Exploring Race, Gender, and Unity in the Adventist Church
Southern is notorious for its large population of international students. The photos below help paint a picture of just how diverse our campus is, providing information on all of the cultures represented at our school and a list of the top 5 most common ethnicity’s on campus.
By Paola Mora Zepeda
As I grabbed my camera and jumped into the car, I did not know what to expect. Growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist church, I had heard of ‘canvassing,’ a practice by which students go do-to-door selling books. However, I had never actually taken the time to learn much about it.
Now, I was ready to record the “canvassers” and their activities, not knowing how the day would unfold. But right away, I was pleasantly surprised.
First, I noticed that participants in the Literature Evangelism Adventist Discipleship (LEAD) program were students, just like me, who actually had to muster the courage to talk to strangers. They spent hours trying to get individuals to purchase books but didn’t get discouraged.
Canvassing, I learned that day, requires a lot of walking, smiling and getting the door shut in your face.
Why would anyone put themselves through that? There are so many other job opportunities out there, why pick one that requires you to carry heavy books, meet all kinds of people and work for long shifts?
By working on this video project for my Interactive Journalism class, I learned the answers to many of those questions.
For a church to grow, it cannot confine itself to four walls. It needs to get out and reach the unreachable.
Canvassing, I realized, is not for the faint at heart, but it’s well worth the time and effort.
By Estefania Sanchez-Mayorquin
With February being Black History Month, I decided it would be appropriate to create a video celebrating a beautiful gift that God has given us — diversity.
We were created to show God’s love to others. We may all look, talk, think and worship differently. However, when we see past our differences and work towards one common goal, miracles can happen.
Kirsten Ley is a Canadian couture designer who recently moved her line to Paris. In just 12 months, she has participated in seven international shows, displaying three collections.
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Ley at New York Fashion Week, and she talked to me about her latest venture.
“I moved to Paris with my labels three and a half months ago,” she said. “… It’s kind of been this rebirth of my brand, and so I (titled) this collection ‘Naissance,’ which means birth in French.”
When asked about the diversity of models displayed in her line, Ley said:
“I find that my brand has a lot of dichotomy, and I love using a wide color palette. I love using models of every background and ethnicity and race and it just really speaks to me because I love having everyone a part of this.”
