest
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
News
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P3
Students enjoy 13-day long trip to Greece
By Stacey Figueiredo
Special Correspondent
From books, pictures and
postcards, the sites of ancient civilizations tantalize
us with far off places and
far gone times. When opportunity presented itself,
seven students and two professors embraced the chance
last October and November
when we embarked to travel along the route of Paul’s
Second Missionary Journey.
Our avid minds and searching eyes were opened to an
ancient world for the 13-day
long trip along with humorous sights of a different culture. We share memories of
an elderly man walking the
streets with a large axe accompanying signs boasting only bold exclamation
points, tunnels of obnoxiously bright “alien invading” lights and discussions
of countries as cereal involving Tuna-O’s. But those
are our memories; you must
make your own.
More historical memories include enthralling sites
of churches and basilicas.
In the Byzantine castles and
fortresses, vast Mystras and
Larissa, every arrow slit,
round turret, and stone step
called the imagination out
to play among the enchanting stone dwellings and
churches. From the outside,
they look to be simple stone
dwellings, crumbling and
aged, with plants flowering
along the proud outer walls.
But it is the inside that stirs
the spirit as faded, cracked
and splintered murals of Jesus, the Apostles, and other
prominent church leaders
look down from their lofty
places with serene and solemn faces, attesting to the
artistry and devotion given
to preserving the history and
figures of the faith. At those
sites and the many basilicas
of our Christian ancestors,
the feelings of thunderstruck
awe are conjured again.
Among those powerful
moments of historical gravity are the memories of walking along the overgrown but
surprisingly even Roman
Road in Neapolis, standing
at an old cistern in Philippi
where a plaque declared the
small converted area to be
“The Prison of St. Paul,” and
the feeling of overwhelming
insignificance that descended upon us at Meteora while
looking at the monasteries
built atop mountainous rocks
in Kalambaka. Even standing at the site of the Battle
of Thermopylae, before going to Sparta itself, (feel free
to yell “This is Sparta” …
we did it multiple times) the
import of war and sacrifice
sank in while walking and
surveying the grounds that
once embraced the blood of
slaughtered men, both Spartan defenders and Persian
invaders.
For those, like me, who
find fascination in the myths
of old, walking among the
ancient temples of the Greek
gods and goddesses was inspirational. Even in the expected stages of ruin, those
marble and stone buildings
stand proud despite the centuries, weather and natural
disasters. Magnificent structures overwhelm with the
gravity of their ageless stature; an elegant testament to
the skill and designs of ancient artisans. Having defied
time, the marble Parthenon
columns in Athens stretched
to the sky in discolored age,
stone foundations sat firm in
their ancient placements at
the Temple of Apollo at Delphi where the famed Oracle
of Delphi once made her
Photos By STACEY FIGUEIREDO
A photo of the Byzantine Castle, Larissa.
A photo of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
home, and remnants of statues stood tall or looked at us
in museums alongside the
crowns, weaponry, pottery
and artful figurines from
beehive and mound tombs
of powerful mortal kings.
The memories of each
ended day I cherish for
the humorous camaraderie
we enjoyed: eating Gyros,
drinking orange Fanta, and
laughing again at Mad Libs
stories created between vehicles over radios. We also
enjoyed discussing the merit, or lack of merit, of rock
hard bread and watching interactions of the country’s
people, and debating the
“mating call” of the younger
generation.
I know those memories
with stay with me and continue to inspire me as friendships grow stronger, and I
look forward to more adventures abroad with the STEP
Program.
So where would you wish
to go? Greece, Italy, Turkey,
Israel or maybe all of them?
If you’re interested in the
adventures and memories
awaiting you, head over to
Lawrence Hall to speak with
Dr. Daniel Browning about
the coming opportunities!
Notes from the SGA
Dear Crusaders,
I hope you all are having a
wonderful start to your winter trimester! Since the last
edition of The Cobbler, SGA
has been hard at work for
you! We have been working
on many projects. Although
I will let our commissioners
expand on all of our endeavors, I do want you to know
that we are working on the
cafeteria, Christmas bells,
graduation attire, and much
more. We are striving to be a
resourceful liaison between
students and faculty. If you
have an idea for campus life
or a concern, feel free to stop
an SGA member and chat
with them. We have meetings every Monday at 9:25
a.m. in the President’s Dining Room. All meetings are
open to the student body,
so come stop by! You can
also visit me in my office on
Monday/Wednesday
afternoons and Tuesday/Thursday mornings. Thank you
for your support of SGA!
- Chelsey Maywalt, SGA
President
I hope you are enjoying
the holiday season (and all
the breaks!) this winter trimester at Carey. Over the
past three weeks, SGA has
held Who’s Who elections
for all of the students and the
results have come in.
For the freshman class,
Angel Anderson was elected
female class favorite and
Chris Waddell male class
favorite. The beauty is Caitlin Cooksey and the beau is
Corey Bell. The sophomore
class elected Deepali Amatya as their female class favorite and beauty, Daniel
Maqueda as the male class
favorite and Daniel Margheim as their beau. The
junior class elected Shweta
Rai Sotang as female class
favorite and beauty, Sean
Hodges as male class favorite and Whit Sanguinetti as
beau. The senior class elected Brittany Clark as female
class favorite, LaQuindric
“Quin” Stokes as male class
favorite, Callie Merrill as
beauty and Zachary Magee
as beau.
As for upcoming elections,
a few weeks after we return
from Christmas break, we
will have nominations for
positions within the student
government. You can nominate yourself by picking up
a nomination form in the
Student Activities office and
getting it filled out with signatures. These forms will be
available the third week after
break so be thinking about if
(or where!) you might want
to serve our campus! The requirements of the SGA positions, as well as the rules
for elections and nomination, are in your Red Book
on pages 80-81. SGA has a
huge variety of positions for
any talents, passions, ideas,
and interests. There are also
different levels of involvement according to each position, so it’s a great way to
get involved and also have
the opportunity to give the
time, energy, and commitment you are able to. We’d
love for you to get involved
and become a member of the
new team for the 2012-2013
school year! - Laila Younes,
Commissioner of Elections
See SGA, page six
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
Sports
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P4
Men’s soccer kicks their way to NAIA Final Four
By Joseph Jones
Sports Editor
The William Carey men’s
soccer team capped off a
tremendous season with a
trip to the national semi-final round against Hastings
College. The Crusaders fell
short in the contest 2-1.
Hastings College played
aggressive against the Carey
defense and scored the first
goal of the game in the closing minutes of the first half.
However, the Crusaders answered after halftime with
a goal by Luis Trude. The
Hastings College Broncos
were able to retake the lead
in the 62nd minute of the
second period and played
Basketball bounces forward
By Joseph Jones
Sports Editor
The timeless cliché used
in sports is that “it is not how
you start but how you finish.” In the case of the Carey
basketball teams, the saying
should be “it is not how you
start but how you respond.”
The men’s team led off the
season with three straight
losses until finally picking
up their first win against
Louisiana State University
at Shreveport on Nov. 12.
Since that victory, the Crusaders have reeled off five
straight victories at the time
of this article and post a 2-0
record in the Southern States
Athletic Conference. The
men have improved their
numbers in rebounding and
have worked to lower their
turnover ratio in the last five
games and the results speak
for themselves.
Similarly, the women’s
team started the season with
three losses before recording wins in five out of their
last six games to improve to
5-4. Most importantly, the
Lady Crusaders are also 2-0
in SSAC conference play.
Ironically, the turning post
thus far for the women’s season seems to be a 62-46 loss
to the University of Southern Mississippi on Nov. 14.
The women showed positive
signs against a Division I
opponent and this effort has
given them a level of confidence that appears to be
translating to success.
If the basketball teams
can maintain this level of
consistency throughout the
2011-2012 campaign and
make a run to the national
tournament, then it may be
appropriate to refer back to
the original line: “It is not
how you start but how you
finish.”
solid defense to prevent a
William Carey rally at the
end. The Crusaders put forth
a commendable effort and
finished the season with an
exceptional record of 16-43.
Most notably, they are
ranked fourth in the final
NAIA national poll following the conclusion of
the tournament. Additionally, senior goalkeeper Carl
Goody and sophomore leading scorer Francois Navarro
were rewarded for their stellar individual numbers by
being voted as NAIA soccer
All-Americans for 2011.
‘Ridiculous’ team wins flag football
Photo Submitted
Intramural flag football champions
“Ridiculous” are pictured following their
19-13 win over the “We Let Monkeys
Eat Bananas” team on Dec. 7.
Support Carey Athletics
Sports Interview
with Doug LaRue
With the conclusion of
the college football regular
season, it is time to focus on
the upcoming bowl games.
To celebrate the spirit of
bowl mania, it is appropriate
to make some predictions.
I also got sophomore Jonathan Thompson and graduate student Vincent Kirkland
to offer their predictions. My
predictions are:
BCS Championship
Game:
Alabama
defeats
LSU. It is so hard to defeat a
good team twice in one season and I think that all of the
pressure will be on the Tigers
in this “Game of the Century” sequel. In my opinion,
Trent Richardson will have a
big game and build off of his
strong performance against
Auburn where he accounted
for over 200 rushing yards.
The Crimson Tide will celebrate in New Orleans and
the cries of fans demanding
a playoff system will intensify.
Most Exciting Bowl
Game: The Fiesta Bowl between Stanford and Oklahoma State. Andrew Luck
will have one last chance to
shine on the college stage
for Stanford and Oklahoma
State will be motivated to
prove they belong in the national title game instead of
Alabama. I predict a shootout that ends with a memorable touchdown by Justin
Blackmon and the Cowboys
in the final seconds.
Most One-Sided Bowl
Game: The TicketCity Bowl
between Houston and Penn
State. Case Keenum is furious after losing the Conference USA title to Southern
Miss and I would not want
to be his opponent in a bowl
game.
Thompson’s predictions
are
BCS
Championship
Game: LSU defeats Alabama; Most Exciting Bowl
Game: The Fiesta Bowl;
Most
One-Sided
Bowl
Game: The Hawaii Bowl
between Southern Miss and
Nevada.
Kirkland’s predictions are
BCS Championship Game:
Alabama defeats LSU; Most
Exciting Bowl Game: The
Fiesta Bowl; Most One-Sided Bowl Game: The Alamo
Bowl between Baylor and
Washington.
Sports Editor Joseph
Jones
recently
interviewed
William
Carey
basketball player Doug
LaRue, who joined the
team after serving almost
six years in the military.
Where are you originally from? My dad
was in the military and I
moved around a lot as a
kid. I went to high school
in Kennett Square, Penn.,
and I played high school
basketball. I joined the
Marines and I have spent
time in Iraq.
How did you end up
at Carey? When I first got
out of the Marines, I was
looking for a place to play
and I went to Itawamba
Community
College.
Then I considered going
to USM but I found William Carey and I emailed
Coach Knight this past
spring and asked him for a
tryout and there was a spot
open.
Was it hard going back
to basketball after several years? The Marines
kept me in shape. I played
some ball in Iraq and it is
more physical over there.
We bought a hoop and we
had a bad basketball but
we had fun.
What is
your
position
on
the team?
I am playing center
right now,
but
I’m
LARUE
not worried
about my individual numbers as long as we win. We
have some big scorers and
I’m looking to get them
the ball and rebound.
Your team has won
five
straight
games.
What have been the keys
to your success? Rebounding the ball and not
turning the ball over. We
have learned how to play
together. We are developing chemistry and starting
to gel as a team.
What are your expectations for the team this
season? My expectation is
to keep winning. The real
ambition is to win the conference and make the national tournament and win
as much as we can once
we get there.
Opinions
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
How to
‘Spend’
Christmas
Matt Gully
News Editor
In today’s American
society, Christmas has
become more about how
much we can save on
gadgets and electronics
instead of focusing on the
true reason for the season.
Many times we buy merchandise for selfish reasons because Christmas
time allows us to get deep
discounts on items. Or
maybe we buy these gifts
because we feel obligated
to.
Buying gifts can also
be stressful because we
worry if our loved ones
are going to like the gifts
or not. I don’t see much
love in this. Black Friday
and holiday shopping, in
my opinion, kills the holiday spirit. It’s nothing but
push and shove.
I am going to buy a very
select few gifts for a few
close friends but those
gifts will be thoughtful
gifts that will hopefully
mean something to them.
This year, I am going
to spend my Christmas
away from all the commercialization. I’m going
to be away from the stress
of having to buy presents
for everyone I know like I
have in the past. My family and I probably won’t
put up many decorations
around the house. We’re
not even buying presents
for each other.
Instead, we are going
to spend our Christmas in
Gatlinburg. With the time
that we have, we’re going
to simply enjoy being together without the stress
of busy schedules. We’ve
never done this before,
but I think it’s going to
be the best Christmas I’ve
ever experienced.
So, instead of spending money excessively,
how about we “spend”
some quality time with
our loved ones and sing
Christmas songs or whatever you like to do?
Let’s share the true
reason of Christmas with
those who may not know
its true meaning and just
love one another instead
of all the spending.
Contact Matt Gully
at 601-670-0645 or at
omgully@gmail.com.
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P5
Newton’s Law of (Political) Motion
It was the 17th century
scientist, philosopher and
mathematician Isaac Newton who revolutionized the
world when he formulated
his Third Law of Motion
which states that “for every
action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction.”
Now, in the 21st century
and the 2012 presidential
primary, we have our own
Newton to which a new, although similar to the original, unfailing law can be
accredited. I am referring,
obviously, to current Republican presidential candidate
and supposed conservative
Newt Gingrich. I call this
law Newton Gingrich’s Law
of [Political] Motion, and it
states, “For every statement
recently made and/or stance
currently held by Newt Gingrich, there is an equal and
opposite statement previously made and/or stance
formerly held that absolutely
contradicts the other, canceling any legitimacy between
the two opposing forces.”
We can test this law’s validity by considering the ample
evidence available to us by
the words of Newt Gingrich
himself thanks to the unforgetful Internet. We can start
with a very controversial
and pinnacle issue in the Republican primary this year,
President Obama’s health
care reform plan, and specifically, the mandate within
it which will in a few years
begin forcing all American
citizens to purchase health
insurance, regardless if they
desire it or not. On May 16 of
this year, the Gingrich Campaign released a short video
in which Gingrich purposely
declared, “I’m against any
effort to impose a federal
mandate on anyone because
it is fundamentally wrong,
and, I believe, unconstitutional.”
While this is certainly
the mainstream conservative
position regarding the federal mandate, as I described
before, Newton’s Law never
fails. For just one day before, on May 15, during an
interview with David Gregory of NBC’s Meet The Press,
Gingrich, when asked about
the mandate, stated, “I believe all of us have a responsibility to help pay for health
care… I’ve said consistently
we ought to have some requirement that you either
have health insurance or you
post a bond or you in some
way indicate you’re going to
be held accountable.”
Gregory followed up by
asking,
“ b u t
t h a t
is
the
individual
m a n date,
is
it
not?”
Christopher Dixon
T
o
Senior Staff Writer
which
Gingrich replied, “it’s a
variation of it.” I’ll reiterate,
“For every statement made
by Newt Gingrich, there is
an equal and opposite statement made that absolutely
contradicts the other.”
Another example to further prove this seemingly
unavoidable law is Gingrich’s uncertain stance on
climate change and, as a
result, what, if any, government action should be taken.
In 2008, Gingrich appeared
in a uncomfortably cozy
commercial involving then
Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosiand a couch, the former being a long outspoken
advocate for more government regulation in domestic
energy consumption, the latter being worthy of Conservatives’ deepest sympathies.
In the commercial, Gingrich
affirmed his alignment with
Pelosi on the issue stating,
“We do agree, our country
must take action to address
climate change.” He would
continue on to call for government intervention claiming “if enough of us demand
action from our leaders, we
can spark the innovation that
we need.”
One year earlier, in a debate with Democratic Senator John Kerry, Gingrich
concluded, “the evidence
is sufficient that we should
move towards the most effective possible steps to reduce carbon loading into the
atmosphere.” Recently, however, Gingrich has predictably changed his tune claiming he’s “never favored cap
and trade,” or any other government program attempting
to deal with climate change.
In a recent interview on
Fox’s O’Reilly Factor, upon
being asked whether climate
change is a reality, he went
as far as to say, “I don’t think
we know. I think that the evidence is not complete.” I will
allow Gingrich’s words to
speak for, or rather against,
themselves.
Through rigorous study,
I’ve found that Newton’s
Law can be repeatedly applied to and tested on any
number of Gingrich policies
and will consistently return
positive results (or negative, if you’re Newt Gingrich). The list to which the
law can apply continues to
grow, including issues such
as his relationship with public/private mortgage institution Freddie Mac. Gingrich
recently called for Congressman Barney Frank of
Massachusetts to be thrown
in jail for alleged political
corruption between Frank
and Freddie Mac during the
housing crisis.
We’ve since learned,
ironically, that it was Newt
Gingrich who was working
for Freddie Mac for many
years right up until the housing crash as a “historian”
giving “strategic advice” for
a suspiciously generous payout of 1.6 million dollars. Or
how about Gingrich’s new
found affections, and publicly intimate relationship
with wealthy Republican
donor Donald Trump? That
blossoming friendship must
have had a hard time getting
past Gingrich’s comments
in 1989 when he essentially
blamed “The Donald” for
making New York a hard
place for poor people to live
(Profiles and Perspectives,
Ripon Forum, May 1989). I
could continue for days taking subjects of particular import to conservatives and revealing how Newt Gingrich
tends to agree with both
sides of an issue, depending
on who he is talking to at the
moment.
So what does this mean
for Republican voters? What
data can we procure from
this newly discovered yet
always
existed
Newton’s
Law? Is Newton Gingrich
a perpetual flip-flopper? A
schizophrenic? A fibber? Or
is he just a body of matter remaining in a politically persuaded rest until an external
force, such as an election or
opportunity for political advancement, acts upon him,
changing his direction and
rate of velocity?
Either way, it does not take
a room full of Isaac Newtons
or a set of complex scientific principles to realize that
Newt Gingrich is absolutely
not the presidential candidate the Republican Party,
the Tea Party, or the conservative movement as a whole
wants or needs at a dire time
in America such as now.
Contact Christopher
Dixon at 228-990-9062 or
at
christopherdixonline@
gmail.com.
Editorial Policy
The Cobbler welcomes guest writers and editorials. We reserve the right to edit any submissions as we see fit. We also reserve the right to reject any submission. Opinions expressed
in this publication are of the author and not necessarily of the staff of The Cobbler or the staff,
faculty, or administration of the university.
Campus Life
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P6
Staying Faithful and Optimistic
Madaris remains strong through cancer struggle
By Joshua Wilson
Editor-in-Chief
You’d hardly expect a person who’s fought stage four
cancer for several years to
say, “I know you’re shocked
that someone this hot has
cancer.”
But, then again, you’ve
probably never met Dr. Michael Madaris, the previously mentioned cancer patient
and an assistant professor of
business administration at
Carey.
The 52-year-old is armed
with good humor, strong
faith and an optimistic attitude about his battle with
cancer, which started about
six years ago.
“I had a spot right in the
middle of my back,” said
Madaris. “They tested it and
discovered it was melanoma,
the sun-related kind instead
of the genetic kind.”
His doctors were puzzled
at the diagnosis.
“They told me I didn’t
seem like a guy who got a lot
of sun, but when I told them
I grew up on the beaches of
northwest Florida, they understood,” he said.
The initial spot was surgically removed and Madaris
received clear reports for
the next few years until the
spring of 2008, when it was
discovered that the cancer
had metastasized – or spread
– into both lungs.
After that discovery,
Madaris was subjected to a
vast array of medical tests,
with his Hattiesburg-area
oncologist finally referring
him to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
“At that point, you begin
to have this sense of a snowball rolling down a hill,” he
said.
At M.D. Anderson,
Madaris received the stage
four diagnosis. He quickly
met with a surgeon and was
set up for two separate surgeries in his lungs as well as
two high-dose immunotherapy treatments.
“The surgeries weren’t
that bad … they were videoassisted with three holes in
all,” said Madaris.
However, the immunotherapy was a bit of a horror
story, he said.
“Step one to that is intensive care,” said Madaris.
After those steps, Madaris
was again cancer-free until
two small spots were detected in the lining of the left
side of his chest wall. These
spots were removed in surgeries conducted in May
2010 and May 2011.
“None of those spots were
ever big,” he said.
However, those two surgeries resulted in the removal of a couple of ribs and
the installation of a partial
GORE-TEX chest wall to
replace the removed segments, he said.
Since the last surgery earlier this year, Madaris has
practiced cautious optimism
about being cancer-free once
again.
“I go to M.D. Anderson
every three months for a PET
scan to see if the cancer has
returned,” he said. “I’ve received several clear reports
since this year’s surgery.”
Madaris credits God’s
grace and the excellent people in his life for helping
him pull through the entire
ordeal.
“You know, all of the
clichéd things people after
experiencing situations like
this are true,” he said. “You
realize how great God’s
grace is and how good the
people in your life are.”
Madaris said his wife of
nearly 28 years, Lisa, has
been “a rock” throughout
the entire process.
“Marrying way above
myself has been a big help
through it all, too,” he said.
“She’s been just amazing.”
In addition to his wife,
Madaris said he’s also eternally grateful to his friends,
his colleagues at Carey, his
students and to his children
who have helped him pull
through the difficult past
few years.
“I have friends all around
the world who will call and
say we just prayed for you …
I have incredible colleagues
in the WCU School of Business who cover office hours
and classes … and my kids
are great,” he said.
Throughout his cancer
fight, Madaris said he’s particularly identified with the
Book of Job and the challenges it poses, like from
Job 2:10: “…Shall we accept only good things from
the hand of God and never
anything bad?” (NLT).
“I’ve also learned that
instead of asking God why
bad things happen to us, we
should ask in the other direction,” he said. “We should
ask why we have so many
good things, why God’s so
good to us.”
Madaris said he’s also
learned to treasure the fact
that the Lord is always present.
“One of my favorite
names for God is Jehovahshammah, which means the
Lord is present,” he said.
“The main thing I’ve learned
through all of this about God
is that He’s always present,
through my low points, like
the surgeries, and through
the high points, like when
the WCU Chorale is rocking
my socks off in chapel.”
Madaris said he generally tends to be optimistic by
temperament about his future, even though he knows
the cancer
could one
day return.
“This
diagnosis
is often a
‘go home,
get
your
affairs’ in
MADARIS
order kind
of thing,” he said. “But, my
doctors tell me that I have a
good biology for my illness,
so I’m also medically optimistic.”
Even so, Madaris said he
never assumes things about
God’s providence.
“If He chooses to keep me
around for a while, great …
if not, that’s alright, too,” he
said. “There’s nothing here
that’s better than the alternative for a believer … heaven
… the thought of that is not
a bummer at all.”
Madaris said he’s also
thankful for the ways God
has worked through his disease by letting him make
new friends, share the Gospel and encourage others.
“My main advice for
people is don’t rule out God
using your situation, whatever it may be,” he said.
“We make God a small God,
when in reality we follow a
big God who can make everything – even cancer – do
His thing.”
He also challenges others
to live in the present tense
but with an eye aimed at the
future.
“Remember the song kids
sing at church, the one that
goes ‘This is the day the
Lord has made, I will rejoice
and be glad in it’ … apply
that to your life,” he said.
SGA (continued from page three)
Hello, my fellow Crusaders! I would just like
to remind you all that your
Student Government Association always has a lot
planned to keep you both involved and entertained. We
host a multitude of events
here on campus, and we are
always thrilled with your attendance! Keep an eye out
for all the yard signs we
place around campus advertising the events the day they
occur. Also, take a gander at
those bulletin boards in your
residence halls and academic buildings. I’m sure a flyer
or two will catch your eye,
and perhaps you might see
an event that will really in-
terest you! If you’re plugged
in on Facebook, then go like
the William Carey University Student Activities page.
That’s a surefire way to keep
tabs on what’s going on and
receive an online invite to all
of the events.
If you ever have any comments or questions, stop by
the Student Activities Office
in the new student center or
post your concerns on the
Facebook page. We will always be available and ready
to help you! The current
SGA is a quite varied group
of people; and if you see us
around campus and have
a question or two, feel free
to stop us and ask. - Marian
Mauseth, Commissioner of
Public Affairs
Hey guys! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! SGA has had a wonderful year with y’all and I
personally have had so much
fun planning and coordinating our events. Just recently
(Dec. 6), we hosted a late
night movie featuring Thor
and had free s’mores and hot
chocolate. Even though we
encountered some rain, we
didn’t let it get us down and
just moved everything into
the student conference center. I want to thank everyone
who came out for supporting
SGA and Student Activities.
Thanks, guys!
If you missed Late Night
Movie, don’t worry! We
have tons of events coming
up in January! Keep your
eyes open for Café du Monde
the week we get back on
Jan. 8. It will be in Common
Grounds at 8 p.m. Also, ladies, get your fancy dresses
and best smiles ready! The
Beauty Review will be held
at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20. - Rachel
Harris, Entertainment Commissioner
Campus Life
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P7
No Shave November just passed us by, and, in the spirit of the month, we decided to hold a Beard Contest and see who could win.
We pitted beard against beard, ‘stache against ‘stache, in a feral display of manliness to see who would emerge on top. By Nov. 30,
we had received a number of submissions and put them up to our expert judging panel in order to decide the winners. Judges included Student Government Association President Chelsey Maywalt, Polk Hall Resident Director Toney Keeler, Assistant Professor
of History Dr. Jonathan Brooke, The Crusader Editor Michelle Porciello and the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Joshua Wilson, general
manager Anthony Achée and beard contest coordinator Christopher Dixon. The winners, and their interesting beards, are below.
First Place
Patrick Goode
Goode is a 23-year-old Florence native and a
senior religion major at WCU. He works in the
Carey Center, directs men’s Bible studies for the
Baptist Student Union and serves on The Cobbler staff as opinions editor. In his spare time,
he grows magnificent beards.
Third Place
Second Place
Josh Weaver
Weaver, 22, is a native of Luskin, Texas,
and a senior religion
major. His beard propelled him to third
place.
Honorable Mentions
Corey Bell
Bell, a 20-year-old
sophomore religion
major from Carthage,
won big with the
“WCU” design in his
beard.
Jay Holifield
Austin Hembree
The Back Page
VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 5
HATTIESBURG • BILOXI • NEW ORLEANS
DECEMBER 14, 2011 • P8
Palanquin on display in Carey Center
By Christopher Dixon
Senior Staff Writer
To honor the 250th anniversary of the birth of the
University’s namesake William Carey, The Cobbler
presents the second part in
its series on artifacts located in the Center for Study of
the Life and Work of William
Carey, which is located on
the Hattiesburg campus in
Donnell Hall.
The palanquin, popular
in its day, was essentially
a primitive form of a taxi
used in British India during
William Carey’s days in the
country. With only enough
space for a single passenger, and consisting mostly of
wood and thread in its structure, this piece was used to
transport the affluent of the
local society from place to
place. The mechanics of
the contraption were rather
simple, with four men picking the palanquin up with
inserted wooden rods in the
bottom, and carrying the
passenger to the desired destination, according to Carey
Center officials.
Surprisingly to William
Carey, upon arriving in In-
Photo By CHRISTOPHER DIXON
A palanquin, a primitive form of a taxi used in
British India, is on display in the Carey Center
on the Hattiesburg campus.
dia he found the most common customers of the palanquin to be fellow British
businessmen,
aristocrats,
and particularly “women
of means.” Encouraged to
take part in the local luxury
by some within the country, Carey expressed distaste
for the leisure, claiming the
practice to be indulgent and
immodest, as well as fearing the Indian natives would
feel subordinate to him rather than as equals.
It should be noted, how-
ever, that the British missionaries did not condemn
all usage of the palanquin,
as there were exceptions.
For instance, a palanquin
very similar to the one on
display in the Carey Center
was used to help transport an
elderly member of the Indian mission group to the baptism of Carey’s first convert
in India, as records within
the Carey Center prove.
The craftsmanship of the
piece is worthy of notice and
attention as well. Adorned
CARTOON CORNER
with engraved images of local birds and flowers, one
can easily see the cultural
influences and the desire for
creativity from the palanquin’s crafter. The shape and
condition of the wood structure has been astoundingly
preserved, seeming impossible to be nearly 200 years
old.
The palanquin on display in the Carey Center
was bought from an antique dealer in Connecticut
a few years ago. Dr. Myron
Noonkester, co-director of
the Carey Center, described
the task of shipping the item
as a challenge, costing nearly as much as the palanquin
itself.
Luckily, after UPS had
refused to ship the piece due
to its large size and awkward
shape, a driver for the Boston
Trucking Company delivered the item cross-country
to the Hattiesburg campus.
The palanquin is certainly
one of the more exotic and
peculiar pieces exhibited in
the Carey Center, and certainly worthy of viewing by
all Carey students.
by Bethany Bell
Would our culture, as focused as it is on our
traditions, had enough room for Joseph and Mary?