Campus Life

With the Arizona primary on Tuesday, national media have noticed the grass-roots political involvement of juniors Viridiana Hernandez and Aldo Gonzalez and other GCU students. In November, the students’ efforts helped Daniel Valenzuela become the first Latino elected to the Phoenix City Council’s District 5 seat.

Randy Smith, 54, who died unexpectedly three weeks ago, could be heard and seen at the home games of the Antelope women’s basketball team and was a true fan. “Basketball is just a game,” his daughter says, “but to know that he touched people through the game means so much more.”

It’s not exactly the Lakers vs. the Celtics, but Wednesday’s exhibition basketball game between employees of GCU’s Peoria and Tempe offices has plenty of hype just the same. The teams will play at halftime of the GCU-Chaminade men’s game.

Wednesday night’s exhibition basketball game between GCU’s Peoria and Tempe employees will mark a comeback of sorts for Jamie Frey, a former college player who had to postpone her degree while battling health problems. Frey has since completed her degree in justice studies with GCU.

The campus theatre is cultivating a new audience and reclaiming its place as a force on the metro Phoenix arts scene, less than two years after introducing its first class of theatre students since temporarily closing the program in 2006.

Sophomore Nick Ely and junior Trent Bruns were elected president and vice president of Associated Students of Grand Canyon University (ASGCU) for 2012-13, defeating the tandems of Amber Christenberry and Andrew Cuckie and Mallory Freeman and James Prigge in a closely contested election.

Grace Kostyk of north Phoenix, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, will be the face of two races to be held on the GCU campus on March 10. The Run to Fight Children’s Cancer, which is back after a successful October debut, will donate all proceeds to the Children’s Cancer Network.

The 14 students and eight faculty members from Changchun Medical College received a warm sendoff from the College of Nursing after a memorable two-week visit to campus that included a number of educational and social highlights for the guests and their hosts.

It was more like a forum than a debate, but the three sets of candidates for the upcoming ASGCU election discussed various issues and their plans Thursday night before a large student crowd in North Gym. Running for student-body president are Amber Christenberry, Nick Ely and Mallory Freeman.

Next week, GCU students will take to the polls and exercise their civic duty to elect a new ASGCU president and vice president. As you see all the posters and fliers around campus, take an opportunity to meet the candidates and learn their intentions for next year. Amber Christenberry, junior secondary education major, and Andrew Cuckie, sophomore finance and economics major, both have experience in leadership positions on campus.