School shooting stirs nationwide gun debate

Campus fitness renews with opening of center

Hobby Lobby rejects health care mandate

Rock solid Dozens of California

Baptist University students, faculty, staff and Riverside

community members joined in on the new CBU Recre-ational Center ribbon-cut-ting ceremony Jan 14.

The event, moved in-doors because of cold tem-peratures and high winds, began with words from Alex Wright, president of Associ-ated Students of California Baptist University.

“This is a great, tangi-ble piece of God’s blessing,” Wright said. “I was think-ing, looking at the basketball court and in the racquetball rooms, the only thing miss-ing in here are students. After today it is going to be packed and that is going to be the best thing about this recreation center.”

Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president, referred to the opening of the state-of-the-art recreational center as another building block for the university.

“My favorite word is ‘wow,’” Ellis said. “I think (the recreation center) is a ‘wow’ addition to the university.”

During Ellis’s time as CBU president, nearly all of the properties on the block of land in which CBU is located have changed hands. The university acquired the property for the

recreational center during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Since then the university has been waiting for the right time to start the recreation center construction while honoring the leases of previous tenants.

“I like to move quick but realize that it is all in God’s timing,” Ellis said.

Ellis said he predicts that one day CBU’s main en-trance will be found near the recreation center as the uni-versity works toward con-necting a road through cam-pus to the corner of Adams Street and Diana Avenue.

The recreational center now welcomes students Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to midnight.

Individual and small group training sessions will begin Jan. 28. Students are allowed three sessions a se-mester. Schedules and sign-up sheets for fitness class-es can be obtained at the center’s front desk. Classes range from kickboxing to cy-cling and core training with sessions offered throughout weekdays and weekends.

Five full-time staff mem-bers and 102 student work-ers will man the new facility.

“The students really run

The tragic event that oc-curred in Newtown, Conn., last month has stirred officials in both the state and national governments to take immediate action against gun violence.

Twenty-six people were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 15, and 20 of the victims were children. During the time following the incident, new propos-als to prevent further trag-edies were, and are still, being discussed.

According to nbcn-ewyork.com, the state of New York passed a bill Jan. 15 that restricts the sale of guns and ammunition, making it harder to obtain these weapons.

In related news from businessinsider.com, it was reported that the Nation-

al Rifle Association presi-dent, David Keene, was not supportive of Vice Presi-dent Joseph Biden’s pro-posals to place a limit on high-capacity magazines for bullets, as well as put-ting a permanent ban on assault weapons.

Dr. John Higley, associ-ate professor of criminal justice, said the time af-ter an event like the New-town shootings is when most everyone collectively feels something needs to be done.

“Unfortunately, what we tend to do is we pass narrowly focused laws that we think are going to solve the problem or we throw some money at it, thinking it will solve the problem,” Higley said.

There is an urge to re-spond to the recent violence.

CEO and founder of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. David Green released a letter in December ex-pressing his discontent with the current regu-lations that are part of what is known as “ObamaCare,” illustrating the current debate between religious freedom and U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Services.

Green’s biggest problem is that the new health care system’s insurance provides his employees with contraception inclu-ding the morning-after and week-after pills. The CEO said he believes both are ways of aborting an unborn child. Hobby Lobby faces up to a $1.3 million fine every day it does not comply with the mandate.

“I would see that as a vi-olation of the First Amend-ment,” said Dr. Adamson Co,

associate professor of the-ology. “I think this is one of those instances where the church or a Christian institution living in this country, where we’re given the right to religious free-dom, ought to stand up at least to make our case.”

Since 1972, Hobby Lobby has grown into one of the largest craft store chains in the nation. The store’s website states its foundation “will continue to be strong values, and honoring the Lord in a manner consistent with biblical principles.”

“We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice,” Green wrote in his letter. “We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a

Basketball Shines Aviation science department receives plane

National Topic

By Grace FerrellNews editor

By renee FlanneryHeaLtH editor

By Bradlee lockeasst. LifestyLe editor

see Gun control | Page a2 see HoBBy loBBy | Page a2

see rec center | Page a2

Photo by associated Press/ Jessica HillWhite roses with the faces of victims of the Sandy Hook elementary School shooting are displayed on a telephone pole.

christian dose scales the rock wall of the new recreational center. the center operates

with the theme of ‘honoring God with our bodies’ taken from 1

corinthians 6:19-20.Photo by fletcher Perkins

Both men and women’s basketball teams continue to progress forward as they enter their seasons’ midway points.

Fedex Boeing 727, ‘Steven,’ flies into riverside Municipal

airport as a donation for the department of aviation

Science.

THE

BANNERA California Baptist University Campus Publication

January 25, 2013 | Vol. 60, Issue 7