I’ve been doing some thinking about the first issue (that comes out September 21) and I really want to go with a birth/transition type theme. Next year is going to be a major one for Trinity, with Snider leaving, new marketing people starting new marketing strategies (that will see Trinity much more involved with the community), some of our best profs leaving, the new M.A. starting up, the chapel being taken down, etc.

I know that a lot of you have been asking about the job - just what does it mean to be a section editor? What are the responsibilities, the rewards, the challenges and the excitements? This is a huge question, and can really only be answered by being thrown into the position and learning as you go. However, the job can broadly be defined as having three parts: editing articles, managing people, and generating ideas.

Another really exciting upcoming thing is a new speaker series that is tentatively called “Transmissions from Mars.” Since we are a school paper, I think we should take every opportunity to learn what we can from the professionals, and to this end I’m going to be working with Audrey and some of the people I know in BC and Alberta to bring editors and media people in to talk to us about what it means to do “good journalism.” Right now it looks like we’re going to get a couple photojournalists (including Hughes, of course), a few past Mars’ Hill editors, the editor from BC Christian News (and possibly Langley Times), and, if I can swing it, an editor from Adbusters. The speaker series will be open to the public, but we will also have special sessions just for the eboard in which they will critique our paper and help us learn how to be better.

Hey guys. Welcome to our fledgling site. It’s a lot better than the wiki I had set up, and it will one day be a one-stop shop for all your Mars’ Hill needs. That means that our readers can come to this site for all the latest goodies, as well as all our staff and contributors for updates and assignments, and they might even submit their stories right from this page. It’s time that Mars’ Hill went digital, and I think that this is a good step in the right direction. I am trying to get this site to look a bit like The Northern Star, a site which has won Best Online Student Newspaper a few times.

The embarrassments of changing for gym and being generally pegged a loser by fellow students (or is that just me?) were difficult enough. Years of pre-pubescent social struggles, coupled with the introduction of critical thought have taxed most North American schoolchildren to the brink of endurance. But for many children across the world, these experiences were secondary to pure academic stress, a strong intellectual emphasis in the early years of education. Mandatory bilingualism, strict uniform adherence, and hours of third grade homework were a reality to many International students now attending TWU. Below, a few students recount their educational experiences abroad and the shift involved in enrolling in a North American university education.

When surrounded by the darkness of depression, I am assured that Jesus is with me. There are still moments, though, when I find myself wishing for someone with skin on. For me, Ruby is that someone. If you have ever crossed paths with a blond student walking a little furry puppy, that blond is me, and that scruffy little dachshund is Ruby, my animal therapy dog.

I began treatment for depression over a year ago. Even on medication,I was still struggling against the darkness. After talking with my doctor and reading about the benefits of animal therapy, I decided to get a dog.