The Western Concept

By Alicia M. Haich

Why consider a field in the Geosciences? Dr. Eric Brevik, the new professor of geology and soils at DSU, smiles at this question and answers, “It’s a fun field to teach in; you’re not stuck in an office all day. It’s great, especially if you like the outdoors—you get to dig holes all day and get paid for it.”

Brevik’s great love of the geosciences has been with him ever since an eighth-grade field trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

“My eighth-grade teacher took us on a week-long field trip to the Black Hills,” Brevik explains. “While there, we looked at caves, mines and for minerals. It was a great experience that just stuck.”

When the choice of a college major came up, Brevik naturally chose to receive his B.S. and M.A. in the field of geology in 1992 and 1994, both from the University of North Dakota. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. from the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University, majoring in soil science with a soil morphology and genesis concentration.

“I went to Iowa State because it’s one of the top schools in the world for soil science, which is what my Ph.D. is in.” Brevik explains. “They also have a good geology program, and I took classes in that at Iowa State as well.”

 After earning his Ph.D., Brevik was hired in 2000 as an Assistant Professor of Geosciences by the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences at Valdosta State University. He taught at Valdosta State for six years, becoming an Associate Professor in 2005 and helping with more than a dozen undergraduate theses.

“It’s not often you get someone who has training and teaching experience in both geology and soils,” Dr. Richard Brauhn, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, said. “Dr. Brevik offered DSU a unique background with the combination of academic training and teaching experience in both of those fields.”

“He gave an outstanding teaching presentation during the interview on campus,” Brauhn added. “Even I learned something from him during the presentation.”

“He’s very knowledgeable,” said Holly Gullickson, a student in Brevik’s Soils class. “He’s very laid back. He’s been very helpful with papers, and exams and he’s very understanding.”

Brevik has enjoyed returning to North Dakota to teach, but it’s been quite a change from the six years he spent in Valdosta, Georgia.

“There’s no real winter there,” Brevik says of Valdosta. “It gets to only about forty degrees in the winter for them. A few times that it froze, people thought the earth was coming to an end.”

Brevik’s father was originally from Williston, so coming back to North Dakota was a natural move for Brevik to make, and he’s enjoyed it so far.

However, Brevik is also used to moving around and traveling from place to place. His father was in the Air Force until Brevik was fifteen years old and his family didn’t settle in Minot, ND, until Brevik was twelve years old.

“I’ve had about twenty-six different addresses in my lifetime,” Brevik says.

Aside from traveling because of his father’s career, Brevik has traveled because of his own love of the geosciences. In order to study the soils and geology of various places, Brevik has been to Canada and Mexico and to every state in the United States except Hawaii and Alaska.

“Hawaii and Alaska are on the list as soon as I find the time and the money to get there,” Brevik says. “As for overseas, I’d like to visit just about anywhere. In particular, I’d like to travel and study in Europe, but especially Australia and Antarctica.”

Digging in the dirt, being outdoors, traveling, and simply enjoying your work seem to be some great perks to the fields of geology and soils—perks which Brevik has enjoyed in his career and will now enjoy at DSU.

By Andy Hall

The Blue Hawks faced off Saturday against the Dakota State University Trojans on the gridiron. The game was back and forth, but the Blue Hawks walked away with a win with a score of 19-10. Heavy wind had a huge impact on the game, so much so that many punts and kickoffs were swayed.

Dickinson State was lead in rushing by James Macy with 40 carries and 192 yards. The offense was quite explosive producing 17 first downs, and being forced only three punts. The Hawks’ passing was less than stellar with Matt Gitings throwing an interception with 3:30 left in the first quarter. The Hawks’ defense came through, which forced a Trojan three and out.

The Trojans’ ground game was led by Andrew Fatten with 20 carries for 59 yards. Fatten was critical through most of the Trojans’ drives; constantly pounding the Hawks’ defense. Dickinson held strong, and they shut the door on the Trojan’s. The Hawks’ defense was spearheaded by Lico Sifuentes with a total of 8 tackles, and Luke Steiner was right on his heels with 7. The Trojans’ passing game was much more impressive with 61 yards on the day. However, the Blue Hawks’ Tuchscherer was able to get his hands on a pass.

The Trojans finally got on the board late in the first half with a field goal, and later took the lead thanks to a Hawk’s fumble. With the score 10-6 for the Trojans, the Hawks’ offense went to work. They made it to the red zone and scored on 3 and 9 with a pass to number 81 Clint Grosz. Derek Pauly made a spectacular catch in the 4^th quarter to take the lead. It was here that the Hawks’ defense stayed strong as the Trojans aired the ball out, and were looking for the end zone.

Shawn O’Brien kicked two field goals from 25 and 41 yards out. These two field goals bumped O’Brien up as the best kicker in Dickinson State University history; he walked away with 34 FG’s in his career.

 By Ashley Martin

What could be better than a new department chair who has a sense of humor? One who also brews his own beer? Dr. Alan Church, the new chair for the language and literature department at Dickinson State University does just that. Before jumping to any conclusions, though, it is important to note that he does not approve of drunkenness. Church himself does not get drunk on the beer he brews or on any kind of alcohol. “Brewing beer is a hobby for me,” he stated.

After doing his research, Church learned the process of brewing beer and has been doing it for twelve years now. “Domestic beer is rather flavorless and uninspired,” he said. He is now able to brew the kinds of beer he likes with the amount of alcohol he prefers. “I take pride in the craftsmanship (of brewing beer). . . I admit I’m a beer snob,” Church added.

Church received his BA and MA in English Literature form Arizona State University. He received his PHD from the University of Washington. He specialized in medieval literature throughout college. Since he graduated, he has taught English, British and world literature, composition, and graduate research methods.

Church moved to Dickinson from Brownsville, Texas, shortly before the fall semester began. He stated that although “I thank God for the chances I had there (Brownsville), I’m really happy to be here.” Church was looking for a smaller university in a rural area. He chose DSU “because of the quality of life.” He said that the only thing he misses about Texas are the friends he left behind. He loves “the room to breathe and live” that he has found in Dickinson.

Another reason that Church wanted to move from Texas was to provide a better environment for his children. He was previously living in a one bedroom apartment. It is easy to imagine how crowded it would become when his two children would come to stay with him. Church now has more room in the house he and his wife have recently purchased in Dickinson.

Getting used to the time blocks of the classes he is teaching has proved to be a bit of a struggle for Church. He prefers to teach classes that run for about three hours. “An ideal class should include lecture, discussion, group work and applied exercises,” he said. He doesn’t think that all of that is possible in a fifty-minute time block.

Church feels as though his teaching may be suffering a bit as he gets used to the responsibilities of being a chair. His students disagree. Amy Harris, who is a nursing major is enrolled in Church’s British Literature course this semester. She said, “He’s a good teacher,” and added that “he adapts to his students” and is very good at helping each student understand the material.

Church stated that he has ”a lot of confidence in the people I work with (at DSU). I think the strength of the department is in the faculty. They’re an amiable, hard working group. I hope the students realize how hard their professors work.” He also said that many students at DSU seem to like learning “for learning sake,” and that they are more curious than students he has taught elsewhere.

Dr. Solheim, a professor in the Department of Language and Literature, believes that it is important to bring in new influences to improve the department. “I was chair for about a dozen years, and I reached a point where I felt I didn’t make many changes,” he said. That was when Solheim decided is was time to step down as chair. He stated that Church not only brings new teaching experience, but he is also working on making better policies within the Department of Language and Literature. Solheim said that Church has been talking about trying out a course in translation and is willing to try experimental courses to see if they meet the needs of the students. 

In the future, Church said that he hopes to work with Alan Reed, the managing editor at the Dickinson Press, to help the campus newspaper The Western Concept. As of right now, though, this is just an idea. Working with Reed would help improve the journalism minor at DSU.

Church stated that although he did not come to DSU to change anything, new expectations are constantly being placed on the faculty. He said that he will not make any changes unless the faculty can support them, but he will make changes that improve the administrative process.

By Misty Rilly

How many of you are history majors? Or, just really enjoy history and have been wondering if there are any clubs out there that you may enjoy? Well, there is. History Society is a club where you can meet and talk to other people who really enjoy history. This semester we meet every first and third Tuesday at noon in Klinefelter Hall room 108. Our advisor is Dr. Taylor, and with his help we do many great things. Have you ever been to a classic movie night? These can be used as extra credit for his class. History Society puts on these classic movie nights. We pick the movies and the dates to show them so our fellow classmates can enjoy them. Some of the other things we have done were the pie a professor game at the carnival where a lot of kids enjoyed throwing a pie at Dr. Taylor, Mr. Hanson, and Dr. Doherty and let’s not forget Dr. Conner. With all their help it was a huge success. A few of the other things we have done are, going to academic conferences in which we write a research paper on something that has taken place in history and we present it at these History conferences. Several of our members have had the opportunity to do that. It is a very rewarding experience and if you are interested in graduate schools, these conferences are a great place to network. Another thing we have done is bring in a guest speaker, last year we brought in Sara Weddington and are looking at bringing another speaker in the spring. Another thing we are doing, which is coming up rather quickly, is a panel discussion in which will discuss what led up to the cold war and the after math of it, which will take place on November 27 at 6:30 p.m. It is free of charge and open to the public. It will be student led and a great deal of fun for many people. If you have any other questions I urge you to email me, as I am the vice president of the History Society, at rilleyq2@yahoo.com . I hope everyone has a great week and thank you for your interest in the History Society.

by Ashley Martin

“To judge Islam by the suicide bombers is like judging Christians by the Ku Klux Clan.” This is a comparison that Dr. Omid Safi made when discussing issues about the stereotypes that have overwhelmed Muslim communities. Safi spoke at many facilities in Dickinson last week, including Dickinson State University. He traveled from his current home in North Carolina to spread knowledge about the Islam faith as part of his quest at “Building Bridges of Understanding and Respect.”

Safi was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He moved with his parents to Iran when he was young, but he eventually moved back to the U.S., where he finished his education. Safi’s parents wanted him to able to move with ease between the Iranian and American cultures, which he seems to do quite well. It is his wealth of experience with both cultures that makes him such a powerful voice within the Muslim community. Although Safi was born in America and raised in Iran, he said the human race is the only “ultimate” race he identifies with.

Although Safi is proud to be a part of this country, many aspects of our culture trouble him. He is most concerned with the ongoing war overseas and on a smaller scale, right here on American soil: the conflicts between Muslims, Christians and many other religions and cultures.

“When many of us look at this country.  .  . there is a sense of shame in what we have become,” Safi stated during his program at DSU on Tuesday, October 23. He said that although many of us are ashamed in what is going on in the war “shame and guilt do not make us better or lovelier people.” Safi added “We can not reform our nation by being ashamed of it.” We need to take action and educate ourselves about this war and about other cultures. Otherwise, we tend to do little more than point fingers and feel sorry for ourselves.

Safi stated that merely “tolerating” people who are different than us is not enough. In order for Americans and human beings as a whole to move forward, we must accept and love one another, no matter how different we may seem. Safi feels that a good starting point for changing our nation is “the recognition that everybody is a child of god.”

It is quite interesting that many Christians view Muslims in a negative light. The two faiths have so much in common it is baffling that there is so much tension between them. Much of that tension is rooted in misunderstanding and stereotypes.

One misconception is that all Muslim women are treated with disrespect. Safi is one Muslim who is particularly passionate about gender equality. “Our perfect god doesn’t make mistakes fifty percent of the time,” he stated. “I’m committed to this notion that we are never going to have justice if we don’t have justice for women,” he added. Safi also pointed out that Mary is mentioned more times in the Koran than in the Bible.

Bruce MacDuffy, who is a pastor at St. John’s Episcopal Church, has found Muslims to be “very hospitable people.” The idea of Muslims being caring individuals is quite different from the violent stereotype that many Americans have placed on these people.

MacDuffie has been friends with Safi since the fall of 2000. When one of Safi’s children was born, he invited MacDuffie and a Jewish Rabbi to bless his youngest son.

Although MacDuffie is an Episcopalian, he said “I admire some of the Muslim practices.” He respects their traditions such as the fact that they pray five times a day, and give a portion of their income to charity.

It may seem that global peace, universal understanding and acceptance is merely a dream. It is a hope that many of us in America and all over the world share. If we take steps today to spread love and acceptance for all human beings, the earth may be a better place for future generations.

By Chris Aarhus  

On Halloween night, the players and coaches from NAIA No. 9-ranked National American University went through a Dickinson State University horror show.

The 10th-ranked Blue Hawks were at their best, topping a resilient National American team in a 30-19, 32-30, 30-21 victory Wednesday at Scott Gym in Region III volleyball action.

 The ninth-ranked Mavericks struggled in the first game, thanks to six serving errors. However, Dickinson State coach Dave Moody said it was the best his team has played all year.

“It certainly was,” Moody said. “The energy level was off the effort scale. We kept balls up that we’d normally drop.”

The Blue Hawks used a 10-3 run to separate themselves from National American in the first game. Six kills from sophomore Judith Boel played a major factor. She finished with 12.

 According to Boel, it was important to make sure people knew who the better team on the floor was.“We had something to play for,” Boel said. “We had to show people that we’re better then them.”

Dickinson State’s toughest test came in the second game when National American fought back after trailing 26-21. National American tied it up at 30 when Daniela Oliveira recorded her 10^th kill of the game. Despite the comeback, the Blue Hawks slammed home the win with kills from Elizabeth Castillo and Nancy Nyongesa.

“I thought we did a good job of mixing it up at times,” Moody said of his players at key moments. “The best strength against a good team is diversity.”

Dickinson State closed the door on the Mavericks in the third contest by getting an early lead and keeping it. The Blue Hawks trailed 3-2 early in the second game and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way.

 “We did a good job of maintaining the leads,” Moody said

Castillo had eight kills and 20 digs, and Katelynn Steifel added 37 assists.

By Casey Loehding

The Dickinson State girls’ volleyball team swept Valley City’s Vikings last weekend on Friday in the first three sets. The girls are currently ranked fourth in the nation for NAIA Division 1 Volleyball.

On Tuesday, October 9, Dickinson State University said farewell to one of its administrators. Dr. Mary Jo Gonzales is no longer the director of the Academic Success Center (ASC) at Dickinson State University. After being part of our campus for over five years, Gonzales decided it was time to move on to Iowa State University where she has taken a position as Associate Dean of Students.

Gonzales was born and raised in Hollister California. She received a bachelor’s degree in communications from San Jose State University. She received her masters and Ph.D. in education from Washington State.

When Gonzales was an undergraduate, she never imagined herself getting a Ph.D. She stated that more than anything else, it was two faculty members who motivated her to achieve a higher education. One of these faculty members told her that she was a smart young woman and showed her how she could achieve bigger things. The other faculty member told her that she wouldn’t make it very far.  Gonzales wanted to prove this faculty member wrong, so she worked hard to achieve her goals. Although this negative comment helped her, Gonzales said that she tries not to be a “negative motivator.” She tries to encourage students to do their best.

In April of 2002, Gonzales had the opportunity to become part of our campus. “I came because I thought I could make a difference,” she stated. Gonzales feels that through the ASC, she has made a difference in the lives of many DSU students. “With all the programs we have built, we have been able to help all kinds of students we wouldn’t have been able to, had we not taken some chances and risks,” she said.

When she was working at DSU, Gonzales directed academic support systems on campus. This included tutoring students, new student orientation, and academic advising. She also helped make the ASC available to all students on campus. She said that making the ASC more available was important because “without a program like this, I never would have made it through college.” She also added that, in her opinion, many students at DSU would struggle without the ASC.

Gonzales said she decided to leave DSU because “we had built pretty much what we could under my leadership. I learned so much while I was here, but it was time for me as an individual to grow.” She stated that she hopes the ASC grows bigger than it already is. “I really hope that the campus continues to support the staff who works in the ASC. The staff does an awesome job,” she said. She added that “some of my colleagues, faculty, and staff are just incredible people. It will pain me to leave some of them behind.”

Over all, Gonzales said she will miss the students at DSU the most. She has found it exciting to see people that she has known since freshman year graduate. “There’s (sic) some pretty talented students here,” she said.

On October 18, Gonzales begins her new adventure in Iowa. She will be supervising the Academic Success Center, multicultural affairs, and many other student support services at Iowa State University.

She is unsure how long she will be at Iowa State University or what she will be doing in the more distant future. “I tend to let God take me where he wants me to go,” she said. She said she will probably stick to working in programs that deal with student development.  

by Ashley Martin

If you have ever tried to learn a foreign language, you know that it is no easy task. Many people study a foreign language for years before they begin to grasp it. Barbara Laman, who is an instructor in the Department of Language and Literature at Dickinson State University, struggled to learn English in her native country of Austria. She stated that when she was a young teenager she “could not speak a word of English after studying six years of texts.” Fernando Quijano, who is an economics instructor at DSU, stated, “altogether it takes about ten years to learn a language.”

So what can you do to help the process along? According to Laman, there are three steps a person should follow when learning a language. She stated that the most important step is immersion. She added that when you are completely immersed in a language, you are forced to learn. Rolf Butz, assistant professor of business, said “you learn a lot more when you’re there, talking to people, than trying to learn it in class.” Butz is originally from Mainz, Germany.

Kostas Voutsas, assistant professor of business and management, said that it “helped tremendously” to be around other people who spoke English. Voutsas is originally from Thessaloniki, Greece. “The difficulty that I experienced was dealing with the culture,” Voutsas stated. He said that although his courses prepared him to speak English, he “did not have the training to live in a new culture.” He also said, “interacting with American students allowed me to appreciate the richness of the culture.”

Laman stated that the second most important step is “to see situations that you recognize and to hear what people say in those situations.” Laman, Quijano, Voutsas, and Butz all agree that watching television sitcoms in the target language aids in mastering this step. Voutsas added that movies also helped him with this.

The third step that Laman recommends is to “learn the clichés of the cultures and the figures of speech. Once you know what the clichés mean, that’s when you begin to think in that target language.” Although she discourages her American students from using clichés in their work, Laman never stops her foreign students from doing so. She says this is because when foreign students use clichés, it is a sign that they are beginning to have a better understanding of the culture and language.

Although every person learns in his or her own unique way, Laman, Quijano, Voutsas, and Butz all believe that visual learning is very important. “I’m a very graphical person. People learn, definitely, by seeing graphics,” Quijano said. He added that, like Laman, simply reading text did not help much while learning the English language. Butz, too, stated, “I like pictures, without them, it’s boring.”

Another challenge to learning a language is remembering your original language. Quijano stated that there was a period of time when he didn’t speak either language very well. “It is a challenge to keep your original language intact,” he said. Laman has spent two thirds of her life in English speaking countries, so it is understandable that she struggles for a week or so to find words when visiting her homeland. Butz stated that although he has not lost a lot of German, he does lose some of his vocabulary in between visits to Germany. He, too, said that it takes about a week before he begins regaining what he has forgotten.

It may be quite a challenge, but learning a foreign language is a good asset that many Americans never acquire. “Language acquisition has been so neglected in this country that I’m afraid we’ll start to see the effects of it in our economy pretty soon,” Laman said. “With China growing economically the way it is, we should learn their language to understand both their economy and their culture better.” 

It would not be a bad idea to learn to speak a different language; it may come in handy some day soon.

 by Chris Aarhus

The Dickinson State University volleyball team was all about results on homecoming weekend.The No. 6-ranked Blue Hawks swept another Dakota Athletic Conference foe, earning a 30-26, 30-27, 30-21 win over Black Hills State Saturday at Scott Gymnasium.Led by senior Nancy Nyongesa, the Blue Hawks turned out a spectacular performance, punctuated by a dominating win in the third-game.“She is a punctuation-type player,” Dickinson coach Dave Moody said. “When we need to put an exclamation mark on (the match), that’s her. (For our team), she’s what Dominique Wilkins was to the NBA. She’s our human-highlight reel.”

Both teams bounced back and forth early until DSU grabbed a 10-9 lead. The Blue Hawks never lost the lead after that, but couldn’t put away the Yellow Jackets. Trailing 26-21, Black Hills State got within 28-26 before DSU eventually closed it out on a service ace from senior All-American Nancy Nyongesa. Nyongesa led DSU with 16 kills, eight digs and an ace.Moody continued to praise Nyongesa’s efforts.“She’s one of the most exciting players we’ve ever had in Scott Gym,” Moody said. “I hope everyone who watches her play understands that.”The second game had DSU get out to an even bigger lead. The Blue Hawks broke a 13-13 tie by going on a 9-2 run.

Black Hills State came back to get within four at 22-18. However, DSU answered with six straight points to bring the score to 28-18 and that’s when the Yellow Jackets turned their performance around.Black Hills State used a 9-1 run to get back in contention at 29-27 before Judith Boel pounded out a kill to end Game 2. Boel finished with 10 kills, two aces and 12 digs. DSU setter Katelyn Steifel had 39 assists.Black Hills State setter and Dickinson High alumnus Mandy Brumfield notched 25 assists to go with a pair of aces.Brumfield said she was happy with the reception she got when she returned home.“It’s been great to come back here and get lots of support,” Brumfield said. “I went to a lot of camps (in Scott Gym). I have a lot of confidence playing in this gymnasium.”