Losing the Faith
How one Wheaton grad went from street preaching to renouncing Christianity.
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Associate Editor, 2020
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Wheaton Father Reflects on Tragedy in New Book
Mark Roser’s son Ethan should have graduated in 2020. A year later, Roser publishes about what happened and how his life changed.
Ryken Announces 2022 Fiscal Plan
At a town hall event in Barrows Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 19, President Philip Ryken presented the college’s new fiscal plan, “Thunder, Stronger,” which aims to recoup losses accrued as a result of COVID-19 by eliminating some faculty and administrative positions, investing in future programming and restructuring select academic departments. Ryken said the plan will balance Wheaton’s budget, generate up to $9 million in annual savings and help combat a projected $10 million in losses suffered b
Faculty, Staff, Administration and Students Speak Up about Chaplain Blackmon’s Dismissal
Wheaton College announced on July 3 its termination of Timothy Blackmon as chaplain following a Title IX complaint and investigation conducted in the winter and spring of 2020. This was the first time in the school’s history that a chaplain was fired. The college has since removed Blackmon’s chapel messages from its YouTube channel.
In a public statement following early media coverage of the firing, President Philip Ryken outlined the specific allegations leading to the decision. Blackmon and his lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, have disputed the allegations.
Students Reflect on Casting Votes, and Awaiting Results, in a Contentious Election
Joseph R. Biden Jr. became president-elect of the United States on Sat. Nov. 7, four days after Wheaton students cast their vote for president, many for the first time. Following days of ballot-counting in key swing states, Biden flipped Pennsylvania, claiming 279 electoral votes and 50.5% of the popular vote, according to the New York Times. As several states continued to count absentee ballots and President Donald Trump refused to concede defeat, students shared their experience of the 2020 el
Record Poll Shows Wheaton Wants Biden
Wheaton students favor former Vice President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump by eight percentage points, according to a poll conducted by the Record. 48 percent of respondents indicated they would vote for Biden, 40 percent for Trump and 12 percent for an independent or write-in candidate.
Between Oct. 27 and Nov. 1, the Record surveyed 764 Wheaton undergraduates about the 2020 presidential election. The poll was conducted by Qualtrics and distributed to the student body through an email
Campus-wide COVID-19 Testing Results in One Positive Testing Pool
This story has been updated to reflect President Ryken’s announcement of the testing’s results.
President Ryken emailed the campus this afternoon announcing that the weekend testing concluded with only one positive result. The four students in the positive test pool are quarantined while awaiting the results of a re-test. Ryken congratulated the campus on cooperation with the “COVID-Safe, Thunder-Strong procedures” and urged continued precautionary measures “especially since Chicagoland winter
Music Students Adapt to New Training Methods
“The major part of the conservatory is personal communication and community,” said Chloe Liu, a junior music composition major from China. “Now that’s impossible. All the projects are gone and recitals are cancelled.”
The March 11 decision by college administration to continue the Spring 2020 semester remotely has caused all academic departments to redesign their courses for virtual learning. The Wheaton Conservatory of Music was also required to adapt to an online education in place of in-pers
Wheaton elects new Student Government leaders online
Due to Wheaton’s campus closure, the current Student Government (SG) cabinet passed proposals to amend the constitution and allow for virtual campaigning and elections, and on April 9 the polls closed on this first all-online student election season. Candidates shared their campaign platforms on social media, and they recorded speeches which were sent to the student body through email and posted on SG’s YouTube channel. Student Body President Sarah Yoon and Vice President Nat Lewis also moderate
Forum wall prompts petition
On Feb. 19, Senior Class Co-President Joshua Franker posted a laminated notice on the forum wall in Lower Beamer stating that all anonymous posts would be taken down at the end of the day. In response, senior Leo O’Malley began collecting signatures to hold a referendum on all 2019-2020 Student Government (SG) proposals. After a day of encouraging students to join his cause in Lower Beamer and other areas of Wheaton’s campus on Thursday, O’Malley says that he now has 103 “signatures and commitme
Richmond band uses call and response to kickstart diversity convo
This semester’s Special Service Chapels, held from Jan. 27-29, featured Arrabon Ministries, a organization based in Richmond, Va. that helps Christian communities with racial reconciliation, and its worship band, Urban Doxology. The band hosted three chapel services, a worship workshop and an evening service at Edman. Founder David Bailey started Urban Doxology to promote racial reconciliation through worship. The band tours the country hosting worship workshops, training programs and services t
Cartagena and Watts win diversity awards
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, the first annual Rodney Sisco Symposium for Leadership, Diversity and Equity opened with the presentation of the Student Choice Diversity Award to one faculty and one staff member. Chief Intercultural Engagement Officer Sheila Caldwell described the purpose of the award to “celebrate individuals who champion efforts that result in greater awareness, diversity, justice, inclusion and unity for all members of our community.”
William Osborne Society Brotherhood Coordinator an
Sophomore jumpstarts Coast Guard cadet program
After being approved by Provost Margaret Diddams and the Student Activities Office (SAO) this fall, the new Wheaton Coast Guard Auxiliary University program (AUP) is on its way to become the first university detachment of its type in the Midwest.
College of DuPage junior Evan Sheriff and Wheaton sophomore Penn Moffat began laying the foundations for the program at the beginning of the fall semester and have been given all the “green lights” required to start the program, according to Moffat. “W
Student artwork captures publisher's interest
Following a four-week trip to Spain, faculty in the Spanish department are readying a book of student work for possible publication.
The book, which is in the process of being submitted to InterVarsity Press, will feature a collection of devotionals and watercolors from six Wheaton students about their experience walking the historic Camino de Santiago, a medieval Catholic pilgrimage route in Spain that has recently been increasing in popularity.
Senior Lecturer of Spanish Sharenda Barlar, who
CSC head makes sense of shift in student volunteering
Although the number of Wheaton students volunteering through the Christian Service Council (CSC) has increased slightly in the last 10 years, there is still much less participation than in the organization’s recent history. Assistant Director of School Year Programs Jared Falkanger, who oversees the CSC, thinks the decrease in numbers is due to increased busyness and changing attitudes toward off-campus ministry among Wheaton students.
The CSC, which operates out of the Office of Christian Outr
Campus continues to debate impeachment
Last week the Record published results from a survey gauging student opinions about impeaching President Trump. The Record also spoke with faculty members and students in light of the survey.
The potential impeachment has sparked conversation between students and professors on campus. On Oct. 8, faculty in the Politics and International Relations Department held an informational session outlining the impeachment process and its ramifications. Professor of Political Science Amy Black returned fr
College Dems disband due to lack of student interest
After reorganizing just last school year, the Wheaton College chapter of the College Democrats of America has not returned as a student organization for the fall semester.
Junior Amy Rice, who founded the group last fall with her classmate Aaron Doci, currently serves on Student Government (SG) as junior class co-president. Rice and Doci have decided that the club will be on hiatus until other student leaders can commit more time to it.
“Wheaton College Republicans have had an established pres
Former OMD director honored with award
On Oct. 3, Rodney Sisco (‘84) was posthumously given the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award for 34 years of dedicated service to the Wheaton community as a friend, colleague and mentor. The inscription on the plaque commended Sisco for “a gentle, affirming presence” and “for consistency and artistry in nurturing diversity and unity among the body of Christ.”
Students, staff and alumni gathered in Coray Gymnasium to remember their friend and colleague and to celebrate his impact on their
Wheaton alum returns to acting
If you type “notable Wheaton alumni” in a Google search, you will find the names of influential evangelical leaders such as Jim Elliot, John Piper and Billy Graham appear on your screen. But Wheaton’s notable alumni base has recently expanded to include Piper Curda (‘19), an alumna who stands out as one of the few women of color mentioned in the database.
Curda is an experienced actress and has starred in several TV-shows and films, including the web-series “Just Another Nice Guy” and Disney Ch
Freshman class elects co-presidents
On Thursday, Sept. 12, the freshman class elected Amelia Miller and Elijah Owens to represent them as council co-presidents in Wheaton’s Student Government (SG) by a ranked vote.
In an email interview with the Record, SG Vice President Nat Lewis explained, “Instead of allowing voters to select a singular choice for their favored ticket or candidate, voters rank all of the tickets in order of preference. In the absence of a clear majority winner, processes are taken to eliminate the least prefer
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