Campus Life

Joe Yahner, GCU’s Director of Public Safety, and Assistant Director/Assistant Police Chief Chuck Miiller are retiring Friday. That’s sad news for a lot of people at GCU, where they have been a fixture in the campus community for more than three years. Their legacy will be friendly, knowledgeable customer service and a meticulous attention to detail. “Their contributions were a blessing,” GCU President Brian Mueller said.

The correlations are there, everywhere we look. We can be like the Good Samaritan, GCU President Brian Mueller told Chapel on Monday morning, and make it our mission to help other people, or we can be like the priest and the Levite and look the other way. There’s no question that GCU will seek to be like the Good Samaritan under his leadership, and he had a lot more to say about how the story applies to having a career.

GCU Arena was filled with celebration on Sunday afternoon as about 500 students who gathered to watch the NCAA March Madness Selection Show heard that the Lopes men’s basketball team will play Iowa in the first round Saturday. Streamers descended from on high as the GCU Spirit Programs led the cheers for a team making history, the program’s first trip to the NCAA Division I tournament. “It’s probably one of the craziest things that’s happened on our campus,” GCU Pep Band member R.J. Villacorte said at the party.

Academic and Career Excellence (ACE) is presenting a series of “Adulting 101” workshops the next two weeks that should give students a good idea of what’s ahead, when there are bills to pay, savings plans to follow and other new responsibilities. Most notable are two sessions with Edward Jones financial advisor Angelica Prescod, a dynamic speaker who can talk the talk in a friendly, fun way.

It’s been almost a full year since the pandemic forced the College of Doctoral Studies to halt on-campus residencies. Now, after months of holding residencies at off-campus venues, learners were welcomed back to campus with open arms this week as extensive safety measure ensured a comfortable return. An added bonus: They got to see the University’s vaccine Point of Dispensing site at 27th Avenue, providing tangible evidence of the GCU community involvement they have heard so much about.

Students on the autism spectrum don’t have to go it alone, both on and off campus. Student Disability Services offers a wide array of special accommodations for them, including something as simple as a trip to a local mall. “We want everyone to enjoy GCU however they’re the most comfortable,” said Beth Jamison, Director of Student Disability Services.

It’s a tale of truth, hypocrisy and humor. It’s Molière’s “The Misanthrope.” As Ethington Theatre wraps up another memorable season, audiences are afforded one last opportunity for the 2020-21 academic year to experience COFAP’s “Theatre under the Stars” with a modernized rendition of the classic comedy. “It doesn’t take long to fall in love with the story and figure out how all of these crazy characters are going to get out of the messes that they’ve made,” said Assistant Director Tyler Sorrels. “I think this really encapsulates the end of our season.”

It’s time for students’ choreography to shine. The Spring Student Spotlight Concert debuted Monday night on the Quad and will be performed again at 7:30 Tuesday night. The concert showcases 15 student pieces, some in person and some on film. “The Student Spotlight is always one of my favorite concerts at GCU because it really shows the diversity of our student choreographers,” Dance Director Bekki Price said. “I think one of the exciting things is just having the opportunity to be outside and see art when so much of the world’s art has been shut down and there aren’t a lot of live performances happening.”

Why was a Phoenix Raceway pace car parked in the middle of the Promenade on Monday? It was to signal what Colangelo College of Business students have been doing in conjunction with the raceway, which will be host to a NASCAR event this weekend. “They have been able to really think outside the box and come up with ideas that we wouldn’t normally think about,” Hilary Adams, Director, Event Experience, for the NASCAR West region, said of the students.

Following Jesus isn’t easy. It’s a frequent message at Chapel, but Luke Simmons had some interesting things to say Monday about why Jesus’ followers found it so difficult — and sometimes we do, too. For example, he equated following Jesus to get what you want to marrying someone for their money. “… That’s not how Jesus wants to be approached, and yet so many of us, that’s what we do,” Simmons said.