Makenzie Rose Dr. Kayla Mckinney Kelsey Kerns Co-Editor Supervising Faculty Co-Editor

INFLUX

Brought to you by Knight Editors of the Tea Table:

Makenzie Rose Dr. Kayla McKinney Kelsey Kerns Co-Editor Supervising Faculty Co-Editor

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

Introduction

Forward, always forward!

These are words that you will see if you check out Alderson Broaddus’s website or pause to lean in and look at the mission statement posted around the campus. This year, they also apply to Influx.

In an effort to better present artwork and photography and to create a growing archive of submissions by students, alumni, faculty, and staff, Influx is enjoying its first digital publication!

An expansion of digital content is something of a trend up here on College Drive. More and more classes have begun to appear online and students use the latest technology to read, study, interact, and have fun. The editors at Influx are excited to be part of this trend and we hope that no matter what platform you have used to find your way to us, you will enjoy you’ll enjoy the wide range of words and images we’ve compiled to represent 2016-2017 at Alderson Broaddus University.

Along with this change, our editors have decided to include a selection of papers that won awards for writing at this year’s Honors Convocation. These academic works span a wide range of topics – from cancer cells to Harry Potter – but they all showcase the exciting scholarly work being done at Alderson Broaddus University and the talents and passion of our student body.

As always, we thank you for being part of our audience and hope that you will find much to enjoy in the following selections of poetry, prose, scholarship, art, and photography.

The Influx Team

Spring, 2017

Table of Contents INFLUX Poetry Winners Alderson Broaddus University’s First Place: Literary Magazine The Silence of the Snow (A Winter Requiem) – Michele Miles

Second Place:

Untitled – Leah Russo The Silence of the Snow (A Winter Requiem)

Third Place: Michele Miles There’s a hush in my heart Walls – Makenzie Rose while walking in the silence of the snow. Flakes fall silently.

I reach to capture one or two; an exhilarating chill, then sudden demise as each flake lands on the warmth of my hand.

If raindrops are the tears of Angels then perhaps, snow flakes represent the trumpet sounds of heavenly hosts. Landing peacefully, quietly, constructing a mystical sense of security; I feel safe in this silence of the snow.

Here lies in juxtaposition; my heart safe and my mind conversing with God: “Is this the winter we run to the mountains?” (The wind chills the back of my neck,) “Is it from these four winds You sound the clarion call?”

The moon erupts fire red and so large I can touch it from this mountain trail. The snow remains quiet but for the crunch under my feet. “How’s the weather in Judea, Lord?” “Are the children in Allepo warm?” “Is there a new horn rising in Damascus?” My heart walks on in the silence of the snow.

Winter white Victory! You’ve washed my nature clean. You coddle this cold, dead soul With the Light of hope, forever love, eternal joy. Holy Fire, come. Melt this sullen heart. humbly, I walk in the silence of Your snow.

Table of Contents INFLUX Poetry Winners Alderson Broaddus University’s First Place:

The Silence of the Snow Literary Magazine (A Winter Requiem) – Michele Miles Second Place: Untitled Untitled – Leah Russo Leah Russo Third Place: Walls – Makenzie Rose You taste like top shelf whiskey And smell like my favorite cigarettes. The thing is, I don’t care much for dark liquor And I’ve stopped poisoning my lungs. So, I guess just as even my strongest vices Had an expiration date, You did, too.

Table of Contents INFLUX Poetry Winners Alderson Broaddus University’s First Place:

The Silence of the Snow Literary Magazine (A Winter Requiem) – Michele Miles Second Place: Walls Untitled – Leah Russo Makenzie Rose Third Place: They are built strong and thick Walls – Makenzie Rose Mortared together with grit, water, and sweat Stone after stone, carefully placed Bruised, battered, weathered, and rough They protect, hide, secure

They are built strong and thick Mortared together with tears, pain, and heartache Every stone a harsh word Every layer, a year They wrap around the heart, secure, cold Edges may crumble, stones may fall But soon are rebuilt stronger than before

You see the village, the mirage But not the wall, the protector Sometimes the strongest walls Are those you can’t see So, trust me when I say: You know nothing about walls

Those who build them Know how to get behind them

Makenzie Rose is a senior student from Gore, Virginia. She will be graduating in May with a Journalism degree and a Literature minor. She intends to eventually return to school for Elementary Education, while working toward a career as a reading specialist.

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

First Place - “Artist's Point”

Makenzie Rose Makenzie Rose is senior student from Gore, Virginia. She will be graduating in May with a Journalism degree and a Literature minor. She intends to eventually return to school for Elementary Education, while working toward a career as a reading specialist.

Table of Contents – Art Winners

First Place - “Artist’s View” Second Place - “Untitled” Third Place - “Bucky” Makenzie Rose Erin Brown John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

Second Place - “Untitled”

Erin Brown

Erin Brown grew up in Cleveland, West Virginia, and is now a senior studying graphic design at AB. Her love of nature greatly influences the artwork she creates or captures on the camera. Erin will be graduating in May and plans to pursue a career in graphic design.

Table of Contents – Art Winners

First Place - “Artist’s View” Second Place - “Untitled” Third Place - “Bucky” Makenzie Rose Erin Brown John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

Third Place - “Bucky”

John Hall John Hall is a freshman AB student majoring in Graphic Design. He hopes to one day create his own comics as art and storytelling have been his lifelong passions.

Table of Contents – Art Winners

First Place - “Artist’s View” Second Place - “Untitled” Third Place - “Bucky” Makenzie Rose Erin Brown John Hall

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Where Are You “Blue Light” Nancy L. Homan – Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my Where are you eight-month-old niece – Now you’ve gone from me Kelsey Kerns Leaving behind a husk haunted The Water – Kelsey Kerns By your flash of light life as a jobless writer – The brain that was too good to lose Kelsey Kerns And love that couldn’t stop

Road Herping – You went unblinking to the dark without me Dr. Kayla McKinney Do you know I wait too hurt to cry Driving with the Sisters – My only comfort now Makenzie Rose I too shall die. Untitled –

Leah Russo Nancy grew up in Kane, Pennsylvania, third of six children. Her favorite memory of AB Let Hope Reign – occurred when President Shearer return with the news that AB had been awarded Dr. Adam Starks accreditation. He flew overhead and dropped a parachuting doll from his plane with the good news – AB had a future!

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Attempting Understanding “Blue Light” – Kelsey Kerns Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my Composing music or poetry? eight-month-old niece – We share similar rhythms, beats Kelsey Kerns shouldn’t be very hard to see The Water – Kelsey Kerns but there’s a gap, and we can’t quite meet. life as a jobless writer – Kelsey Kerns We do share similar rhythms and beats,

Road Herping – your parallel fifths match my rhyme scheme, Dr. Kayla McKinney but there’s a gap where we can’t meet Driving with the Sisters – and in understanding you, I’ll need a team. Makenzie Rose

Untitled – Your parallel fifths match my rhyme scheme, Leah Russo my meter to your tempo and pace Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks but to understand you, I’ll need a team for here is where I rest my case.

My meter to your tempo and pace, your measure to my stanza, yet here is where I rest my case: Just what on earth’s a fourth interval? It’s becoming my new mantra.

Your measure to my stanza isn’t very hard to see, but I’m forming a new mantra – Composing music or poetry?

Kelsey Kerns is a senior English major at AB. She hopes to become an editor and part time writer after graduation.

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns “Blue Light” “Blue Light” – Kelsey Kerns Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my (on the practice of calming the body by picturing a blue light illuminating each part eight-month-old niece – of self and the individual memories associated with each) Kelsey Kerns

The Water – Kelsey Kerns feel thoughts once swirling

in agony life as a jobless writer – Kelsey Kerns straighten

Road Herping – calm to heartbeat pulse Dr. Kayla McKinney through to elbows

Driving with the Sisters – Makenzie Rose they leak through body

Untitled – hands pen paper Leah Russo jumbled thoughts

Let Hope Reign – priming lines to action Dr. Adam Starks jolting memory times of sorrow spent showers lying in tent instruction breathe

follow memory

feel warm rocks

hard tree of spine yellow haze float down from sky birds follow memory

down swift hands feet to worn paths jumble shoulder with wings feel memory

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns On writing round my eight-month-old niece “Blue Light” – Kelsey Kerns Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my That pen is not a chew toy! eight-month-old niece – I need it for my work. Kelsey Kerns the hours fly The Water – Kelsey Kerns and there’s no time life as a jobless writer – for rhyming in my verse. Kelsey Kerns

Road Herping – Yes, go and play Dr. Kayla McKinney Far over there Driving with the Sisters – just stop getting in my way, Makenzie Rose though the stomping of your feet Untitled – may help my meter stay. Leah Russo

Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks Ah! There’s a rhyme, it just showed up but what pattern to keep? Aba, ab-bab, ba, you say… Perhaps a different feat.

The writing’s done; there’s papers strewn from one room to the next

1 and somehow you have managed to get water down your chest.

And even though you’re such a pain, encroaching on my work, putting hands on everything to watch me go berserk, I’ll keep you safe till Mommy’s home and love you all the same, for even while I lay you down, I hope you learn my trade.

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns The Water “Blue Light” – Kelsey Kerns Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my I remember falling, eight-month-old niece – breaking barrier of muted browns, blues, Kelsey Kerns suspended ‘tween earth and self, a cold cocoon, The Water – Kelsey Kerns receptive, calm, life as a jobless writer – like burrowing into sheet, taking cover from winter’s strike. Kelsey Kerns

Road Herping – I remember flurry of white, Dr. Kayla McKinney bubbles of a thousand blowers coalescing above, Driving with the Sisters – brown strands swirling to meet them, Makenzie Rose and flash of frightened phalanges, reaching, Untitled – grasping monster under bed come true, wrenching peace, Leah Russo surfacing freezing pain and thunderous cries. Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks I don’t remember how murk must have clogged throat, burned nostril, filled lungs to burst, or how pressure should have made panic, thrashing body ‘gainst current, pushing for time.

Mother still thinks I cracked my head when I went under. We both know I was broken long before that.

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns life as a jobless writer “Blue Light” – Kelsey Kelsey Kerns Kerns

On writing round my violent wrenching in stomach doubles me at desk eight-month-old niece – a protest of neglect, abuse, Kelsey Kerns screaming emptiness of two days passed The Water – Kelsey Kerns without food life as a jobless writer – Kelsey Kerns attempt to push the gnawing aside

Road Herping – ream angry pang of ultimatum – Dr. Kayla McKinney

Driving with the Sisters – continue and suffer, I’ll devour myself Makenzie Rose

Untitled – aggravated shove, screeching chair, flurry of loose sheets Leah Russo and body arrives at cupboard – Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks remnants of cracker boxes amongst three cans

expired tuna, kidney beans, and one unlabeled leaking dent

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Road Herping “Blue Light” Dr. Kayla McKinney – Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my I have abandoned the unnatural pavement eight-month-old niece – where the thin blue eye of witchlight, your headlamp, Kelsey Kerns twitches and flickers along the black razor edges

of the wetland plants The Water – Kelsey Kerns Frightened of the shrieking banshee wails life as a jobless writer – near-human cries of toads, Kelsey Kerns The thin frost of our visible breath smoking and spooking on the empty road Road Herping – Dr. Kayla McKinney You search for glinting eyes Evidence of dark skinned things Driving with the Sisters – That have crawled from the creek beds Makenzie Rose To enjoy the pavement Steeped in storm-wet warmth Untitled – Steaming in the cool currents of air. Leah Russo Inside the car – your blue light dancing farther and farther from the glass – I hold the plastic bucket Let Hope Reign – Pale Dr. Adam Starks Eerie, In the dark.

I cannot tell you what it's like to hold it Half cauldron Half slime slopped grail. You return Hands full with wriggling, squirming, overlive Flesh, New deposits Of water-speckled green Pale frog slipperiness. The plastic shell reverberates with liquid sounds As they splash-swim over each other

And your phantom catch Yellow spotted ambestoma Water and earth creatures with flesh like rain I insist that they are purple Black, you say They smile dumb smiles Like children's rubber toys As long as my hand. I'm afraid they're eating one another My life bucket reduced to viscera Despite your warm smile reassurances

I imagine it began like this The only religion you believe in The swimming-to-crawling transmutation Swirling dark and live and primal A dozen heartbeats echoing against each other As they began their slow swim to the shore My heartbeat quickens as you take the driver's seat And my bucket sloshes As we pass back over the dark roads Toward home.

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Driving with the Sisters “Blue Light” – Kelsey Makenzie Rose Kerns

On writing round my First person to the car gets shotgun eight-month-old niece – What are we listening to? Kelsey Kerns Radio or iPod? We’ll flip through stations and static The Water – Kelsey Kerns I want to dance like no one’s around life as a jobless writer – I want to sing like nobody’s listening Kelsey Kerns When I’m driving with the sisters

Road Herping – Dr. Kayla McKinney Stretch the aux cord to the backseat Changing songs quicker than a key change Driving with the Sisters – Turn up that volume! Makenzie Rose Make those speakers rattle with that bass!

Untitled – You don’t know you’re beautiful Leah Russo If only you could see what I see When I’m driving with the sisters Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks Wait, I like that song!

Windows down and people smiling at us No, we haven’t lost our minds We are just having fun

We’ll have a house party Don’t need nobody When I’m driving with the sisters

How do you know this song? Oh, check this one out! No, let that one play But this one is so good!

Driving down the highway Who’s gonna be the dee-jay When I’m driving with the sisters

Windows down, wind whipping through the truck One of them is dancing in the back seat The other picking the next song for our jam session I lean over the steering wheel laughing

Live like you were dying Someday I hope you get the chance To drive like I do with my sisters

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Untitled “Blue Light” – Leah Russo Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my If I am anything at all, eight-month-old niece – I am a dragon; Non-existent, yet legendary Kelsey Kerns And if you get too close,

I will burn everything. The Water – Kelsey Kerns

life as a jobless writer – Kelsey Kerns

Road Herping – Dr. Kayla McKinney

Driving with the Sisters – Makenzie Rose

Untitled – Leah Russo

Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks

Table of Contents - Poetry INFLUX Where Are You – Alderson Broaddus University’s Nancy L. Homan Literary Magazine Attempting Understanding – Kelsey Kerns Let Hope Reign “Blue Light” – Dr. Adam Starks Kelsey Kerns

On writing round my Let hope reign in the face of despair eight-month-old niece – Let hope reign when no one seems to care Kelsey Kerns Let hope ring in the silent forest The Water – Kelsey Kerns Let hope sing when your heart has no chorus life as a jobless writer – Let knowledge quench ignorance in the desert without water Kelsey Kerns Let history’s giants teach our sons and daughters

Road Herping – Let hope lead us to the knowledge we seek Dr. Kayla McKinney Let hope give us the courage to speak Driving with the Sisters – Let hope give us the desire to achieve Makenzie Rose Let hope prevail when there’s no other reprieve Untitled – May the thought of hope offer resilience Leah Russo The present doesn’t await; now is the time to realize your brilliance Let Hope Reign – Dr. Adam Starks May God, knowledge, love, and community suffice In the end, I only offer this advice Let hope reign in the face of despair Let hope reign because you dare

Dr. Starks is an assistant professor of business in the college of business and administration.

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

Erin Brown

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John Hall “Wheel at the Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy Point” Joel Collins “Untitled” John Hall the Mountain” Lora Owston “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Dr. Strange” John Hall “Untitled” John Hall “Time in Teal” Lora Owston “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Thanos” John Hall “Untitled” John Hall “Descending, Ascending” “Jesus’ Love” Pam Moyers Scott “Droller” John Hall “Untitled” John Hall Makenzie Rose

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Lindy Point”

Joel Collins

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Contents at the – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“Title” “Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam Author……20Moyers Scott “Droller“Title”” John Author……5 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Title” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Dr. Strange”

John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Thanos”

John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Droller”

John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

John Hall

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Content at sthe – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“Title” “Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam Author……20Moyers Scott “Droller“Title”” John Author……5 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Title” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

John Hall

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Contents at the – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“Title” “Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam AuthorMoyers……20 Scott “Droller“Title”” John Author……5 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Title” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

John Hall

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Contents at the – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“Title” “Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam Author……20Moyers Scott “Droller“Title”” John Autho Hallr……5 “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Title” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

John Hall

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Contents at the – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“Title” “Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam Author……20Moyers Scott “Droller“Title”” John Author……5 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Tit le” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

John Hall

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Wheel at the Top of the Mountain”

Lora Owston

Table of Contents – Art “Untitled” Erin Brown “Untitled” John HallTable of“Wheel Contents at the – Art Top of “Untitled” Deshawn Saunders “Lindy“Title” Point Author……2” Joel Collins “Title”“Untitled Author……6” John Hall“Title” the Author……10 Mountain ” Lora“Title” Owston Author……14 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……18 Saunders “Dr.“Title” Strange Author……3” John Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……7” John Hall“ Title”“Time Author……11 in Teal” Lora “Title”Owston Author……15 “Untitled ” Deshawn“Title” Author……19 Saunders “Thanos“Title”” John Author……4 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……8” John Hall“Title” “Descending, Author……12 Ascending “Title”” Author……16 “Jesus’ Love“Title”” Pam Author……20Moyers Scott “Droller“Title”” John Author……5 Hall “Title”“Untitled Author……9” John Hall“Title” Author……13Makenzie Rose“Title” Author……17 “Title” Author……21

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Time in Teal”

Lora Owston

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Descending, Ascending”

Makenzie Rose

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

Deshawn Saunders

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Untitled”

Deshawn Saunders

INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

“Jesus’ Love”

Pam Moyers Scott

INFLUX Table of Contents – Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie E. Literary Magazine Rose

Reflecting Scars by Kelsey Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie Kerns E. Rose *

The following is an excerpt from a longer work in progress. The Birthday Party by Daniel Propst

Character Profiles * *Note: Italicized texts are descriptions from the story. Excerpt from The Pumpkin Name: Ceraphin Eater by Kayla Kreuger Age: 210 years old (21 in Earth years) McKinney Mythical creature: Elf * Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Dark green The Night My Father Hometown: Erychon Wept by Dr. Gene E. Planet: Roya Bartlett, submitted by Jim Birth Order: Second oldest of five. Miller Siblings:  Doron  The eldest brother, Doron often covers for Ceraphin and her escapades. Work at the lumber yard since he was young, has sculpted his muscles, making him look less like his ancestors the Wood Elves.  Malgelir  The third born, Malgelir is a happy, go with the flow child. You can often find him tailing along with his father during the day.  Tirnel  Living up to the meaning of her name, the fourth born loves to star gaze. You can often find Tinel curled up with a book after chores or following her big brother Doron around.  Netthor  The youngest of the bunch, Nethor takes after his big sister,

Ceraphin. He’s often in little boy trouble, but you’ll not find another boy more eager to learn. Relationship with family: Ceraphin and her siblings are all very close, with the occasional sibling argument. Her parents Esca and Astris sometimes lock horns with Cerpahin because she is so stubborn, but at the end of the day, this family is one of the closest ever found.

Distinguishing features: Ceraphin, as an elf, dressed in earthy colors of brown and green which set off her deep green eyes and thick red braid. Her dark brown leather boots reached to just below her knees and her forest green tunic was tied with a brown and tan braided leather belt. A tan quiver of arrows was strapped to her back and an elegantly carved bow towered over the feathered arrows. “Your weapon is your responsibility,” her father often reminded his adventurous daughter. “If you take care of it, it will take care of you.” Ceraphin had been using a bow for as long as she could remember. Her father had taught all his children how to properly defend themselves, starting with bows and arrows. Besides being well armed, Ceraphin was fit and quick on her feet, taking after her ancestors of old: the forest elves.

Ceraphin wants answers. She has been on Roya all her life and wants to know what the forest around her hometown is hiding. She has penchant for getting into trouble and asking questions no one wants to answer. ********** Name: Nessa Age: 210 years old (21 in Earth years) Mythical creature: Centaur Hair color: Black Eye color: Dark brown Hometown: Erychon Planet: Roya Distinguishing characteristics: Nessa, as a centaur, was completely opposite. Her sleek midnight black body was muscular and fast. Her four white stockinged hooves could do severe damage with a single blow. She wore a leather, short sleeved vest that laced up the back and her silky, black curls she left loose to the wind. Her skin was tan from hours in the sun. A double sheathed harness straddled her back. Like any good centaur, Nessa was able to carry wear heavy armor, should the need arise or even carry another being, such as Ceraphin, and still maintain her full breakneck speed.

Like Ceraphin, Nessa wants answers. She is constantly getting her best friend out of trouble. She is also blunt and straight to the point; not a force to be challenged. ********* Name: Lady Ravonith Age: 550 years old (55 in Earth time) Mythical creature: fairy Hair color: Dark purple

Eye color: Violet with gold flecks Hometown: Anatolia Home Planet: Anatolia Current Residence: Erychon Current Planet: Roya Distinguishing characteristics: Scarred left wing The aging, but still beautiful, fairy had served as a protector and trader at Erychon’s sea port for many, many years. Her delightful accent was still strong even after years away from the sea. The youngsters of the village loved to visit the old sea fairy for the stories she told dazzled their minds. Ceraphin and Nessa both had grown up hearing stories from and about the daring Lady Ravonith. Lady Ravonith knows more than she has ever told anyone. She has seen much in her lifetime and knows that danger that Cerpahin and Nessa may have put themselves unknowingly into. The fairy bears scars of the past, but as kept quiet for the town’s protection. But her silence may not last much longer. ********** Name: Iador Age: 55 years old Race: White Hair color: Dark brown Eye color: Blue gray Planet: Anatolia Children: Twin boys Distinguishing characteristics: He is a king and a twin himself He was lost in the past. His past. And how it seemed to be reaching its tentacles into the now, despite his best efforts to keep it contained.

Iador rules Anatolia with a gentle, but firm hand. He is very secretive about the past though, keeping his history and the kingdom’s history a secret from his sons. But he may not be able to hide the truth for much longer. ********* Name: Locryn Age: 55 years old Race: White Hair color: Sandy brown Eye color: Amber with gold flecks Hometown: Anatolia Current Residence: Forest surround Erychon on the planet Roya Distinguishing characteristics: He is Iador’s twin brother Locryn who hides out in the woods of Roya, is known as the Old Man of the Forest. His existence is thought to be a myth. But Lady Ravonith knows otherwise. It might take the both of them to keep the inquisitive elf and centaur from finding out their secret. ********** Name: Kylan

Age: 25 Race: White Hair color: Sandy brown Eye color: Amber with gold flecks Planet: Anatolia Siblings: Twin brother Father: Iador Distinguishing characteristics: Energetic, skilled in archery, sword, and riding. Reckless. Bold leader to his twin brother Torren Kylan, who looks much like and the uncle he knows nothing about and has never met, is Iador’s son, making him prince of Anatolia. Knowing nothing of the worlds outside his own, Kylan is content to cause havoc in the castle by sliding down banisters on his bedroom rug. But his world as he knows it, is about to change. ********* Name: Torren Age: 25 Race: White Hair Color: Sandy brown Eye color: Blue gray Planet: Anatolia Father: Iador Siblings: Twin brother Distinguishing characteristics: Energetic, skilled in archery, sword, and riding. More cautious than his twin, Kylan. Torren is a quiet leader in his own way. He too causes his own amount of fracas by following his twin into escapades. An explorer and reader, he knows more than he lets on about the history of his family and Anatolia.

The forest encircled the town on three sides, coming so close as to shade some areas with its branches. And because of the close proximity of town to woods, Ceraphin and Nessa burst from the thick blanket of forest into Lady Ravonith’s flower garden. The aging, but still beautiful, fairy had served as a protector and trader at Erychon’s sea port for many, many years. She had specialized in shipping flowers, magic, and many other nature and garden related items to and from other planets and towns, until she had retired to her small cottage on the

edge of town next to the woods. The youngsters of the village loved to visit the old sea fairy for the stories she told dazzled their minds. Ceraphin and Nessa both had grown up hearing stories from and about the daring Lady Ravonith. Now, the fairy looked up startled at the intrusive ruckus in her garden. But her silver flecked eyes quickly turned suspicious when she saw the source of the disturbance. Ceraphin slid from Nessa’s back and gave the fairy a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Lady Ravonith,” Nessa spoke first. Lady Ravonith shook her head, dark purple hair swinging and wings twittering. “I’m sure I could grow me ‘nother garden if ye sorries were seeds,” she said, her delightful accent still strong even after years away from the sea. Ceraphin and Nessa exchanged glances. How many times had they crashed into the old sea fairy’s garden, they didn’t know. “What ‘ave ye been up to, Ceraphin?” Lady Ravonith asked. “Chasing things she shouldn’t have,” Nessa answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “I just want to know what’s out there!” Ceraphin defended herself. “Oh, child,” Lady Ravonith’s wings drooped. “There be things out there ye don’t want to find.” And she would know. It was no secret that there were some escapades about her life at sea, that Lady Ravonith did not talk about. Such topics were better off forgotten, the fairy often said. “But Lady Ravonith,” Ceraphin said, “I’ve been here my whole life! Is it wrong for me to want to explore?” “When it puts your life, and mine, in danger, yes!” Nessa jumped in. Ceraphin started to reply, but Lady Ravonith stopped her with a raised hand. “The deepest parts of the forest are meant to stay untouched,” she chastised. Ceraphin hung her head, playing with the tasseled end of her braided leather belt. “Be content where ye are right now,” the fairy continued. “When the time comes for exploration, ye’ll know.” Lady Ravonith reached out and plucked a ginrazzle stem from Ceraphin’s thick braid. “Consider the ginrazzle,” she said, motioning to her own crop of bushes. “They cling to the branch until their time. Then they can be plucked for eating.” Lady Ravonith gently shook the branch at Ceraphin and Nessa. “Ye both need patience. When it be ye time, ye’ll know it.” Ceraphin and Nessa said nothing. They knew the sea fairy was right. Again. They had received more than their share of advice over the years and today was no exception. “Now, ye best be getting along,” Lady Ravonith gave the friends a gentle smile. “Ye folks will be wondering where ye ran off to.” Ceraphin stepped to the crushed shell path, but paused before she reached the old driftwood gate. “You’re not going to tell us not to do it again?” she asked the fairy. Lady Ravonith smiled. “I was young once too and someone cared enough to warn me when me needed it.” Ceraphin said nothing.

Lady Ravonith waved the girls away. “Be gone with ye! I have work to do!”

INFLUX Table of Contents – Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie E. Literary Magazine Rose

* Reflecting Scars by Kelsey Reflecting Scars by Kelsey Kerns Kerns *

Memories pock my body in tiny white indents and long yellow hooks. They The Birthday Party by Daniel Propst scatter across my arms and prance down my legs, raising stories to those who * trace them. Now healed, these wounds act as markers. Excerpt from The Pumpkin Eater by Kayla Kreuger These two here pricked deep ovals into either side of my wrist, McKinney looking to the world a snake bite when they really came from the disgruntled * closet gnome at my friend’s house. Impressive as they are, they never truly The Night My Father Wept by Dr. Gene E. held up to my sister’s clawed back, top of left shoulder curving to bottom of Bartlett, submitted by Jim Miller shoulder-blade, where we can only assume the beast in the mirror above her bed attempted to snag her.

And these three scars at bottom of thumb, along wrist, up to pinky show boredom in class where pens drew swirls a touch too hard. They left a permanent, partial whorl and one side of a diamond that I could never have dreamt of affording.

These two here on top of forearm tangle not just me but my siblings.

This one grabs hold the memory of Kay’s vicious offensive. Her nails tore downwards, battering arms held in a last ditch effort to shield. A sharp

teardrop partway up my right arm matches the ones I snagged on her leg where glass shards flew to meet tendon a week later.

They also touch Matthew. One graces his forehead where small feet failed to match the strides of my own, leaping from cinderblock to cinderblock in a demented game of follow-the-leader turned leave-me-alone that so often happens with younger brothers. I remember feeling no pity till his head lifted from cornerstone and showed face half-flooded in blood.

These scars here, engraving deep into back of leg below kneecap and above Achilles’ tendon, marked father too. I never liked a fight, but I was just stupid enough to step between cat and dog, ending up with cat attached to one leg and dog attached to the cat. A case of mistaken identity that led dad to beat them off barehanded, leaving thin lines running jagged over knuckles and palms that took far less time to heal than the ones left on his mind.

Memories of others, self, fights, and fancies keep collecting, running up and down the surface of my skin, mapping my life story – hours of violin practice line fingertips, deep indents run where my pencil lies when I write, a crescent burn where skin met heater – and I keep them for the tales that remind me every day of who I am and the impact I leave on others.

INFLUX Table of Contents – Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Table of Contents – Prose Literary Magazine Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie E. Rose *

The Birthday Party by Daniel Propst Reflecting Scars by Kelsey Kerns Bio: Daniel Propst is an assistant professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University. His wife, Jeni, is also an employee of Alderson Broaddus * University. They are the proud parents of a son and are expecting a daughter this summer. The Birthday Party by Daniel Propst

* I think my family is catholic because my mom fell in love with Mel Gibson’s chest in that movie, The Patriot, and was willing to forgive him no matter Excerpt from The Pumpkin what he said. That’s what I told the priest at my first confessional, anyway. I don’t Eater by Kayla Kreuger care; I didn’t do anything. I told him that too, that I hadn’t done anything, and none McKinney of it was my fault. It was my birthday, so it couldn’t have been my fault. Jesus has to forgive you on your birthday; that’s in the bible, or it should be. They left some * books out. So I have to write this, because everyone’s supposed to write about their The Night My Father Wept first confession, or my teacher is making me do it for some reason. I’ll probably by Dr. Gene E. Bartlett, have to stand up in front of class and read everything out loud too. At least loud submitted by Jim Miller enough to be heard over Susan, God. The teacher would probably yell at me though for talking over her when she should just tell her to shut up. Susan, not the teacher. Though that’d be cool too. Anyway, I need to tell you how this started. I mean, if you were at my birthday party you’d already know. I wanted to invite like as many cool people as I could, so I don’t know if you’d be there or not. It totally depends on how cool you are. And if you like, live in the same town as I do, but if you’re reading this you probably do. You might already know. If you don’t I’ll start at the beginning. It’s completely possible you’re really weird. My name’s Caroline and I was talking to my friends Abby and Jessica about my birthday party. “My mom’s making me invite Adam,” I said. “I can’t stand him! Why is she making me do that? I don’t care if we’re neighbors or not, but I don’t want him there!” “Why not?” asked Jessica. Abby wrinkled her forehead.

“Cause he’s weird, Jessica. What are you thinking? Remember when I invited him to the roller skating rink, and he brought a skate board? I mean, come on, really?” Jessica nodded her head. “Yeah, that was kind of weird I guess. It was sorta funny though too.” “Funny? I don’t want a funny birthday party. I mean, I want people to have fun, but not weird fun. Not like what’d happen with him and Jeremy,” I said. “So, what do you want at your party?” Abby asked. “I really want a pinto.” “What? Like the bean?” “No! A bean? Are you crazy? It’s not a bean, silly, it’s a thing you hang from like a tree and people swing a bat at it.” “Oh, you mean a piñata,” Abby said. “Yeah, that’s it! My cousin had one at her birthday party, so it’s like an American tradition.” “I don’t think it’s American,” said Jessica. “Um, yeah, it is. My cousin’s not Japanese, Jessica. She’s not foreign, duh; she’s as American as television commercials, birthday cake, and piñatas.” “I think you need to pay more attention in Mrs. Cunningham’s class,” Abby said. “What? You’re taking her side?” I shrieked. “That’s not cool! Look, it’s really important that I have an awesome party, so we all need to listen to me on this.” “What’s so important about your birthday?” Abby asked. “My birthday’s in the middle of summer. If it’s a blast, it’s all anyone’ll be talking about when we get into seventh grade. That’ll guarantee us a spot at the cool table in the cafeteria.” Abby and Jessica blinked a couple of times. Then they turned to each other and grinned. “That’s actually a really good idea,” Jessica said. “Yeah, I completely can’t find any fault in this plan,” Abby said. “So you’ll help me?” “Help you? Our future social lives depend on it!”

I knew what the problem was when I learned about free will in church: people have too much of it. Specifically my mom, I mean she has enough for two people, and my dad doesn’t have nearly enough. It was like this: it was a couple of days before my birthday party, and there was this bee’s nest in the tree beside the picnic table where I wanted everyone to gather for cake and stuff. I mean, I didn’t want them hanging out inside, hello, no one would see us! Imagine Stacey Donovan in her mom’s van driving by and seeing my yard full of people; how cool would that be? Um, very, duh, and she’s in eighth grade! Everybody would hear about it, but first I had to remind my mom to remind my dad to kill the bees. “He’ll take care of it as soon as he gets off work, Caroline,” Mom said. “How come he didn’t last night? He came home from work then, too, and the bees are still out there.”

“Don’t take that tone with me,” she said looking up from her catalog. “We were both very busy last night with the Knights. And you know he’s putting in extra time trying to get that promotion.” “Or trying to get away from you.” “What was that?” “I said I wish he’d get to it. Why can’t you? You know where the spray is.” She laughed out her nose and leaned forward across the table showing me her fingers. “Look at these nails, honey. Would you risk them handling some metal can of bug spray? I just had them done.” “If it meant having my party outside I would. Why’s Adam got to come?” I sighed and stirred my spoon around the bowl. “I knew that’s what this bee thing was about,” my mom snapped. “Just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean I can’t invite him to your party.” “It’s my party though! Doesn’t that mean I can invite the people I want?” “Caroline, someday you’ll understand that the things your father and I do are for your own good. We make a lot of sacrifices around here for your benefit. They’re our neighbors, and they’ll see your party outside and it’ll be really awkward that he’s not invited.” “It’ll be more awkward with him there,” I pleaded. She had to see my side. I mean, Adam could ruin everything. “I’m trying to have the coolest party I can possibly have! I want to invite all my friends, and I want them to be really impressed! This party could totally help all of us in seventh grade; we could get to sit at the cool table at lunch, you know! I mean, this, I planned it, and I don’t want anyone to ruin it for all of us!” I spilled my guts hoping my mother would see to reason. And for a second she just sat there. She didn’t flick at her clothing catalog, or pretend to check anything while I was talking. She nodded her head as if agreeing. “Caroline, Adam isn’t going to wreck your whole party. You’re the prettiest, smartest,” she began. “Mom, come on, you have to tell me that stuff!” She sighed. “Remember the story of the Good Samaritan?” “Does that mean leaving Adam to die on the side of the road is an option?”

I’m not a bad person, but church sure does make everyone out like they’re evil or something. Of course my mom told the priest what I’d said. He told her he wanted me to go to confessional after my birthday. Like, jeez, happy birthday from God, now tell me what you did wrong. I’m not an expert, or a religious genius, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how confession works. Aren’t you supposed to tell the priest what you did wrong and not your daughter? That’s so typical of her. I bet she couldn’t wait to tell the priest everything. She gets back there in the church’s little booth and is all like “Just wait till you hear what she did this week, father.” So my mom makes everything I do way worse than it is, and like I said before, I didn’t do anything anyways, but I still had to go to confession after my birthday party. I was so nervous before the party, because I knew Adam and his

friend Jeremy were coming even though I didn’t invite them. The day of the party arrived and, you guessed it, mom forgot to tell dad about the bee’s nest. You know what she did instead? She moved the picnic table to the other side of the yard. Yeah, the side away from the road. To make things even worse it butts up against where our neighbors, the McCartney’s, have their pool. Which just reminds everyone that we don’t have a pool. “So I can’t go swimming?” Abby asked. I bit my lip so hard. To keep from screaming. “That’s what I said, Abby. We moved the table out of the shade, but beside the pool we can’t swim in.” “That’s ok, Caroline. My mom’s afraid I might be allergic to chlorine anyways. It makes my eyes all itchy,” said Jessica. “It does that to my eyes too,” said Abby. “Oh god, please don’t tell me we’re all allergic to chlorine! I just got a new bathing suit, and I heard they have swimming classes at the high school!” We heard the screen door slam shut behind us and we turned to see Bobby and Chad carrying wrapped presents. They walked off my patio and into the yard towards the three of us. “Hey, Caroline, where do you want these?” Bobby asked. “Just put them on the picnic table with the others.” Chad put his down. “Happy birthday,” he said. “Oh yeah, happy birthday,” Bobby chimed in. “God, I hope you didn’t forget why you came,” said Abby. Bobby grinned awkwardly. His cheeks flushed and he shrugged. “You guys didn’t see Adam or anything did you?” I asked. “Jeez, he doesn’t have far to travel. He’s literally just a few houses down,” said Chad. I scowled at him for that. I hated how sarcastic Chad could be sometimes, but his grin made up for it. Sometimes. “Yeah, I know, pooner, but I’m hoping he won’t come. Maybe he forgot about it or something.” Just then the screen door slammed shut again and Adam and Jeremy walked into my back yard carrying a wet birthday present between the two of them.

I knew it was wet, I mean, I could see water literally dripping from the corner of the box. It completely changed the color of the wrapping paper, like, you could see where it was clinging, you know, like they’d used plastic wrap instead. I don’t think they noticed, because both of them were grinning like idiots, but the present was starting to slide out of the wet paper. “Hey, Caroline! Happy birthday!” said Adam. At least he was cheerful. Jeremy opened his mouth to say something too. Probably another ‘happy birthday,’ real original, right? But they were about to put their atrocity of a present on the picnic table, and I didn’t want theirs to contaminate the others.

“Don’t you dare put that on the table! Oh my god, it’s soaking wet! What did you do? Fish it out of a stream?” Adam flinched, but Jeremy just put the present on the ground and smirked. “Don’t be like that; we tripped on the way over and your present got wet when we fell onto the grass instead of the sidewalk. We didn’t want to break it, you know.” “Yeah, I had no idea there was a puddle in Mrs. Finch’s yard,” Adam said. “Dude, your present’s coming out of the box,” Chad pointed where the bottom was sliding. They both actually had the nerve to look surprised. At this point, I just wanted them to take their present and leave. I looked around wanting to make sure Stacey Donovan’s mom wasn’t driving by, but thankfully the street was empty. “Oh, damn,” said Adam. “Watch out, man. Caroline’s mom doesn’t like it when kids curse,” Jessica said. I was about to tell them that I didn’t like it either, but Adam and Jeremy were busy messing with the front of the box. “What are you two doing?” I asked. “I was trying to dry it off, but I think we just made it worse.” I looked down and saw where the wet paper had come off and was sitting in clumps in my yard. I clenched my fists, angry that, just as I thought, these two were ruining my birthday party. But then I saw what was underneath the paper. “Is that a microscope?” I asked. Adam grinned a little. “Yeah, a good one too.” “What? You got her a microscope?” Bobby asked. “My mom got a good deal. They were getting new ones at the university,” Jeremy said. “Wait, you got her a used microscope? Wow, that’s even better.” “Shut up you guys.” I knelt down and tore the rest of the paper away from the box and took out the surprisingly heavy microscope. Gently, I laid it on the table beside of the other presents and looked it over. It wasn’t like I’d ever imagined myself with a microscope before. I mean, I wasn’t a real science geek or anything, but actually having one for myself, it was pretty cool in a way. I suddenly felt curious, like I wanted to explore things around me. In a weird way, it was like discovering a new part of myself. “Adam, that’s really dumb, ok? You and Jeremy shouldn’t get a girl a friggn’ microscope for her birthday! I mean, really, what is this? Science class? It’s her party!” Abby said. I want you to know that I totally disagreed with her, but looking around and seeing Bobby, Chad, and Abby, and knowing they thought the present was lame made me realize what I had to do. “Yeah, I mean, jeez, you two!” I blurted out. Adam looked genuinely hurt, but Jeremy just rolled his eyes.

“We actually got you a gift, like with our own money too,” he said. “Sure, it might not be perfect, but damn it, that microscope actually came from the both of us. Not our moms. Can you say that, Bobby?” Bobby snorted and shrugged. “This is a disaster,” I declared. “I just wanted all my friends to come here and have fun, and my parents couldn’t even get us a piñata!” Everything was happening so fast and I wasn’t sure what to do. Adam still looked really hurt, and I actually liked his gift! I wish I could’ve told him that I just couldn’t act like I thought it was cool in front of my friends, though I don’t know if that would’ve helped or not. Instead, I thought yelling about my parents might make everyone see that this wasn’t my fault. Bobby, though, had another idea. “We can still act like you’ve got a piñata, Caroline!” he said. He picked up a rock. “Watch this!” he yelled and chucked his rock as hard as he could at the bee’s nest. For a second everything seemed to hang frozen. The rock sailed through the air in a perfect arc towards the nest, and then it collided, knocking the hive onto the ground. I heard Abby scream as a black nightmare cloud rose above the yard and began to spread outwards towards the rest of us. “Bobby, you idiot!” I yelled. Or I think I did. I really wanted to yell, but I’m not positive because at that point everyone was yelling or running. No one stands still in a yard full of angry bees. Jessica screamed that she was allergic and dashed towards my parent’s house. Chad and Jeremy ran around to the front yard, and Bobby just stood there laughing, like an idiot. I tried telling my legs to run, but they couldn’t hear me over my screaming I suppose. I shut my eyes and waited for the stinging. Just when I thought I was going to get swarmed I felt someone grab my hand and pulled me, a little roughly I should add, and I followed. I opened my eyes and saw Adam had my hand and he was leading me into the neighbor’s yard. Then I realized he was running us into the pool! I tried to yank my hand away, but it was too late. We both plunged into the deep end. A second later I saw Abby, Jessica, and Bobby jump in too. I wondered if Abby was glad that she got to swim after all. At least one of us could be happy on my birthday.

At the time I remember thinking I wished I would have drowned. Or, I don’t know, somebody, especially Bobby, would have, because then that would have been a bigger disaster than my actual party. As things were, it was going to be tough to top this. I mean, yeah, the Titanic was pretty bad, but at least no one was chased by bees while the ship was sinking. But no one drowned. Instead we kicked and swam to the other end of the pool. Oh, and, did you know swimming with your clothes on sucks? It really does, believe me, I know. Somehow all that swimming must have drained the anger out of me though, because when I got to the other side I wasn’t angry at Adam anymore. Like, I even wondered why I’d been mad at him in the first place. I’m only glad that when we finally reached the other side I was too busy gasping for air and looking around to make sure there weren’t any bees to say something stupid to Adam. No one ate the cake. Not after the bees were on it. No one sang “Happy Birthday” either. Instead we waited inside my living room for everyone’s parents to come pick them up while my mom tended to the boy’s bee stings. “At least I didn’t get stung, Caroline,” said Jessica. “My mom would’ve flipped.” “She might as well. Everything’s ruined you guys. I tried to throw the best party this town had ever seen and somehow my seventh grade birthday party was a disappointment. I think my reputation is ruined. I’ll never get to sit at the cool table, like, ever.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Adam. “This party was amazing!” “Are you crazy? Are we even talking about the same event?” “No, seriously, this party had it all. Think about it, Caroline; how many people can say they had an unexpected pool party? Plus, if you count the bees, you had the highest attendance event of the summer for this town.” “What are you talking about?” Abby asked. “I’m just saying that this party wasn’t all that bad. At least it was really exciting and everyone’s ok.” Jeremy looked up from his swollen arm. “Speak for yourself, Adam.” “Did you have a bad time?” Jeremy smirked a little. “No. I found her mom’s tennis racket and took out a dozen bees before they overwhelmed me. It was a blast.” Bobby pointed towards Jeremy. “Are you sure I’m the idiot?” I laughed along with everybody else at the end.

My mom still made me go to confessional. According to the priest I’m supposed to forgive her for that, but I’ve got a couple years, right? I don’t have to now, anyways. Like I said, I didn’t do anything, so I don’t get why I had to go to confessional. I told the priest I didn’t do anything, and we’re only Catholic because of Mel Gibson, and unlike some other people I live with he actually listened to me. He asked me what happened to Adam, who was the last person I wanted to talk about. He asked me if I said anything to him. He wanted to know if I apologized to Adam for what I did at the party. I told him I actually thanked Adam for coming, and he knew I meant it too.

INFLUX Table of Contents – Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie E. Literary Magazine Rose

* Reflecting Scars by Kelsey Excerpt from The Pumpkin Eater by Kayla Kerns Kreuger McKinney *

The Birthday Party by Bio: Dr. Kayla Kreuger McKinney is an assistant professor of English in the Humanities Daniel Propst Department at Alderson Broaddus University. Her areas of interest include museum studies, natural history, Victorian literature, and popular culture. She has published work on the * literature related to British taxidermy, the influence of the natural history museum on the writings of Charles Dickens, and the music of the rock band Rush. She teaches a wide range Excerpt from The Pumpkin of courses in composition and literature. The following is an excerpt from an ongoing novel- Eater by Kayla Kreuger length project. McKinney

* Foundling and kitchen servant Serlina Brightfenne woke in a cold tower room. The fire that had burned down in the grate had been made with pumpkin vines; the The Night My Father Citadel’s wealth owed much to the fact that it wasted nothing. Rubbing the chill Wept by Dr. Gene E. from her arms she lit candles made with pumpkinseed oil and washed her face in Bartlett, submitted by Jim water left over from scrubbing gourds. The water made her skin feel just a little bit waxy, but she was used to it after nineteen years. Miller A visitor to the tower – and the many, many spiraling stairs ensured that Serlina never had many – would have marked the room as shabby, but comfortable. Most of the space was given over to blankets and to books. Indeed, among the other kitchen servants, the tower was known as the library. They borrowed from it far more frequently than from than the Protector’s travelling library; Serlina rarely went up or down her stairs without an armload of books. Most of the titles had made the perilous journey from the Jackling Dives on Sygyn Island. There on Vellum walk, she knew every table well. The vendors were jealous of their locations and any newcomer had to work her way up to a choicer location. On the Walk, one could buy spell books that claimed to offer the user access to the natural powers of the planet, manuals on sail repair and weapons-making, and maps beyond count. The booksellers knew Serlina by sight. They knew that she would usually pay asking price rather than haggle. Reading her clothes and her hands as she read first pages, they knew coin was dear and respected her. In time, they came to riddle out her tastes. Her interests, though diverse, were specific; it was impossible to bluff her about a book. Fantasy and fairytales were the key to her heart and to her purse, especially legends of Old Valshaya before magic had been outlawed. She had read so many versions of the same stories that her favorite vendors joked that she ought

to be able to perform the spells herself. Besides the books, her room contained only a chest of drawers that panted in the laughing tongues of colorful dragons, clothing over-spilling. A shelf held basic implements: a cup and plate, a hairbrush, a few knickknacks whose original significance was forgotten, their places ensured by nostalgia. Work kept her away from the tower for her daylight hours, but the circular shape and clutter always made her feel like a brown moth-soft bird returning at night to her nest. Serlina knew that many outside of the Citadel walls had it worse and, as a foundling, it never would have occurred to her to ask for a basin that was not chipped or a true bed in place of the mess of blankets she had arranged where the floor dipped (she thought the hollow might have once been a sort of guardsman’s well). She owed everything to the vast enterprise that was the Citadel and to the Protector who sat its throne. Kitchen legend had it that she had arrived at one of the produce delivery shuts nestled in a bouquet of toad lilies. One of the workers had whisked her inside and the entire sub-larder had set about raising her. When she came of age, a sympathetic under clerk from the yam division smudged up some paperwork to certify that Miss Serlina Lilybright (for that was the name her flock of guardians had decided on) belonged in the pantry kitchens, division P-13: Winter Squash and Gourds. None of the Protector’s highwaymen or singlers had come to clap them all in irons, so the ruse must have worked. Kitchen life did make one thing easy, Serlina reflected, and that was dressing. The outfit of a servant whose duties were in any way adjacent to gourds or pumpkins was garbed in a tunic as orange as any Hallowsfall carver; there was no fading into the background for that poor churl! To add insult to injury, Citadel etiquette mandated that the pants to be paired with the harvest moon tunic were to be of a deep brown – the very color of a pumpkin stem. Pulling them on, Serlina felt herself grin and gave a little shrug. At least brown breeches hid the dirt – less washing up to do than the poor souls assigned to confections! – and she had actually heard of some of the older workers bless their bright rags. The vast size of the kitchens made it easy for even experienced servants to lose their way and the many guards dedicated to the Protector’s safety were not picky about where they marched a wandering soul off to. Without the garish tunic, a kitchen worker accustomed to a life of bulbous, multicolored gourds might find herself adrift in the world of grains. It was a harrowing thought. By the time she had tied her hair back and made herself tidy, Serlina could smell applewood burning. In the kitchen sector of the Citadel, she could often use her nose to tell time! At this season, she knew what to expect on the board where she and the other servants in her sector took their meals. She adored pumpkin muffins, but a steady diet of pumpkin porridge, pumpkin-infused pasta and sausage, pumpkin cobbler, and cubed pumpkin and beans made her long for a little variety. They were not completely isolated, of course. The Protector’s supply codes mandated that they receive a certain amount of staples – meat and flour, salt and tea. And, although it was illegal, they did a brisk black market trade with the surrounding regions. Depending on the season and the speed of the supply trains, Serlina could count on snagging a peach, pear or plum. Other more exotic fair came in the form of paw-paws, persimmons, papaya, pomegranates, and pineapples. Tunic pockets filled with fruit for snacking, she made her way to a round room with a sloped floor. The sign outside of the door read: Platform C2112: lesser Curcubita. Entering the chamber, Serlina took up a wooden implement that looked like the bastard child of a boat paddle and a hockey stick; her grip had worn the handle as smooth as the floor she waxed each night with blooms from the sunshine squash. At the far end of the room were a series of holes that looked like they had been carved by a deranged woodworker with a fondness for Swiss cheese. Each hole led to a shaft. Beneath one was a wagon, ready to be loaded with pumpkins or gourds that would be taken to other stations. Another led to a cauldron. A third led to an oven. The fourth and fifth were choppers and peelers. The sixth was the largest hole of all. Into it, Serlina swept those gourds or pumpkins unsuited for consumption. Something did consume them of course. She sometimes heard it or them growling and snapping, their fierce teeth splitting the gourds open, spilling their gluey innards and releasing their sweet, rotten scent. Tugging an orange rope – it had to be orange! – she waited for the first deluge. When it began, she said a silent thanks for the designation “minor” outside of her door. Not for her the fear of bruised and broken toes, the act of shrinking back against her walls as pumpkins the size of boulders rained down. She didn’t have to do the dangerous dance-and-dodge

required by the big boys: Big Autumn, Fat Tom, Ghost Rider, Gold Mammoth, and Monster Smash. Such enormous pumpkins might win prizes at the Citadel House Fair and the Loreacre Agricultural Exhibition, but Serlina considered ribbons poor compensation for bruises gone from plum to yellow. Instead, she sorted Munchkins from Little Goblins, Baby Bears from Jack-be-smalls, Baby Boos from white Lumina miniatures. Wielding her separator with something like affection, she herded Bitty Ghosts into one hole and sent Red Warty Things down another. Tiny Tigers bumped softly across the floor, followed by Autumn Wing gourds, Turbans, and Hubbards. In the beginning, Harland – called the Old Hand by everyone – had quizzed her at the table at night and she had believed it impossible for anyone to gain his command over colors, shapes, variations, and crossbreeds. And it wasn’t just a game of memory or recognition. She had to read the sheets outside of her door, to learn where each type was bound. Further, she had to know how each size and shape would roll and how fast or she would get her legs knocked out from under her. In an effort to gain more speed she went up on her toes when the pumpkins started to roll. As a result, she had what her friend Alistair referred to as a “punkin gait,” recognizable at a distance. The thought of Alistair made Serlina brighten and warm. Her mind placed him astride his great grey horse, its withers covered in a silver pattern that almost sparkled. Alistair despised all of the riding required by his position, but butternut squash did he have the figure for it! She allowed the vision in her head to form slowly. She began with his pale hair - like wheat under first frost. It would fall in curls over his severe collar because he was at court; she smiled to think of him cursing it into the proper style. She moved to his eyes – gentle, inhumanly patient eyes – and gold – gold! – underneath the coastal blue. She remembered the first time she had noticed those gilt lines summering in his gaze. She had always thought of Alistair as golden. The word encompassed his coloring, his many blessing, the royal look of him, the warmth of her smile. She supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised to find treasure submerged beneath the waters of his eyes. Then there were those shoulders – broad enough to take on any care she had ever confided – and his hands, large enough, it seemed to Serlina, to carry the moon. They had grown up together, or rather she had grown up in his shadow; Alistair had made himself her protector at seven years old. Serlina had not known it, but eyebrows had raised at their friendship; many had been staggered by her audacity. Support had come from a surprising quarter in the formidable person of Lady Leonora Helm-Ibersteen Stormare, Alistair’s grandmother. “Let him run with that girl,” she had ordered her son. “Common is often short for common sense and she may keep him from putting on airs. Besides, it is a fine thing for a man to have a woman to protect. Why kill the chivalry in him?” Serlina still had friends in the kitchen – and an enemy or two – who believed she received special treatment from Alistair, believed that he brought her things from the inner quarters that they could never afford or acquire. With a sigh for their silliness (and maybe a bit of her own), Serlina stopped her fantasy while it was still above-board. She would have kissed Alistair once for every stair in her tower if he ever chose to climb those steps, but she had never asked. She knew that she was not what he wanted. She knew, too, and wished she did not, that he would allow her to take comfort and pleasure at his side. She had managed to crush the temptation underfoot. Why claim the body when the heart was off wandering? Although it was a beautiful body… “Warts and stem blight!” She had slipped, limbs cast in all directions. Coming back to reality she looked around for the culprit and realized that she had been grading oil pumpkins – gold and green globes that were harvested for their seeds and for the oil that would be made from them. Besides producing oil, such pumpkins also had slippery hulls. Usually, she would have sense enough to combat their arrival by tossing down a handful of crushed walnuts or woodchips. Trying to regain her balance, Serlina did the worst possible thing. She yanked on the orange cord. An autumn avalanche fell down in shades of clay and marigold, bronze and spice, dandelion and tiger pelt. Taking a pumpkin pounding, Serlina still found it in her to admire their mad colors, giggling at herself for being such a fool. She would be bruised properly tomorrow, sure enough, but she felt herself in no danger. Wading through the pumpkins, she tried to regain her station and her stick when a last pumpkin came booming down. This was no minor winter squash; this

was a Bibbity-Boppity Brobdingnagian and it caught her squarely in the lower back and sent her sprawling. She clawed at the slick floor, felt herself yielding to the slope. What a stupid way to die, was the last thing she thought before the drop. No one considered Serlina an athletic creature. Pumpkin dancing and a rare horseback ride with Alistair were her only physical pursuits and, if left to her own devices, she would have preferred reading to gourd-sorting any day. This absence of athleticism ensured that when Serlina fell down hole #6, she fell. When she hit the sludgy bottom – all pumpkin shells and seed-studded refuse – she hit with knees and elbows and maybe a bit of chin. Her mouth was full with the taste of blood and aged pumpkin; both of them could have used some cinnamon. It took some squelching and squishing around, some poking and prodding to determine that her bones were intact, but she made it back onto her feet. Then she saw the eyes. If white lightning could have been called down from the skies and set boiling in a wash of acid, it might have approximated the fierce brightness of those eyes. Worse still, those eyes were the size of her hands. “You’re the pumpkin eater!” He was – though not any choice he had ever made – but it was still a stupid exclamation and he gave a low, mocking laugh like fabric being torn. Serlina Lilybright hated a number of things: the prick of a needle, wet socks, the sudden appearance of gourd-haunt spiders called Green Knobbies. Living in a state of almost constant illness, she also hated to be treated as though she were fragile. But to be thought foolish – that she hated most of all. Her eyes flashed annoyance and her hands hit her hips. “Well you are, aren’t you?” she demanded. He came forward a pace, toes stretching to smash the pumpkins underfoot. They broke apart with a wet sound that made her sick. Instead of answering, he engaged in sniffing around her. His great, black nose was faintly wet and the hot vapor of his breath conjured images of dragon-kind. So thorough was his investigation that Serlina imagined that her very mind was being sniffed – and found wanting. He circled again and the air whistled, displaced by the whir of his tail. The noise it made reminded her of a snake buzzing in the leaves. The very inside of her bones knew that sound. His keen ears heard her heartbeat accelerate. He would eat her, of course, but not before he enjoyed the intricacies of the game. Allowing himself to kindle, he opened his mouth to display the most intricate and valuable of his possessions. Diamond-hard and as demonically keen as his mind, these practically sentient sensors could feel out the gaps between vertebrae and slip into them like keys into a lock. “Do these look made for pumpkins, Runt?” He sat back, satisfied that she had learned the proper definition of “maw.” Pumpkin rot began to soak through her soft boots and she shivered. Watching, he imagined that the fear had finally carried her beyond herself, that she had entered a lesser state of shock. What he could not know was that Serlina’s stillness, her silence, was born not of terror – though his size had its effect – but of her attempts to remember. She had always known there were magical things on Valshaya – Alistair’s job was to hunt them down for the Protector, after all – but one here! Living in the citadel! Serlina knew that there were proper ways to speak to magical creatures, way to handle them. She struggled desperately to remember her books and forced her voice to come out calm. “I knew something was down here. I didn’t know you could talk though. Or glow for that matter.” The glow was a brilliant lime and it outlined his great heavy head, the ruff of dark fur, the broad nose that had been sniffing her, the active flicking ears, and the whiskers that bristled like cut wire. “Who are you?” Ancient and deadly, he guarded his name as the essence of himself; it was the right question and a dangerous one. For the first time since he had heard her lose her balance, he began to consider her presence. Maybe that fall hadn’t been an accident. Perhaps she had been sent. “I’m going to shatter your tiny little bones with my teeth, Runt. What does it matter?” Her smile was a challenge. “I’d hate to die curious.”

He allowed himself to glow brighter. He evaluated, sniffed again. His nose found nothing to be uneasy about. He focused his searchlight eyes. He hadn’t seen a human in many long years but could find nothing remarkable about this one. Rattled, he tallied the features: some sort of covering on pale skin, dark hair pulled back. It had pumpkin in it now – pity she would taste like them a bit. Maybe he could paw them off? But she wasn’t afraid to die. He sensed that clear enough, knew it with something beyond his nose or his ears. He couldn’t know it, but Serlina had been born into illness and had resigned to greet Death with cheer when the time came. What did frighten her was that somewhere inside, in a place where she still stood half a stranger to herself, she was beginning to believe that her illness would run her to ground soon. Perhaps it was the season. The leaves burned themselves out in fierce and short-lived glory and the noose of a wet winter darkness had begun to tighten itself around the daylight. In a darkening world, it was easier to imagine becoming a pale thing under earth. The eyes. He knew those eyes. He increased the light to make certain. Yes. Impossible to misread that willow paleness, those feathers of dandelion light. Eyes like that had never looked out of a mere mortal’s face. Rot, then. Double rot! So she was a test. A powerful sorceress sent to see if his imprisonment had made him pliable at last. But they were fond of ensnaring the unknowing. Maybe she didn’t even know her purpose. Maybe he could turn the tables. He gave off imagining lapping the syrup of her blood from the stones. “And if I dispel your curiosity?” He sat back with the dignity of a King and focused the searchlights of his eyes on her damp and dirty face. This seemed familiar. Monsters in her stories often asked a boon of those who challenged them. But she was an orphaned herder of pumpkins! What could she offer a cat large enough to be ridden like a horse? She settled on the first thing her mind lighted on, the one thing she had always been surrounded by. “Better food.” He tilted his massive head and closed one eye. The pupil in his open eye sharpened to become a pillar of jet inside of a ring of burning ivory. The gesture soothed her; even demon cats were curious, it seemed. “I work in the kitchens. There’s meat up there. Mutton and beef, goat and pork. Venison. If you’re feeling exotic, I’ve got friends in other sectors. I can probably get you a sambar or an antelope. Maybe a nice moose haunch. I’ve got a great recipe for boar with golden plums and whiskey-wash apples and figs.” He enjoyed brandy more than whisky, but the rest sounded a good deal better than a spy-too-stupid-to-know-she-was- spying served up with a glaze of rotted pumpkins. And “up there”- he could do a great deal of damage up there. “The boar in exchange for my name?” It would take some doing. Serlina knew that she would need to pull every string she had to get everything it took to prepare boar – and then vigilance with her culling stick to keep everyone from “tasting” her dish, but it meant living long enough to see that dish prepared. “Deal.” He blew out a huffing breath. “And what is your name, little pumpkin roller?” “They actually roll around on their own,” she informed him. “And Runt is fine with me. I’ve had worse.” It confirmed his suspicions; no ordinary mortal would have sense enough to guard her name. “And will you invite me out of this hole to share in your boar, Runt?” “Not without your name.” She hid her smile behind her lips. He needed her invitation then. A spell must be holding him. Of course, she wasn’t in much of a position to bargain. She couldn’t get out of the damn hole on her own. “I will grant you something more precious than a name, Runt. I will enter into your service.” Without quite knowing what she was saying, Serlina found herself quoting one of her fairytale books… and stipulating the usual terms. “For a year and a day?”

“Yes. I’ll be your familiar. You are acquainted with the duties of a familiar, are you not?” He thinks I have some kind of power! And Serlina Lilybright who couldn’t even manage a lie about who it was that ate the last batch of blackberry blossom cookies found herself saying, “Of course,” as if he was the eleventh familiar she’d had, as if she was almost bored with the whole process. His massy head came up and down in a nod of approval. “Little as you are, like as you could use one. And then after a year and a day, I’ll eat you.” It was a sight better than being swallowed down whole right then. “Alright.” “Alright then, big cat, let’s go home and make some boar.” His head jerked back and he eyed her as though she had suddenly sprouted tufts of feathers from her ears. “I am a familiar.” The final word practically ran with dignity. “A cat familiar.” “A cat built for killing and magic and war!” She stood on her toes to scratch between his ears. “Cat.” He growled under her touch – there was magic in it, he was certain, faint magic, but a good magic user could cloak such things – and the bond was sealed.

INFLUX Table of Contents – Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Excerpt from Exiles of Anatolia by Makenzie E. Literary Magazine Rose

* Reflecting Scars by Kelsey “The Night My Father Wept” by Dr. Gene E. Kerns Bartlett *

The following meditation was submitted by alum Jim Miller (class The Birthday Party by of 1960), a recent trustee and Baccalaureate speaker. He writes the Daniel Propst following: “I submit Dr. Bartlett’s sermon because he is a native * West Virginian. His father in earlier and formative years was Executive of the West Virginia Baptist Education Society. The body Excerpt from The Pumpkin was prominent in support of Alderson Broaddus College. Many AB Eater by Kayla Kreuger alums and West Virginia Baptists most sincerely esteem Dr. McKinney Bartlett as one of America’s greatest preachers.” *

The Night My Father Wept by Dr. Gene E. Bartlett, submitted by Jim Miller

INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Patrick A. McCombs: On Award Winning Essays the Fringes of Genocide: Buddhism and Tibet The following works received writing awards at the 2017 Honors * Convocation. Congratulations to these scholars! Makenzie E. Rose: At the Jeremy S. Linaburg: Business and Management Writing Award Hands of a Book: Politics, Education, and Religion in Patrick A. McCombs: Humanities and Social Science Writing Little Women Award * Makenzie E. Rose: Louise Callison Humanities Writing Award Alexa M. Pigliacampi: The Effects of 3- Alexa M. Pigliacampi: Science, Technology and Mathematics Hydroxyterphenyllin on Writing Award the cell cycle of ovarian cancer cell lines Ovcar-3

and A2780/CP70

Also included: the Honors Seminar Project, “Second Tier Heroes,” * by Makenzie E. Rose Makenzie E. Rose: Second Tier Heroes (Honors Seminar Project)

INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Patrick A. McCombs: On Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and the Fringes of Genocide: Threats (SWOT) Analysis by Jeremy S. Buddhism and Tibet Linaburg * Makenzie E. Rose: At the Hands of a Book: Politics, Education, and Religion in Little Women

* Alexa M. Piglicampi: The Effects of 3- Hydroxyterphenyllin on the cell cycle of ovarian cancer cell lines Ovcar-3 and A2780/CP70 *

Makenzie E. Rose: Second Tier Heroes (Honors Seminar Project)

Bio: Jeremy Linaburg is a freshman at Alderson Broaddus University. He plans to graduate in the fall of 2020 with a double major in Business Administration and Marketing and with a minor in Entrepreneurship. He intends to pursue further education at the graduate level and then plans to work either for the government or to start his own business.

Introduction Background Jeremy S. Linaburg developed this Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis report to organize and reflect upon data collected for use in the Strategic Planning Process. The purpose of the SWOT analysis is to bring out themes from the data gathering step that will serve and focus on the goals and strategic priorities of the company. The SWOT analysis is a good way to evaluate where Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center can build on their success and achievements while also looking to implement improvements to their weaknesses or drawbacks. In response to the information collected from the SWOT analysis, Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center will then turn to drafting a Strategic Plan that will contain all of the data that has been collected through the sources obtained. Purpose The purpose of the Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center SWOT analysis is to analyze both the internal and external factors that impact the corporation over the years to come. By conducting a SWOT analysis the marketing and management team can determine what is working and concerning for employees and stakeholders. In response to conducting the SWOT analysis the Strategic Plan draft will incorporate the appropriate mission, vision, goals, and strategic priorities. The SWOT analysis will lead to improved performance and success in delivering quality employee engagement to diverse individuals that work in the business. Executive Summary Using the employee and employer feedback along with data collected, a concrete understanding of Body Renews Fitness and Family Sports Center’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is displayed in the graphic below.

BR Strengths Rely on the company’s spotlight ideas, BR themed events, and business community outreach. These activities make most of the employees want to stay. The business also contains a strong “family” atmosphere where everyone gets along.

Strengths Weaknesses ❖ Body Renew Spotlight ❖ Engagement Program ❖ Company Charity Events ❖ Employee Communication ❖ BR Fitness themed events ❖ Incentive Program ❖ Benefit program ❖ Marketing

Threats

Opportunities ❖ Employee participation

❖ Better customer service ❖ Finances

❖ Happier “family” atmosphere ❖ Time of activities

❖ Increased employee retention rate ❖ Location of activities

BR Weaknesses Need to be taken care of behind the scenes and need attention. The weaknesses need to be delivered as not a huge problem but by helping them it will enhance the company.

BR Opportunities Are extremely doable and will help the overall company “family” atmosphere that is trying to be maintained.

BR Threats Are centric elements that must be understood as BR implements changes and improvements to the engagement program.

Community Data Overview Description of the Community

The Winchester/Frederick County area is a combination of suburban and urban culture that is a historic establishment in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city of Winchester is an hour and twenty five minutes from the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C, making it our neighbor. Resting

within Winchester/Frederick County are 415 square miles, it is a busy area with much to offer1. The county has a population of 83,199 with roughly 192 people per square mile2. Frederick County experiences all four seasons while also being surrounded by the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains making it a desirable tourist location. The city of Winchester is a business operation powerhouse located in the epicenter of a vibrant Winchester/Frederick County metropolitan area. “Of all the small regions around the U.S., the Winchester Area ranks No. 15 when it comes to doing business,” according to Forbes magazine. Forbes also states that, “Virginia finished first for the third straight year” in being the best state for business. With its big city amenities and small town charm, Winchester has a welcome mat out for many business professionals. The area offers many jobs ranging from registered nurses to wealthy business owners. The current job growth is estimated at 3.35% with a future job growth estimated at 42.6% in the next ten years. The unemployment rate for Winchester is estimated at 4.40% which is lower than the unemployment rate of the country as a whole, 6.30%3. The Winchester/Frederick County area contains approximately 83,199 citizens, of which 49% are male and 51% being female4. Body Renew benefits from these demographics because people 25 years and older participate the most in athletic activities such as basketball, soccer, hiking, and swimming. Since the area is growing rapidly (with a growth rate of 3.35%), many individuals are coming to this area to find jobs and begin their professional lives5. In addition, many people live in the area and commute to Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. to work. A larger population, in general, is always good for business. The average population income is $75,0006. With a large portion of the population making good money, the Winchester Frederick County market is an untapped source of revenue. Almost 60% of the Winchester Frederick County citizens live in a family household. The average family size in the area is around two to three people. The majority of households in Frederick County are urban and the average household income is $67,6947. The income per capita is $29,935, which is close to income per capita of the United States estimated at $28,0518. About 13.4% of the Frederick County population falls below the poverty line9. For such a small area, Frederick County has much to offer.

1 http://www.city-data.com/county/Frederick_County-VA.htm

2 http://www.city-data.com/county/Frederick_County-VA.htm

3 http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick

4 http://www.city-data.com/county/Frederick_County-VA.html

5 http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick

6 http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick

7 http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick

8 http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick

9 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51840.html

Strengths Assessment Body Renew Spotlight

A technique that Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center uses to show appreciation for their employees. The spotlight is placed in the newsletter that goes out into the community. The individual that is being spotlighted is posted on fliers that are then hung all around the business. This enables the employees to feel appreciated for all of the hard work and dedication that they put forth in the company. The employees also demonstrated in our survey that they loved the idea of seeing their employees for the things that they do within the business. Company Charity Events

The Body Renew employees get involved with the community by helping out at different charity organizations such as: The Evans Home for Children, Habitat for Humanity, and The Boys and Girls Club. A group of about 20 to 30 employees come out and engage with one another along with the organizations that they are helping with. This enables the employees to give to the community along with spending time with each other. Body Renew Fitness Team Events

These events were arranged by the fitness instructors and always had some type of theme. Based on surveys conducted 5% of the employees believed that the theme sponsored events were something that they found rewarding. The employees also found that these events were extremely fun and brought the group closer together and helped create the family feel they were looking for. Benefit Program

The benefit program that Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center offers is something that the employees think is very well rounded in response to the surveys conducted. The benefit program includes activities such as: 401k match, annual Christmas party, free membership to gym, and educational classes. The employees like the benefit program and think it brings them together by giving them incentives to obtain.

Weaknesses Assessment Engagement Program

Employees at both locations complained about the lack of an engagement program. The individuals also stated that they do not have enough data in order to create a successful and effective program. One comment at a focus group stated, “The engagement activities are nice here at Body Renew, but I would like to have more activities and dates offered.” (Callahan). The problem rest not only in the data to support the program, but the individuals to actually implement and carry out the program. Lack of accountability is also a problem with making sure the activities are planned and carried out. Since the corporation does contain an engagement program, the family atmosphere is decreasing quickly. This has several consequences on Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center over time.

These consequences include a decrease in “family atmosphere”, a negative attitude toward employees, and a lack of customers because employees are not happy when they come to work each day. Employee Communication

Along with an engagement program, internal communication amongst employees was also expressed as a weakness at Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center. In regards to internal communication, many indicators of the problem exist, the new managers and employees are trying to increase the amount of communication. Not communicating with each other has also lead to individuals not being there when events and tournaments are supposed to happen at the Commonwealth Court location. This in response leads to unhappy customers and loss of revenue. Incentive Program

The program in which Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center obtains in order to keep their employee retention rate high, is not working and is an existing problem. The employees are not happy with the incentives that are being offered and want something to evolve. Based on the research obtained, Body Renew employees ranked the current incentive and benefits program at a seven. While this does not seem like a bad number, they also stated that they would like to see a change in what is being offered. With the incentive program becoming a lack of interest, Body Renew need to improve this to show the employees that they want to stay connected by rewarding them for the things they do for the company. Marketing

Many of the employees found the current market strategies of Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center to be insufficient and need development. Not all employees were aware of the engagement activities that the company carried out. The survey conducted stated that only 47% of the employees were at 2-3 engagement activities. This is a problem because of the employees are not coming to the activities then the climate that the company is not going to be as close as they want it to be. This is in the process of being fixed as fliers are being put up around the company, the newsletters will contain information on events being carried out for the employees, and a new employee webpage is being developed strictly for the employees to obtain information about activities and other things.

Opportunities Assessment Better Customer Service

Since the employee engagement plan of Body Renew is getting revamped the opportunity for improved customer service is on the lookout. This includes a group of individuals helping out at a birthday part to improve the customers experience to a team of employees cleaning the bathroom and asking how the customer is doing. One internal factor to help this concept is having the meetings revolve around the topic of customer service. Many customers have stated that they would like to see

more happy employees. By talking about these goals in the business meetings would make the business thrive over all. Happier “Family” Atmosphere

The improvements to implement an engagement program and other ideas will help increase the culture that the company is looking for. When the employees see that they are being appreciated for the things they do, the atmosphere of the company is going to increase and help the business overall. Also, the marketing goals of the company are going to improve the information flow to the employees. This will then allow all co-workers to know when the events are so that they can all be at the event or activity. This atmosphere will have an impact on the company and will make the customers want to come back because of how good they are being treated, along with how they are seeing the employees communicate and help out one another. Increased Employee Retention Rate

Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center does not currently have an amazing employee retention rate. Based on my research the company is sitting at an 89% employee retention rate which is good, but could be raised. With implementing the numerous activities the company will increase the retention rate greatly because the individuals will be so happy with the way that the company is being run. This opportunity to increase the retention rate will not only have a positive effect on the employees but the business as a whole as well do to the fact that the customers will see the same employees each day which creates a connection with the customers.

Threats Employee Participation

Based on the surveys we conducted, 47% of the company employees stated that they only went to 2-3 activities a year. This is not even half of the company, plus they are only getting involved in two activities. This is a threat because if the individuals are not coming participating then they are not going to generate the culture and atmosphere that they are looking to achieve. Finances

Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center is taking a cut in their budget because of being bought out at one of their locations. Body Renew must prepare for more cuts and refinances in their budget because of the loss of customers in response to being bought out. Time of Activities

Most of the Body Renew Fitness and Family Sport Center employees are fitness trainers that have crazy work hours. This leads to a problem in scheduling for the different activities, events, and company meetings. Issues such as these can affect how many activities the company carries out, which if they do not have enough the atmosphere of the company will remain stagnate and not up to par with what they company wants.

Location of Activities

The activities that Body Renew wants to hold require big amounts of space and area for the events to take place. The facility that Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center currently obtains is not big enough to run their business, all of the fitness classes, the pool classes, plus the activities. Therefore, they are going to have to figure out extra space for the events to be held in. However, the company has goals and objective to get the events set at a place in order for them to be carried out to benefit the company.

Conclusion The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis reveals the changes that must be made to structure employee engagement and meet the goals of obtaining the “family-like” atmosphere. As expressed above, Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center has the buildings blocks to offer an engaging and exciting employee experience, but in vision changes will be needed for growth and improvement to meet the company priorities. Finally, this SWOT Analysis provides feedback from employees and customers that efficiently target issues to address in the Body Renew Fitness and Family Sports Center Plan. Overall, by recognizing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats into solidified actions through a strategic planning process will benefit Body Renew as a powerhouse athletic business in the community.

References Websites

Badenhausen, K. (n.d.). The Best States For Business. Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/30/virginia-georgia-utah-biz-cz_kb_0731beststates.html Exercise Statistics All Over the Map. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2008/sports/ Frederick County, Virginia (VA). Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.city- data.com/county/Frederick_County-VA.html Frederick County, Virginia Economy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/virginia/frederick S N A P S H O T A MONTHLY UPDATE OF THE FIFTH DISTRICT ... (2016, September/October). Retrieved October 5, 2016, from https://www.richmondfed.org/- /media/richmondfedorg/research/regional_economy/reports/snapshot/pdf/snapshot_va.pdf Welcome to Body Renew - Body Renew Fitness Winchester. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://bodyrenewwinchester.com/ Winchester, VA-WV Economy at a Glance. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.va_winchester_msa.htm @. (2016). 59 Employee Engagement Ideas You Need to Know About. Retrieved October 05, 2016, from http://www.snacknation.com/blog/employee-engagement-ideas/

Consultants

M. Hirschberg, Personal Interview, September 3, 2016 J. Wright, Personal Interview, September 3, 2016 S. Escoto, Phone Interview, September 1,2016 K. Callahan, Phone Interview, August 31, 2016 Dow, Phone Interview, August 31, 2016 Z. Shiley, Phone Interview, September 1, 2016

INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Patrick A. McCombs: On On the Fringes of Genocide: Buddhism in the Fringes of Genocide: Tibet Buddhism and Tibet *

By: Patrick McCombs Makenzie E. Rose: At the Hands of a Book: Politics, Education, and Religion in Little Women Bio: Patrick Aleksandr McCombs is a junior triple major studying Leadership & Ministry, History, and Christian Studies. He is a brother of the * Sigma Delta Nu fraternity and serves as Vice President of The Fellowship of Alexa M. Pigliacampi: The Christian Athletes. A football fanatic, he used to play for AB, but now Effects of 3- thoroughly enjoys the N.A.R.P (Not-Athletic-Regular-Person) life. With a Hydroxyterphenyllin on passion for writing, fantasy, and studying different cultures, he looks forward the cell cycle of ovarian to finishing his final year at college and traveling the world with his dog, cancer cell lines Ovcar-3 Clare. Patrick is from Fairfax, Virginia. and A2780/CP70

Makenzie E. Rose: Second Tier Heroes (Honors ON THE FRINGES OF GENOCIDE: BUDDHISM IN TIBET Seminar Project)

Patrick McCombs History/Political Science-510: Seminar in Genocide April 19, 2016

Asking if the actions of the government of China against Tibetan

Buddhism qualifies as genocide is by no means a new question. Millions of

Tibetans firmly hold to an answer: China committed genocide against the

Buddhist population. In fact, China was found guilty of genocide in a 1960 report by a Legal Inquiry Committee

(LIC) formed by an international non-governmental human rights organization called the International

Commission of Jurists (ICJ).1 After the investigation of China’s actions in Tibet was done the LIC submitted a disturbing report to the ICJ where they concluded:

The evidence established four principal facts in relation to genocide:

(a) that the Chinese will not permit adherence to and practice of Buddhism in Tibet; (b) that they have systematically set out to eradicate this religious belief in Tibet; (c) that in pursuit of this design they have killed religious figures because their religious belief and practice was an encouragement and example to others; and (d) that they have forcibly transferred large numbers of Tibetan children to a Chinese materialist environment in order to prevent them from having a religious upbringing. The COMMITTEE therefore found that genocide had been committed against this religious group by such methods.2

However, despite the close affiliation between the ICJ and the United Nations the report submitted by the judges, attorneys, and academics who make up its LIC did not convince the United Nations to investigate whether or not a genocide occurred in Tibet. The Tibetan conflict endures to this day, and continues to affect millions of people. Inquiring into a potential genocide in Tibet is an undertaking that is relevant today. Thus, begging the question of how could genocide be legally proven. A possible approach to proving the actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as genocide is to operate within the framework of Gregory Stanton’s

“Eight Stages of Genocide.” Through analyzing each of Stanton’s steps individually, it is possible to show how and why the interaction between China and Tibet before the invasion by the PRC, during Tibet’s occupation, and the contemporary position of the PRC in regards to this issue, can be used to prove a genocide occurred against Tibetan Buddhists as a religious group.

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton is a top genocide scholar, who is both founder and President of Genocide Watch

(an organization dedicated to predicting and preventing genocide) and a Research Professor of Genocide

1 “History e ICJ Part One: 1952-1970,” icj international commission of jurists, accessed April 27, 2016. 2 Trikamdas Purshottam, Tibet Justice Center - Legal Materials on Tibet - Governmental and NGOs - ICJ Report on Tibet and China (excerpt) (1960) [p.346], tibetjustice, accessed March 01, 2016.

Studies and Prevention at George Mason University. In 1996, during his career at the state department, Stanton presented a briefing paper entitled “The Eight Stages of Genocide.” The original thesis of this paper claims, genocide is a process that develops in eight stages that are predictable but not inexorable. At each stage, preventive measures can stop it. The later stages must be precede by the earlier stages, though earlier stages continue to operate throughout the process.3 Those eight stages are as follows; classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, extermination, and denial.

Many Tibetans believe the origin of the “question of Tibet,” which was first referenced in UN

Resolution 1353, can be traced to the formation of the PRC in 1949, and subsequent invasion two years later.

China’s government contests this claim, holding that Tibet has existed as a part of China since the Yuan

Dynasty. As result of the 1951 invasion, the “Seventeen-Point Plan for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” was signed.4 Although signed by both the Tibetan and Chinese government, the Tibetan government claims it is an unequal agreement.

Years later in 1959, the bloody “Lhasa Revolt” occurred, causing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to occupy Tibet. The differing views of the previously separate nations consist of; China, who holds their actions warranted because of the seventeen point agreement, and Tibet (and the UN), who argues that China had disregarded several points of the agreement, therefore nullifying it. Though, this disregard of the peace treaty does not explain the declaration of genocide. In fact, the bulk of evidence for genocide comes from the actions of the totalitarian PLA occupation. Foremost, evidence for genocide is taken from the actions and ideas propagated by the PRC during the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976. For instance, the Maoist doctrine of the “Four Olds” which entailed the destruction of; old culture, old habit, old ideas, and old custom, throughout all of China.5 In the case of Tibet though, one entity fits all four of those “olds” simultaneously, the religious group, Buddhism.

3 Samuel Totten and Paul R. Bartrop, The Genocide Studies Reader (New York: Routledge, 2009), 127. 4 “Seventeen-Point Plan for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” (1951) [p.182], tibetjustice.org, Accessed April 30, 2016. 5 “Cultural Revolution,” depts.washington, accessed March 01, 2016.

When dealing with the question of genocide it is essential to establish that a strong “us vs them” mentality exists between at least two groups. This first stage of Gregory Stanton’s Eight Stages of Genocide, known as Classification, is necessary because it justifies one group as superior to another. In many ways the ideology behind Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution laid the foundation for an “us vs them” mentality against

Tibetan culture, and Buddhism in particular. Mao’s Cultural Revolution, in essence, was the effort to establish a proletariat-based society through the destruction of China’s old cultural influences.6 Formally appearing June 1,

1966 in People’s Daily,7 a communist party newspaper, the destruction of the “Four Olds” was at the heart of the entire Cultural Revolution in the efforts against the Buddhist population. By evaluating the evidence and ideology of Mao’s People’s Republic of China Classification can be identified.8

In order for Maoism in China to be successful, several steps needed to be taken to establish a new grassroots society. For China to make that new society a reality in Tibet, the People’s Republic had to contend with Tibetan culture, and in particularly the influence of Buddhism. The first step was to identify all that was considered to be feudal or bourgeois in nature and eradicate its influence to make society fall in line with the new Communist ideology.9 This doomed Tibet, because China desired the massive amounts of fertile agricultural land in Tibet and because arguably the most characteristic element of Tibetan society was

Buddhism.10 For centuries the infrastructure of Tibet was based on a feudal system wherein the Dalai Lama was the head of state. An example of contempt between these two cultures can be understood through the recorded words of a soldier under the command of a pre-Cultural Revolution Mao who explained the relationship of

Tibetans and Chinese: “They didn‘t speak our language and we were there and we had to eat and we took their sheep and cattle how could we have a good relationship?”11 This gives insight into how the Chinese viewed

6 Ibid. 7 Solomon Richard Harvey, Mao's Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972). 8 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 127. 9 “Cultural,” depts, accessed March 01, 2016. 10 Valerie Snow, “Tibet (1950-present)” (presentation, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2013) 1. 11 Carole McGranahan, “Mao in Tibetan disguise History, ethnography, and excess,” HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 2, no. 2 (2012): 213–245.

Tibetans, as well as showing the potential for hate-based classification centered on differences between Chinese and Tibetan culture.

Classification in the context of genocide is never enough; there must be a way for the targeted group(s) to be easily recognized in everyday life as a “them.” This is where Symbolization, the second of Gregory

Stanton’s eight stages comes into play. Stanton describes two specific ways symbolization occurs: one is done by defining the targeted group (Nazis did this with the term “Jew”), and another is by making it mandatory for the targeted group to wear a piece of clothing used for the purpose of easily identifying the targeted group publically. (The yellow Star of David Jews had to wear during the Holocaust).12Although no evidence has suggested the PRC forced Buddhists to wear a certain clothing to distinguish them, the government of China asserted symbolization over the Tibetan Buddhist population through an assortment of names that reflected

Mao’s communist belief in class struggle.

The Tibetan Oral History Project interviewed Dhondup, an escapee, who said one of such names used by the Chinese was “Sadhak” which means “wealthy landowner.” This term was used to distinguish those targeted, most of whom were Buddhist monks. Other stigmatizing symbolic categorizations echoed Maoist themes of class conflict and land dispute. “Class enemy,” “reactionary,” and “imperialist”13 identified dangerous enemies of the revolution that represented the “old.”14 Similar in practice to the way that the term

“kulaks” was used in the Man-Made Famine genocide conducted by the Soviet Union, the purpose of which was to kill Ukrainians suspected of being enemies of the USSR, this intentionally vague method of classifying enemies allowed the PRC to justify the killing of anyone they viewed as an adversary to the revolution.15

Applying names like sadhak, reactionary, imperialist, and class enemy was an effective way for the Chinese

12 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 127. 13 John B Roberts and Elizabeth A. Roberts, Freeing Tibet: 50 Years of Struggle, Resilience, and Hope (New York: AMACOM, 2009). 14 Snow, “Tibet” 1. 15 Samuel Totten and William S. Parsons, Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts (New York: Routledge, 2013).

government to symbolize nuns and monks who under Maoist doctrine belonged to those groups that were classified as an “old” that needed to be uprooted from society.

However, it should be mentioned these first stages, Classification and Symbolization, are natural human tendencies. These two stages are observable in all our efforts to categorize and distinguish people by race, nationality, ethnicity, and religion and in and of themselves do not necessarily lead to genocide unless incorporated into the third step, Dehumanization.16

Hate had rooted itself firmly into the conflict between the PRC and Buddhism in Tibet and the dehumanization of Tibetan Buddhists was on display in the way the PRC viewed Buddhism’s role in society, as well as in the actions of the invading PLA towards members of this religious group. Tenzin Woeser, a Buddhist monk interviewed by the Tibet Oral History Project who at the time of the conflict was living in Sangdok

Monastery, talks about in the days immediately following the initial Chinese invasion of his village. Woeser recalls every member of the community being forced to gather and watch communist propaganda films at gunpoint.17 The content of these films were often untrue, for example it showed the armies of China conquering places like Taiwan, as well as displaying Joseph Stalin raising his hand in support of their regime as a member of the Chinese Army. PLA propagandists intended to use these videos to show how it was for their own good that Tibet was being reformed through Chinese occupation. Sonam Dorjee, another survivor explains his first encounter with Chinese propaganda in which loud speakers constantly played "We Chinese have come here from China as Tibet is lagging behind in the world. You are people who are lagging behind. We will help you catch up and be on par with the people of the world."18 These two examples of initial Chinese propaganda, specifically the language of the latter, can be used as evidence to prove that the PRC viewed Tibetans as inferior.

16 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 127. 17 Tenzin Woeser, interviewed by Rebecca Norvick, Doeguling Settlement India, April 11, 2010. 18 Sonam Dorjee, interview by Martin Newman, Lugsung Samdupling Settlement India, July 1, 2007.

Fallacious propaganda and notions of inferior people were tame displays of dehumanization compared to what came after the PRC established control over Tibet. Of the interviews catalogued in the Tibetan Oral

History Project one aspect of Chinese occupation largely corresponds throughout the conversations, the

“thamzing.” Thamzing, or “struggle sessions” were displays of brutal dehumanization towards Tibetans who were classified as “sadhak,” “class enemies,” “reactionaries,” or “imperialist.”19 Essentially if you were a land- owning monk, were caught worshiping, or just unlucky enough to be suspected of being an enemy of the revolution you were seized, beaten, dragged onto a stage and forced to confess your crimes and explain the errors in your beliefs and actions in front of the whole village. Once the enemy of the revolution had confessed their crimes they were immediately given a sentence by party representatives, then publically tortured and beaten some more, many times to the point of death.20 In this fashion Tibetans were subjected to dehumanization because they were being forced to confess and explain that their way of life was inferior and backward, then afterwards to make sure the rest of the village understood this to be the result of their “lagging” culture the guilty person was brutally mistreated.

When attempting to prove a genocide it is imperative to prove intention, and a definite way to do this is by establishing that the destruction of a specific group is done so in an organized fashion. Organization falls into Gregory Stanton’s Eight Stages of Genocide at stage four. Stanton asserts, “genocide is always organized, usually by the state” and “plans are made for genocidal killings.”21 In the case of Tibet organization can be seen in the aftermath of the Chinese invasion. Once China had successfully invaded Tibet it began to systematically wage war on the religion in two major ways: the methodical killing of monks and nuns and the almost complete destruction of Buddhist monasteries and artifacts. In the specific area of Tibet referred to by the Chinese

19 Dhondup, interview by Marcella Adamski, Lugsung Samdupling Settlement India, Bylakuppe India, July 3, 2007. 20 Roberts and Roberts, Freeing Tibet (New York: AMACOM, 2009). 21 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 127.

government as the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), between the years 1959-1966 it was reported that of the

115,600 monks and nuns alive in the region before, only 6,900 remained at the end.22

However, once the Cultural Revolution started in 1966 the death toll and number of Tibetan refugees fleeing to India continued to escalate. By the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1977 only 970 monks were alive in the TAR. Another way the PLA proceeded to destroy religion in an organized manner is through the destruction of temples and monasteries. For example, in the same region a total of about 2,700 monasteries existed, but by 1966, 80 percent of those monasteries were looted and bombed. Following the same pattern of systematic destruction as the members within this religious group, once the Cultural Revolution began the ferocity towards monasteries too increased and by the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1977 only 8 monasteries remained in the TAR.23 Yet the actions of the PRC towards monasteries did not stop at razing buildings, in fact, the Chinese military specifically destroyed ancient texts, art, and statues within and around these great cultural identifiers in an effort to destroy the spiritual influence this religion had on Tibetan society.

When attempting to prove this was an organized genocide in Tibet the rapidly increasing number of monks and nuns being killed, as well as the destruction of monasteries and religious artifacts by the PLA can be used as evidence to show that these actions were not simply happenstance, but in actuality ordered by the state and systematically carried out.

Polarization, the fifth stage of genocide according to Stanton, entails groups being driven apart when

“hate groups broadcast polarizing propaganda” and “terrorism targets moderates.”24 During the Great Leap

Forward and the Cultural Revolution, Mao indicated through hate propaganda and terrorization an effort to polarize religious authority figures in the eyes of the Buddhist laymen. In their effort to “destroy the relationship between monastic institutions and the community,”25 the PRC passed legislation aimed at destroying Buddhism in several ways. An example of Chinese law making an effort to promote division in the eyes of the Tibetan

22 “Abuse of Religious Freedoms in Tibet,” Tibet Online, accessed April 17, 2016. 23 “Tibet Under China,” www.friendsoftibet.org, June 1997. 24 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 127. 25 International Federation for Human Rights, “Chinese crackdown on Tibetan Buddhism,” fidh, April 13, 2016.

public is the creation of the Red Guard. The people who joined the Red Guard were mostly Chinese students with the exception of a small population of Tibetans who were educated at nationalist universities.

Students who participated in this program were granted an elevated set of rights in exchange for completing objectives for the good of the revolution, such as putting up propaganda posters and distributing leaflets.26 Another example of polarization is the deliberate targeting of feudal lords via thamzing. Not only was the practice of thamzing dehumanizing as noted above, but it was also a method of polarization. By examining the nature of these struggle sessions it is evident that their primary purpose was to create a wedge of fear between lamas, monks, and nuns and the lay people.

Thus, in theory by terrorizing Tibetans into rejecting their intentionally polarized religious

“superstitions” they would embrace Maoism and become the ideal “socialist man.” A specific example of this polarization in action was the targeting of the Panchen Lama, the second holiest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

The 10th Panchen Lama wrote a secret review entitled the 70,000 Character Petition to the head of state in

China describing the terrible oppression towards religion. As a result he was subjected to thamzing trials for 14 days before being sentenced to prison in an undisclosed location for decades.27 These efforts to promote division among Tibetans and their religious leaders was supported by the PRC and can be displayed as evidence of an overall goal targeting Buddhists as a group through the suppression of religious influence, in fact one student in the Red Guard described their work as the eradication of feudal culture.

As the mass killing draws closer, “victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic and religious identity.” At this point, Preparation, the sixth stage of genocide, is in effect. During the Tibetan occupation, the PRC indicated through land confiscation and deportation, a determination to isolate influential members of the Buddhist religious group from the public. Mao, following the pattern of almost every successful

26 International Campaign for Tibet, 60 Years of Chinese Misrule Arguing Cultural Genocide in Tibet (Washington DC: International Campaign for Tibet, 2012), 65. 27 10th Panchen Lama, The Secret Report of the 10th Panchen Lama Report on the sufferings of the masses in Tibet and other Tibetan regions and suggestions for future work to the central authorities through the respected Premier Zhou Enlai (Tibet: 1962).

genocide, separated the group’s intellectuals for destruction first. This effort began immediately after the PLA invaded Tibet.

Traditionally, Maoist actions are not categorized as genocide because of their class-targeting dynamic.

However, the PLA’s organized destruction of monasteries went beyond class liberation. As noted above, 8 of

2,700 monasteries in the TAR remained standing after being systematically purged by the PLA. Based on this unsettling figure, and the Four Olds, in particular; culture, custom, and ideal, the conclusion can be made that the PLA did merely assault monasteries because of “sadhaks.” The PLA bombed monasteries to the brink of extinction and took land away, because those possessions were believed to empower their foremost ideological rivals, the Buddhists religious group. An action that undoubtedly falls in line with an aspect of the sixth stage’s definition; “Their land is expropriated.”28

Ostensibly, in accordance with their extreme socialist doctrine, the PRC seized land from Tibetan monks. These monks, as cited above, were then represented to other Tibetans as the cause of their problems.

Once the land was taken from these religious leaders, they were often tried and thamzed for their status as anti- revolutionaries. A refugee who goes by the allies Migmar, recounted his experience when asked about PLA’s arrival in his home region, he stated,

The Chinese arrived and then they started the thamzing 'struggle sessions.' People were classified into three groups, chugdhak 'the wealthy,' shingpa 'the farmers' and yulpong 'the poor.' They [the Chinese] deceived the poor and started thamzing sessions. The wealthy were subjected to thamzing. [The poor] were forced to admit that they were beaten [by the wealthy], which they were not. They were forced to say so due to fear. The people, not being animals, wondered in fear as to what the consequences for not admitting might be. That was their thought for doing so.

Then when asked about what the poor were forced to say exactly, Migmar went further into his account, indicating,

28 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 128.

They told the poor that they must say thus to the wealthy, "You are the ones who made us poor. You have sucked our blood and pus. The Chinese have liberated us and we have the right to say so." The Chinese forced the people accordingly.29

Numerous interviews conducted by Tibet Oral History Project correspond with this story. In a country where all land is owned by the Dalai Lama and governed by a regional monastery, the PRC, took away lands from the religious group’s leadership under the pretext of liberation. Tibetan “confessions” against these monks reveal the PLA’s intent at separating Tibetans as a religious group.

If these monks and nuns did not die as a result of their torture, they were often executed immediately after or transported to a prison. A high percentage of prisons died in these camps, often times by starvation, due to the first famine ever recorded in Tibet.30 The famine in fact was man made, due to the collectivization of

Tibetan crops by the PRC. This action purged incompliant religious leaders from the new society, preventing the spread of potential “class enemy” influence. Preparation is cited in this action, because the PRC “deported into concentration camps, or confined to famine-struck regions and starved” any monks who posed a threat to the revolution, again, following to a T, the lines articulated in the sixth stage.

Understanding how extermination, the next stage of genocide, relates to the United Nations definition of genocide, in its proper legal sense, is imperative to address the fallacy, that a high number of deaths is a requisite for genocide. Article II of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide states:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

29 Migmar, interviewed by Marcella Adamski, Doeguling Settlement India, April 6, 2010. 30 Stanton Gregory, “Genocide Watch,” www.genocidewatch.org, accessed April 17, 2016.

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.31

Arguably the most important aspect of the United Nations definition is the intentionally ambiguous wording “in whole or in part” which was written as such precisely to denounce the notion that a high number of deaths must occur in order for a genocide to take place.

No matter how harsh one group subjugates another, genocide cannot be legally established until

Stanton’s seventh stage, Extermination,32 occurs. Extermination in relation to the alleged Tibetan genocide is perhaps the most controversial facet of the issue due to the debate over number of deaths that occurred in Tibet between 1951 and 1979. However, despite no group, state, or individual having a definitive answer to this question it is possible to argue an intentional extermination of the religious group on the basis of: existing PLA records, eyewitness accounts of refugees, destruction of monasteries, treatment in labor camps, and PRC effort usurp the two most holy offices of Tibetan Buddhism.

The director of Indian Research Institute, Mysore, Subramanya Nagarajarao agrees the death toll of 1.2 million Tibetans claimed by the Dalai Lama is accurate, and seeks to support this notion with official reports from the PRC and PLA compiled by the exiled Tibetan government.33 For example Lhasa, the capital city of

Tibet, was the site of an extermination during the “Tibetan Revolt.” On March 10th thousands of Tibetans took to the streets in response to a rumor that the Chinese were going to abduct the Dalai Lama during a meeting that day, and over the next three days in retaliation to the “reactionaries” the PLA slaughtered 10,000-15,000

Buddhists. Nagarajarao in Human Rights and Refugees cites a document from the PLA Tibet Military District

Political Department Report that an estimate of 87,000 Tibetans were sought out and killed between the years

1959-60.34

31 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 95. 32 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 128. 33 “Tibet profile – Overview” BBC News, accessed April 19, 2016 bbc.com. 34 Subramanya Nagarajarao, Human Rights and Refugees, (Darya Ganj NewDelh: APH Publishing, 2004), 267.

The annihilation of the religious group is carried out in other ways too. For instance, the estimated number of Tibetans who were found guilty of being enemies to the revolution and died in prison was a little higher than 170,000, and those who were instead executed for their sentence was around 150,000.35 Labor camps were designed to exterminate the people labeled as enemies of the revolution over time so the Chinese could get free labor in the process. Kalsang Dolma, an escaped refugee talks about her and her families experience being relocated around several labor camps as a child. She claims in her interview that as the

Cultural Revolution went on “many people were arrested, imprisoned and beaten.” To make matters worse once

Dolma’s father was sent to prison her mother and five siblings were labeled as Dalai Cliques, because of this many of their rights were taken away.

Being a part of this religious stigmatization was aimed at ruining the lives of those who were suspected to sympathize with the Dalai Lama. Talking about her family's rights Dolma says,

The family was called Dalai Clique, the rebel family. We were deprived of our rights. We did not receive payments when we worked. Even if we worked on par with the others, we received the lowest wage. We were deprived the right to speech. We could not speak up to them [the Chinese] because they told us we did not have the right to speak. The family was labeled “Dalai Clique,” the rebel family. Once the label was given, we were helpless.36

This deliberate act of deprivation could be used as evidence to show the intent for extermination by ensuring these Dalai sympathizers live in conditions aimed at their eventual starvation.

Extermination of Buddhist influence does not stop at starvation and mass killings though. In fact, there is an effort currently underway to annihilate the two most holy positions within Tibetan Buddhism. If accomplished, the genuine Tibetan Buddhist line of Lama Reincarnations will come to an end.

Historically, the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama have held more influence over the population of Tibet since the religions establishment centuries ago. Because of this contending influence, the PRC has done

35 “Tibet Under China,” friendsoftibe.orgt. June 1997. 36 Kalsang Dolma, interviewed by Marcella Adamski, Doeguling Settlement India, April 14, 2010.

everything in their power to diminish the two monk’s influence. Though before the death of the 10th Panchen

Lama in 1989 this mostly consisted of thamzing, anti-religion legislation, and propaganda.

However, five years later China’s state control over Buddhism escalated in its effort against these two offices. During 1995 the PRC prevented the Dalai Lama from fulfilling one of his most important duties, that of appointing the next reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a boy of six at the time, was chosen as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, but briefly after his selection Chinese authorities detained him.37 Since his detainment the child has never been seen again. Shortly after Nyima’s disappearance, the PRC declared it the state’s responsibility to oversee the selection of the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. Gyaincain Norbu, another boy of six, was then recognized by the PRC to be the 11th Panchen.38 By kidnapping Gendum Nyima and appointing this “Proxy Lama,” the intent to destroy the religious group’s leadership is clearly on display.

Making matters worse for the religious group, just as the Dalai Lama appoints the Panchen Lama, conversely the Panchen Lama picks the new Dalai Lama. Adam Segal, an expert on Chinese foreign relations, says Chinese officials indicate they are waiting for the 87 year old Dalai Lama to die in order to pick the new most holy office of Proxy Lamas.39 Segal says it is impossible to predict how Tibetans will react to this, but in theory, the PRC will assume full control over Buddhism in Tibet. In effect, making Buddhism another institution of the state. Using Buddhist doctrine against them, the PRC has intentionally created a situation aimed at the annihilation of the Tibetan Buddhist religious group through the destruction of their established leadership.

Once genocide occurs and has been brought to light the group responsible will inevitably deny any guilt.

Stanton incorporates Denial as an official stage into his thesis claiming it is “the eighth stage that always follows a genocide.”40 In this stage, the actions exhibited by the group in question will be highly uncooperative

37 “Freedom House 75 of Championing Democracy,” www.freedomhouse.org, 2013, accessed April 29, 2016. 38 Ibid. 39 Jayshree Bajoria, “The Question of Tibet,” www.cfr.org, accessed April 17, 2016. 40 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 128.

with outside investigations. The group suspected of genocide will use any method to cover up evidence in an effort to avoid legal consequence.

China’s actions to this day continue to follow the logic presented by Stanton. The official position of the

Chinese government in regards to the question of Tibet is that they “liberated” Tibet as well as denial of genocide.41 Also, China refuses to even use the term genocide in public statements. Often times the most incriminating terminology the PRC uses when referencing the Tibetan situation is their violation of the religious group’s “Human Rights.” This is partially because the UN has formally denounced the Chinese government of oppression and violations of these most basic rights in three different resolutions.42 Though another reason may be because the violation of human rights does not necessarily constitute genocide. The intentional refusal to address the question of genocide, or even use the term in public statements, can be used to indicate denial.

Likewise, this at the very least justifies suspicion of Chinese action.

In the case of the PRC’s role in the Tibet question, two critical pieces of Stanton’s eighth definition to consider are, “They block investigations of the crimes” and how the group in question will “try to cover up the evidence and intimidate witnesses.”43 When a genocide is tried by international law, these are useful methods to deny involvement. China’s government practices both of these.

Evidence for these comes in several forms of Chinese law. Even though Chinese citizens are indeed granted rights, they are not unalienable. In actuality these rights are subservient to the discretion of the head of state. This clause has allowed the PRC to remove the 35th article of the Chinese constitution which allows free speech, press, and assembly.44 As a result, heavy censorship is legally permits the PRC to monitor every facet of information going in or out of the country. Many times suspects being tried are not adequately represented in court, because the lawyers who would defend suspects are often threatened. Those found guilty of violating

41 “China’s Favorite Propaganda On Tibet…and Why It’s Wrong,” www.studentsforafreetibet.org, accessed April 12, 2016. 42 Valerie Snow, Tibet (1950-present), accessed March 01, 2016. 43 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 128. 44 Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Chpt II. Article 34. 4 December 1982, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4c31ea082.html, accessed 1 March 2016.

censorship laws are sent to prison and reportedly tortured. As they relate to the Tibet question, censorship laws and intimidation are tools, used in an effort to cover up evidence and block investigations from outside courts.

While never officially acknowledging genocide, the PRC has conceded that violence during Chinese invasion and occupation did transpire. However, the nature of this violence voiced by the Chinese government tells a different story. It is a story the PRC told Tibetans during their initial occupation, at Mao’s death, and even to this day. It fits the aspect of Stanton’s eighth definition that states, “They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims.”45

According to the PRC, the violence that has transpired between the two groups stems from the exiled

Dalai Lama. The religious leader’s call for division in turn is carried out by the Dalai clique. In an article from

CNN, Wen Jiabo, the former Premier (Chinese head of state), responded to a recent protest for Tibetan autonomy that ended in the death of 13 protestors. Jiabo was recorded dismissing the Dalai Lama’s claim of cultural genocide and was quoted saying, “There is ample fact and we also have plenty of evidence proving that this incident was organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique.”46

The PRC blames the violence in Tibet on its victims primarily through its campaign against the Dalai

Lama and his clique. One way this is campaign is practiced is by denouncing the two to other countries as noted above. However, this blame campaign is carried out internally too. An example of this is a state instituted directive in 1989, which stated,

First, to continue to resist the splittists and the ‘Dalai clique;’ secondly, to condemn and campaign against the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama; thirdly, to continue to identify participants in the successive demonstrations since 1987 at the monasteries and their supporters, particularly those who did not actively participate, and to expel unregistered monks; and fourthly, to go even to small monasteries and nunneries looking for splittists.47

45 Totten and Bartrop, The Genocide, 128. 46 “China's premier blames Dalai Lama 'clique' for violence in Tibet,” Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, accessed April 19. 47 “International Campaign,” 60 Years of, 67.

This instruction is still enforced today, and clearly shows an incentive to blame the violence in Tibet on its victims. Targeting in particular, a man who is considered internationally as an example of peaceful conduct, as well as the religious group that still follows his teachings.

Numerous genocide scholars claim China avoided punishment in 20th century, and that contemporary

Tibet has all the necessary signs that prelude the liquidation of the religious group. In fact, Gregory Stanton’s website, www.geonocidewatch.org, explicitly makes this claim. The Genocide Watch website even classifies

Tibet’s current situation into the sixth stage.48

Through analyzing the actions before the invasion, during the Cultural Revolution, as well as presently, a case can be made for genocide in Tibet. Based on the evidence provided, Gregory Stanton’s “8 Stages of

Genocide” can be used to explain how and why the actions of the PRC during the years of occupation prove genocide. In particular, the evidence proves the PRC intentionally violated; (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Article 2 of

The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Although ultimately unsuccessful, these actions were a deliberate attempt to destroy, in whole, the Tibetan Buddhist population as a religious group. Genocide Watch has issued a warning, that further genocidal massacre may occur against the

Tibetan religious group in the future.49

48 Stanton, “Genocide”. 49 Ibid.

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INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Patrick A. McCombs: On At the Hands of a Book: Politics, Education, the Fringes of Genocide: and Religion in Little Women by Makenzie Buddhism and Tibet E. Rose * Makenzie E. Rose: At the Hands of a Book: Politics, The quote “Giggles, secrets, sometimes tears, sisters and friends through Education, and Religion in Little Women the years” is a saying that is found on wall plaques, as stickers, and other * décor. This could accurately describe the relationship of Louisa May Alcott’s Alexa M. Pigliacampi: The Effects of 3- book Little Women. The book shows a time of war, a time of change, a time Hydroxyterphenyllin on the cell cycle of ovarian of adventure, a time of sisters. From young girls to adulthood, through the cancer cell lines Ovcar-3 and A2780/CP70 eyes of the four March sisters, Alcott gives readers a glimpse into what life * was like for her and of the movements that were making their way across the Makenzie E. Rose: Second country during her time. Tier Heroes (Honors Seminar Project) Little Women follows the life of the four March sisters through their days as carefree girls into their struggles and smiles too, of adult life. This book has been read and enjoyed by females of all ages over the years. There are several different themes that Alcott cleverly weaves into Little Women that has the reader learning without realizing it. Upon closer examination of the book, these themes present themselves and each contains information of

Louisa May Alcott’s day that was right underneath the reader’s nose all along.

In a Nutshell

In real life they were known as Anna, Louisa, Elizabeth, and Abby May Alcott. But in the fictional, well- loved novel Little Women, the girls became known as Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. Much of the Alcott sisters’ lives and adventures, as well as political and religious movements of the time, are cleverly woven into the textual lives of the March sisters.

Homeschooled

Education for females during the early 1800s was unusual. At this time it was thought that women were

“incapable of intellectual pursuits”. It was their job to run the household and education might hinder their success as wife and mother. Girls received the basics of reading and writing, but only the boys were allowed to continue on to higher education. But from 1790 to the 1850s, religion became popular and played into the role of women receiving an education. It was during this time that women’s seminaries became to form. These seminaries started out as “finishing schools” where social skills such as singing, drawing, and piano playing were taught. But as the years progressed, they school began to offer the same liberal studies found at boys’ colleges (“Archives”).

In 1837, Emma Willard caused a ruckus that would lead to “the beginning of higher education for women in the United States.” She stated that education for women should either “better the faculties” or “they may be useful in the future life.” By doing this, Willard bulldozed the idea that women were at an inferior learning level than men. The colleges were similar to finishing schools, but as the time went on they (the seminaries) became more academically focused (“Archives”).

Children, both boys and girls, usually attended a one room school house until they were about twelve years old. Lessons during the 1800s included reading, writing, grammar, geography, arithmetic, history, and rhetoric.

After the children reached a certain age, school was over. If the families were wealthy, the young ladies may have been sent to a finishing school and the boys to college (McCarthy).

But Louisa May Alcott, second daughter of Bronson and Abigail Alcott, was offered one of the most unique learning situations. She and her sisters, never attended school, but rather was educated not only by their father,

but also had access to the libraries of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Bronson Alcott taught

Louisa until she was sixteen years old. In addition to her father’s teachings, Louisa also was guided by Thoreau and Emerson who “were family friends.” As a child in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts, Louisa spent time browsing the shelves of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library and taking “excursions into nature with Henry David

Thoreau” (“Biography, Louisa May Alcott”).

Louisa recalls her father’s teaching at home as “very happy hours”. Her favorite subjects were “reading, writing, composition, history, and geography”. Louisa also received guidance and instruction from her mother

Abigail. She was exposed to reading and writing as a young girl and Abba was in the business of education not only her own children, but to black children as well. Abba would even hold lessons for the children in her home. This way of thinking may have had some effect on young Louisa as she was involved with anti-slavery groups later in life (Goodwin, Proehl).

As Louisa was educated by her father at home, Amy in Little Women was educated at home under the strict direction of her older sister, Jo. Amy had been enrolled in school, but was pulled out after an altercation with her teacher. Beth never attended school either, as she was content to stay at home and learn at her own pace.

The skills and knowledge the girls learned was taught to them by family members. It is not mentioned that Amy or Beth ever returned to school, therefore making the reader assume that like Louisa, the girls were much more educated at home than in public education (Alcott).

Besides teaching his own daughters, Alcott started The Temple School to teach children of higher wealth. He believed there was a “spiritual essence” in himself and he wanted to discover it in others as well. This was one of Alcott’s goals when he started the school; another goal was “to bring out the innate divinity dwelling within each young mind.” He had conversations from Socrates’s philosophy with his students and encouraged

“openness and self-expression”, but discipline and mutant respect were a must in Alcott’s classroom (Howe).

Alcott began to incorporate religion into his teachings and would later publish Conversations with Children on the Gospels. With this publication came the revelation of conversations with the children leaning things of sexual nature, such as “sex and birth”. Parents immediately began withdrawing their children from the school.

Alcott, not to be discouraged, moved the school to his home where he began to teach lower income students.

But this too would fail. In 1839, he took a little black girl into his classes, causing tension between the parents and himself once more. The parents promptly withdrew the children and this time ended Alcott’s teaching career for good (Howe, “Elizabeth Palmer Peabody”).

These teachings, combined with the guidance of the other great thinkers and family friends, gave Louisa and her sisters an education quite unlike any other at the time. While most young girls were taught the basics of education then went on to learn the way of the household, Louisa not only was taught the basics of education, but experienced teachings in the political and religious views of the day which most females would not even dream about learning about.

Going Against the Grain

Someone once said, “To define a tomboy requires searching far beyond the simple notion of a girl wearing boy’s clothing. Tomboys have influenced the expanses of popular culture in fashion, film, music, literature and beyond. And although the tomboy is often identified by clothing, what makes her wholly so is an inherent sense of confidence, rebelliousness, and adventure, said an individual once.”

Louisa May Alcott was clearly a tomboy. She said, “No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences. . .” she said. As a girl, Louisa wrote dramas that she and her sisters then acted out. We see in “A Merry Christmas”, Chapter Two of Little Women, that Alcott merged this into the life of the March sisters. And Jo was always the one to play “the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens” (“Louisa May Alcott”, Alcott).

Louisa was determined to make her way in the world, despite the limitations placed on women during her time. She said, “. . . I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world.” And she did just that. Not only would Louisa fight every obstacle to get her writing published, she would also become an active member for both women’s rights and abolitionism (“Louisa May Alcott”).

Much later in her life, Louisa would say, “My book came out; and people began to think that topsy-turvy

Louisa would amount to something after all. . .” Her book Little Women was an instant success and is still

enjoyed by all ages of girls today. Although Louisa wanted to write in more serious fiction, children’s stories came to her most easily. These stories helped support Alcott’s family and over the years, Louisa was successful in providing her family with enough to live comfortably. Louisa would later say, “I resolved to make the family independent if I could. It has cost me my health, perhaps; but as I still live, there is more for me to do, I suppose.” (“Louisa May Alcott”, Goodwin).

Louisa Alcott also dabbled in theater writing. “A veteran of amateur performance at home and elsewhere,” she had one play “that was accepted for presentation” but it never was presented. But despite that, she still enjoyed the theater through friends in the community who obtained a theater pass for her. She passed her love of acting onto the town of Walpole, New Hampshire when “she organized the Walpole Amateur Dramatic

Company.” In 1857, when Louisa moved back to Concord and “lost no time in forming the Concord Dramatic

Union.” (Goodwin).

Based on My Experience

Little Women is not the story of yet another adventurous family. It is the story of Louisa May Alcott herself.

“Jo March was the first American juvenile to act from her own individuality – a living, breathing person rather than the idealized stereotype then prevalent in children’s fiction.” (“Louisa May Alcott”).

Louisa’s older sister Anna and her husband John Pratt would become Meg and John Brooke in Little Women.

Louisa herself, worked as a governess a few times and continued to work on her writing, sending home any money that she earned. Louisa then passed these traits onto her heroine, Jo March. We can see in Chapters

Thirty-three and Thirty-four, that Jo served as a governess and while there, met the man who eventually become her husband (although Louisa herself never married). Jo also had the opportunity to learn more about literature and dabble in German with Professor Baer. This would parallel the time that Louisa spent with Theodore Parker and his wife, as well as the other great thinkers that she would sit and listen to on a Sunday evening (Elbert 149,

Goodwin).

Louisa modeled many of the main characters in Little Women after real people in her life. And Laurie

Lawrence is no exception. He is most certainly a main character, so who in Louisa’s life did this charming boy

represent? There is speculating of who Laurie was as a real person, but the most likely was a Polish musician by the name of Ladislas Wisniewski (called Laddie by Louisa). Laddie and Louisa met while Louisa was visiting

Europe in 1865. Their romance blossomed and progressed, but Alcott later said that it “couldn’t be”. This experience could parallel the relationship of Jo and Laurie who did not get married (much to the chagrin and frustration of the readers!) (Goodwin, Alcott).

Little Women, as a whole, could be read as a history of what was happening in Louisa’s time. It encompasses different things that happened during its author’s life: the struggle to get her writing published, the hardship and lower-class limitations of living of both Louisa and the March sisters, and our favorite character Jo mention over-hearing a conversation about the women’s rights movement (Alcott).

Interestingly enough, Louisa took the idea of Little Women from Charles Dickens’s book, Bleak House, particularly the character of Esther. “Each of Alcott’s heroines has a scarring experience that jars her into painful awareness of vanished innocence and the woman problem.” The “scarring experience” for Alcott’s character Jo, could have been the death of her younger sister Beth. This also could be based off of the death of

Alcott’s sister, May. Perhaps, Meg’s experience wasn’t quite as drastic, but she still had a growing up moment: going from daughter to housewife. Meg was now responsible for her own house, finances, and eventually, her own children. Amy’s change was more subtle than her sisters’. Throughout Little Women, Amy is portrayed as always being more uppity than her years. She has always been the more sophisticated sister and fits in rather well the higher ups of society. It is really no big change for her to adjust to the role of wealthy traveler and eventually a wealthy wife (Elbert 152, Alcott).

Somebody Do Something

Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Lucretia Mott. These are not names that are as familiar in the women’s suffrage movement, but these two ladies were the starting point for what we know as today, the fight for women’s rights.

Susan B. Anthony did not enter the picture until 1850-51. (“The Women’s Rights Movement”).

The first official women’s rights gathering was in Seneca Falls, New York, from July 19-20, 1848. One hundred people were attendance, two-thirds of them being women. Women at this time suffered from “social

and institutional barriers” such as “family responsibilities, lack of educational and economic opportunities, and absence of voice in political debates.” (“The Women’s Rights Movement”).

But these women were not fighting just for their own rights. They were fighting for equal rights for all – including blacks. Stanton and Mott were “active members of the abolitionist movement” and in 1863 “formed the Woman’s National Loyal League” which “supported the 13th amendment to abolish slavery and to campaign for full citizenship for blacks and women.” (“Women’s Suffrage Movement”).

In November of 1868, Louisa joined the New England’s Women’s Suffrage Association whose main focus was “making votes for women its ultimate goal while giving priority to black suffrage.” This organization fought for both blacks and women. The famous abolitionist Frederick Douglas was a supporter of women’s rights in addition to speaking out about slavery. He came to a meeting of the association, encouraging them to put black suffrage ahead of women’s suffrage. Women in the group hoped that “universal male suffrage” would lead to the females being allowed to vote as well (Elbert 149).

Louisa would become a part of the women’s suffrage movement. In 1875, she “attended the Women’s

Congress of 1875 in Syracuse, New York.” She was active in helping round up women for suffrage meetings, became the first woman to register her name to vote, and helped start a temperance society in Concord, of which she became the secretary. While Jo March does not become involved with the movement, she is exposed to it when she is attending a gathering with Miss Crocker, she overhears two ladies discussing the Women’s

Rights Movement. Whether she does agrees with it or not, Jo does fight for her own rights as a woman when she fights for her writing to be put into the local newspapers (Goodwin, Alcott).

Another influential fighter for women’s rights was Margaret Fuller. While Louisa doesn’t directly mention her by name, she was probably involved in her life in one way or another. She was a teacher “at Bronson

Alcott’s Temple School”. In 1845, she published “Women in the Nineteenth Century which became a classic of feminist thought.” But Fuller was also a transcendentalist as well. She became a close friend of Ralph Waldo

Emerson and became an editor of The Dial which was the transcendentalist writings of Emerson, Fuller herself, and Bronson Alcott too (“Margaret Fuller”).

As a child, Louisa helped her mother, Abba, with teaching black children how to read and write. The children were also brought into the Alcott’s home where lessons were held. When she grew older, Alcott was involved with groups against anti-slavery. “I became an Abolitionist at an early age,” Louisa said. When this actually occurred she didn’t know. “Or because I was saved from drowning in the Frog Pond some years later by a colored boy.” she recalls. This drive was what made Louisa serve as a Civil War nurse during the winter of

1862-1863. During her time as a caregiver in Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, Virginia, she felt compassion for not only Union soldiers, but wanted to head down South to help the blacks as well. (Goodwin,

Proehl).

During My Time

There were many different things happening in society during Louisa’s lifetime. In addition to the women’s suffrage movement and abolitionist movement, transcendentalism was making its beginnings.

Transcendentalism was a movement of “literary independence.” The authors and thinkers of this time created

“literature, essays, novels, philosophy, poetry, and other writing.” Louisa’s childhood teachers and friends,

Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, were members of The Transcendental Club. Emerson was the leader of the group and they met at George Ripley’s Boston house. From 1836 to 1860, the group had many interesting characters in the club. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Walt Whitman, and

Henry David Thoreau (Lewis, “Transcendentalism”).

Thoreau was the most unique person to come through the club. He “tried to put transcendentalism into practice” and “thought that everyone’s potential was limitless.” Thoreau was stubborn and a dreamer, and as a teacher of the young Louisa, he seems to have passed a little of those traits onto Louisa May Alcott

(“Transcendentalism, Louisa”).

One of the most influential transcendentalists was Theodore Parker. He was probably “the most theologically and socially active transcendentalist.” While others interested in this idea turned to nature, Parker was more interested in “the nature of man” and “attacked the separation of religion and life.” In addition to this, Parker was heavily involved with the abolitionist movement. He even “hid fugitive slaves in his home.” (Woodlief).

Louisa had the opportunity to not only meet, but spend a significant amount of time around both Theodore and his wife. Louisa wrote in her journal, “Asks me to come Sunday evenings to his house. I did go there . . . and sit in my corner weekly, staring and enjoying myself.” Louisa’s time with the Parkers was an encouraging time as she was struggling with finding a job and sending home what little money she did have. This could possibly be the time that Jo spent with Professor Bhaer. From listening in on his German lessons with others to watching him play with the local children, Jo always received a smile or a laugh or a lesson from observing the amusing or “odd” professor, as Jo calls him in a letter home (Goodwin, Alcott).

Although Louisa was immersed in the ideas of transcendentalism through the teachings of her father and other great thinkers, she never actually declared herself as a transcendentalist. When she was younger, “Louisa

‘got religion’”. When she was running in the woods of Concord in the early fall, she re-accounts the quiet and the beauty of the moment. “It seemed as if I felt God as I never did before, and I prayed in my heart that I might keep that happy sense of nearness all my life.” This trend continued later into adulthood when Louisa wrote,

“When feeling most alone, I find refuge in the Almighty Friend. If this is experiencing religion, I have done it;”

(Goodwin).

Poverty vs. Wealth

Social class, wealth, and poverty has always been and will always be a part of history and society. Some argue that social class is based on money, possessions, and acquaintances, while others say social class was more of mind-set and values instead of material things (Foote).

Little Women approaches the idea of social class with several different views. It is not difficult to see that the

March family is not high class, but they are not as bad off as the Hummel family who is the recipient of the

March family’s kindness on more than one occasion. In Chapter One, “Playing Pilgrims”, Meg, the eldest sister, gives the reader an idea of the family’s financial situation: “’It’s so dreadful to be poor,” sighed Meg.” A few paragraphs later: “Don’t you wish we had the money papa lost when we were little, Jo?” said Meg, who could remember better times.” But despite the level of poverty the March family experiences, they are wealthy in the love that they have for each other. (Alcott).

During this time, “middle class women become the guardians of the difference between economic class and social status.” Some might look down on those worse off than them or recognize those that might need help, like Marmee. She raised her girls to be giving, unselfish, and willing to help even though they were not of high economic standing. Meg is another example of this. She laments the fact that she only has one dress for a party she is attending. But when she is “upgraded” to the social status of the Moffat’s, Meg becomes uppity and self- centered. When she returns home, Meg is reminded that although her home is “bare and shabby”, it is a happy place because of the love that abides within it and the thoughtful hands that decorate as much as possible with the limits that are placed on them (Foote, Alcott).

While poverty is not desired of anyone, there is some benefits to being of a lower class. The simple things mean more and love can flourish. In Little Women, Jo gives her perspective on wealth:

“Wealth is certainly a most desirable thing, but poverty has its sunny side, and one of the sweet uses of

adversity is the genuine satisfaction which comes from hearty world of head or hand. . . Jo enjoyed a

taste of this satisfaction, and ceased to envy richer girls, taking great comfort in the knowledge that she

could supply her own wants, and need ask no one for a penny.”

There is countless examples of this in Little Women: the gift exchange between Marmee and the sisters, letters from Mr. March who is away at war, picnics with Laurie, and the plays the girls put on for the family.

The Laurence house on the other end of the spectrum is wealthy, but its material wealth lacks the gentle wisdom and love the March family has. The March and Laurence households cross paths, blending economic class and social class. The Laurence household became “a kind of a training ground for social behavior” for Jo and her sisters (Foote, Alcott).

One role that seemed to defy all forms of social class and status was that of a governess. She could have been from any walk of life. While she was “not quite equal to the family she serves, but not quite a servant either.” It is interesting that Jo became a governess to support her family in their time of need. Her time as a governess was enjoyable, as Jo continued to feed her endless love of learning, continued to write her stories, and cared for the children placed in her care. Professor Bhaer, poor as a church mouse, same as Jo, is a puzzle to

her: “He was neither rich nor great, young nor handsome . . . He was poor, yet always appeared to be giving something away;” Jo finally determines that it is benevolence, farther supporting that social class was more a mindset for some than an definite rule placed on people of higher wealth (Shewe, Alcott).

Early on in life, Louisa May Alcott, experienced poverty. While her father was a great teacher and thinker, he was a lousy provider for his family. Most of the burden to keep the Alcott household afloat feel onto Abigail

Alcott’s shoulders as well as her daughters. When Bronson Alcott and a few other transcendentalists formed

“Fruitlands” the communal farm, most of the work to meet the family’s necessities fell upon Abigail and her daughters. Meals were basic fair and there was not an abundance of necessities during this time. Having experienced poverty through most of her lifetime, Alcott was determined to get her family back on their feet before she died. As previously mentioned, Louisa accomplished this, saying “I resolved to make the family independent if I could. It has cost me my health, perhaps;” (Goodwin, Smith).

Conclusion

For years, Little Women has captivated and amused females of all ages. The March sisters guided by gentle, loving Marmee, find their way through life with smiles, laughs, hard-learned lessons, and sometimes tears. But

Louisa May Alcott does more than just tell the story of a fictional family. She subtly weaves religious and political views of the day into the pages of Little Women. While this book can be read simply for amusement and fun, it may also be read as a cleverly written history book that allows the reader to see Louisa May Alcott’s life through the eyes of the March sisters.

Works Cited

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Women. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1984. 149-150, 152. Print.

"Elizabeth Palmer Peabody." Elizabeth Palmer Peabody. American Transcendentalist Web.

Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Foote, Stephanie. Resentful "Little Women": Gender and Class Feeling in Louisa May Alcott.

Johns Hopkins UP, 63-85. Print.

Goodwin, Joan. "Louisa May Alcott." Louisa May Alcott. Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist

Biography, 1 Dec. 2001. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Howe, Charles A., Peter Hughes. "Bronson and Abigail Alcott." Bronson and Abigail Alcott.

of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, 18 Sept. 2004. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Lanzendorfer, Joy. "10 Things You May Not Know About 'Little Women' "Mental Floss. Mental

Floss, 14 May 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Lewis, Jone Johnson. "What Is Transcendentalism?" What Is Transcendentalism? Web. 02 Apr.

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Apr. 2016.

McCarthy, Erin. "11 Ways School Was Different in the 1800s." Mental Floss. Mental Floss, 7

Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

Proehl, Kristen Beth. "Battling Girlhood: Sympathy, Race and the Tomboy Narrative in

American Literature." Diss. College of William and Mary, 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Shewe, Elizabeth. Domestic Conspiracy: Class Conflict and Performance in Louisa May Alcott’s

“Behind the Mask”. Print.

Smith, Bonnie Hurd. "Louisa May Alcott." Boston Women’s Heritage Trail. Web. 04

Apr. 2016.

"Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association,

Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

“The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848-1920| U.S. House of representatives: History, Art &

Archives.” The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848-1920. History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of

Representatives, 2007. Web. 1 Mar. 2016

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INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

THE EFFECTS OF 3-HYDROXYTERPHENYLLIN ON THE CELL Patrick A. McCombs: On CYCLE OF OVARIAN CANCER CELL LINES OVCAR-3 AND the Fringes of Genocide: A2780/CP70 Buddhism and Tibet By Alexa Pigliacampi * Makenzie E. Rose: At the Bio: Alexa Pigliacampi is a senior at Alderson Broaddus University from Ormond Hands of a Book: Politics, Beach, Florida, majoring in Biology and Chemistry. Education, and Religion in ABSRACT Little Women

* Epithelial ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer- related death among women in the United States. In 2016, there will be Alexa M. Pigliacampi: The approximately 22,280 new diagnoses of ovarian cancer and 14,240 predicted Effects of 3- deaths. 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin is a secondary metabolite of fungus, Hydroxyterphenyllin on Aspergillus candidus. The nature of similar metabolites in fighting disease the cell cycle of ovarian and other tumor types indicates that 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin (3-HT) is likely cancer cell lines Ovcar-3 to have anticancer properties. In this study, we evaluated 3-HT as a potential and A2780/CP70 anti-cancer agent using human ovarian cancer cells, MTS assay, flow cytometry and western blot analysis of various cyclins, CDKs and proteins * using primary and secondary antibodies. 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin reduced cell viability and induced S phase cellular arrest for OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 Makenzie E. Rose: Second cells by upregulating CyclinB1 and Cdc25A expression and inhibiting Cdk4, Tier Heroes (Honors CyclinA2 and CyclinE1. Progression through the cell cycle is dependent on Seminar Project) various cyclin concentrations that activate CDKs, cyclin-dependent protein kinases. Reduced levels of cyclins result in reduced CDK-cyclin complexes initiating cell cycle transition phases and less cells entering the subsequent phase. The results of the study indicate that 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin has potential to fight ovarian cancer cell growth by preventing progression past S phase of the cell cycle. (Supported by NIH Grant 200200016-62401 to the West Virginia IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence

INTRODUCTION

In 2016, approximately 22,280 American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer with 14,240 predicted to die from the disease (Siegel et

al., 2016). Ovarian cancer is currently regarded as the “most deadly gynecological malignancy” and of females with cancer, ovarian cancer is responsible for the fifth highest number of deaths (Rahman et al., 2016). The

National Cancer Institute (2014) concluded that high mortality rates are a result of the inability to diagnose ovarian cancer in its early stages, prior to its spread throughout the body. Women of all ages are susceptible to ovarian cancer; however, studies suggest that a higher percentage of ovarian cancer is found in industrialized cities and the western hemisphere (Rahman et al., 2016). In 2012, 90% of ovarian cancer cases involved females at least 40 years of age (CDC, 2016). In recent years, there has been an increasing desire to find an efficient means of confronting ovarian cancer.

Cells reproduce in a process that replicates the genetic material of a cell and produces two daughter cells via cellular division. The genetic material replicated, DNA, stores genes that code for proteins that regulate a system or process (Karp, 2010). There are several steps and regulatory processes necessary for the cell cycle to proceed correctly (Figure 1). The cell cycle is characterized by four distinct stages: Mitosis (M) and three interphase periods: G0/G1, S, and G2 (Mescher, 2010). The G0/G1 phase consists of the time gap from the end of mitosis to DNA duplication, DNA duplicates during S phase and G2 phase marks the time gap from the end of DNA duplication to the next mitosis (Mescher, 2010). During the G1 time gap, dividing cells accumulate required enzymes and nucleotides for DNA replication. Similarly, resources dedicated towards mitosis preparation are observed to accumulate during the G2 time gap (Mescher, 2010). Mitosis, the actual division of a parent cell into two identical daughter cells, consists of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase

(Mescher, 2010).

Figure 1. The cell cycle. Visual aid displaying the steps of the human cell cycle in proportion to their relative duration of time (University of Leicester).

The majority of the cell cycle is spent in interphase due to its critical role in preparing and checking genetic material to prevent mutations and insure proper cellular division (Mescher 2010). Progression through the cell cycle is dependent on various cyclin concentrations that activate CDKs, cyclin dependent kinases.

Cyclins function along with cyclin-dependent kinases to control the progression of the cell cycle. When a cyclin binds to a CDK, the CDK is activated to phosphorylate and alter proteins specific for the phase transition. Thus, cyclin activities produce restriction points at transition-based stages such as in late G1 and G2/M which help maintain cell viability and the stability of chromosomes. When conditions are unfavorable, these control points stop the cycle and in doing so, prevent premature DNA replication and mitosis that likely would have resulted in mutations. DNA damage in normal cells arrests at G1, S and G2 restriction points to allow time for enzymes to correct mistakes (Mescher, 2010). However, all cancer results from continued cellular division in which one of the phases of the cycle does not cease as expected and has ineffective restriction points (Karp, 2010).

Secondary metabolites produced by fungi, although unnecessary for metabolic processes, can regulate defense and developmental processes via chemical messengers. The effectiveness of many metabolites remains unknown and the potential for discovering new ovarian cancer treatments is endless as many of these metabolites could possibly have anticancer properties when exposed to ovarian cancer cells (Elaasser et al.,

2011). This field of study shows promise as scientists have predicted that less than 10% of all fungi has been isolated and cultured and that there are over 1.5 million fungal species (Bladt et al., 2013).

3-Hydroxyterphenyllin or 3-HT is a secondary metabolite produced by the fungus, Aspergillus candidus

(Kurobane et al., 1979). A. candidus, is a common mold, found in soil worldwide, that contaminates stored food such as cereal grains, flour and milk (Elaasser et al., 2011). Previously identified and characterized secondary metabolites of A. candidus include: ergosterol, ergosterol peroxide, linoleic acid, chlorflavonin, dechlorflavonin, terphenyllin, cyclo-L-tryptophanyl-L-proline, various versions of cyclo-L-tryptophanyldehydroproline, cyclopeptides, and acandicyclins A, B and C (Yaikpakdee,1998). Aspergillus fungi have been documented as active producers of antimicrobial compounds and have high therapeutic value (Elaasser et al., 2011). In a review of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces fungi, at least 50 compounds were found with anticancer and antifungal capabilities (Bladt et al., 2013).

Dihydroxymethyl pyranone, one of the secondary metabolites of A. candidus, was previously found to have antibiotic, antifungal, anti-oxidative and antitumor activities (Elaasser et al., 2011). Dihydroxymethyl pyranone was effective against HEp-2 and HepG2 hepatoma cell lines with a IC50 of 7µg/ml (Elaasser et al.,

2011). An additional secondary metabolite of A. candidus, p-Terphenyl, exhibited cytotoxic activity on various tumors and cell lines characterized by abnormally high rates of proliferation when prenylated (Stead et al.,

1999). Keratinocyte (BALB/MK) cells of mice treated with the metabolite arrested in S phase of the cell cycle.

The researchers concluded that the compound’s potent cytotoxic property stemmed from its potential to block pyrimidine biosynthesis (Stead et al., 1999).

Various metabolites have also shown promise in fighting cancer through the alteration of protein expression. For instance, FTY720, another metabolite, inhibited androgen-independent prostate cancer (Chua et al., 2005). Aspergillus fumigatus, of the same genus as A. candidus, produces spirotryprostatins A and B that were found to impact the mammalian cell cycle at the G2/M phase (Cui et al., 1996).

For epithelial ovarian cancer, cytoreductive surgery is most commonly paired with chemotherapy (Gao et al., 2015). After the operation, patients with advanced ovarian cancer are treated with platinum and taxane-

based chemotherapy (Housman et al., 2014). Twenty to forty percent of patients do not respond to chemotherapy and large portions of the diagnosed relapse within five years (Gao et al., 2015). Unconventional cancer treatments are sought out because chemotherapy is not as effective when faced with reoccurrences and advance stages of the cancer that build up resistance towards platinum drugs and have multiple side effects

(Youying et al., 2016). Resistance to drugs administered to ovarian cancer patients has steadily increased.

Cancer cells develop resistance from decreased drug activation (Housman et al., 2014). The resistance to platinum commonly occurs due to methallothionein and thiol glutathione which inactivate the drug by activating the body’s detoxification systems (Housman et al., 2014). And so, alternatives to these platinum- based drugs are becoming even more necessary.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a natural metabolite, 3-HT, can induce cell cycle arrest in ovarian cancer cells. Few studies have been conducted on the anticancer characteristics of 3-HT, specifically on ovarian cancer cells. It is hypothesized that 3-HT will have anticancer properties and result in cellular arrest at one of the interphase phases for both OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 ovarian cancer cell lines by inhibiting and reducing the number of cyclins and CDKs/enzymes necessary for progression through the cell cycle. Cell viability, Flow cytometry and Western blot analysis will determine whether reducing the levels of cyclins and

CDKs at certain restriction points induces cell cycle arrest.

METHODS

Human Ovarian Cancer cell lines OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 were obtained from Dr. Bing-Hua Jiang

0 at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA, USA). The cells were incubated at 37 C with 5% CO2 in a

RPMI-1640 medium enriched solution with 10% FBS. Dr. Cutler of the University of Mississippi provided the

3-Hydroxyterphenyllin (3-HT). Mice and rabbit primary and secondary antibodies of the proteins of interest were also obtained.

A MTS-based CellTiter 96® Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (Promega) analyzed cell viability of both OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 cells treated with 2 μM, 4 μM, 8 μM, 12 μM and 16 μM of 3-HT.

The percentage of viable cells at each 3-HT concentration was compared to the percentage of viable cells that were not exposed to 3-HT treatment (0 μM).

Cells treated with 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin (0-8 μm) were digested with trypsin and harvested by 1500 rpm centrifugation for 10 minutes. Seventy percent ethanol was added to the cell pellet and maintained at -200C overnight. The cells were washed with PBS and incubated for 15 minutes with 180 μM RNase A at 370C. Each sample was analyzed by flow cytometry fifteen minutes after 50 PI stain had been applied in the dark at 370C

(FACSCalibur system, BD Biosciences). Data was plotted and analyzed by FCS Software (De novo Software,

Los Angeles, CA, USA). This portion of the study was conducted at the flow cytometry lab facility of Dr. Kathy

Brundage of West Virginia University.

Ovarian cancer cells OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 were placed in 60 mm dishes, incubated overnight and treated with different concentrations (0, 2, 4, and 8 μM ) of 3-Hydroxyterphenyllin for 24 hours. Following treatment, cells were gathered and lysed by a (M-PER) Mammalian Protein Extraction Reagent (Pierce,

Rockford, IL) mixed with Halt Protease and Phosphatase Inhibitor Single-Use Cocktail (Pierce).

Various proteins, CDKs and cyclins were selected to determine which restriction points and transition points of the cell cycle are affected by the treatment of 3-HT. A BCA Protein Assay Kit (Thermo, Waltham, MA,

USA) determined total protein concentrations and were used as a reference. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis separated equal amounts of protein. The proteins were transferred onto nitrocellulose membranes and washed with distilled water for ten minutes to remove excess proteins that did not bind completely to the membranes. The membranes were then blocked with 5% non-fat milk in Tris-buffer saline (TBS) solution containing 0.1% Tween-20 for one hour at room temperature before incubation with primary and secondary antibodies. The primary antibodies of various proteins of interest were added to the membranes via pipette and incubated in a fridge overnight. The following day, the membranes were washed for ten minutes with distilled water.

The secondary antibodies were added via wash for two hours with water changes every ten minutes. The antigen-antibody complex was washed with TBST followed by SuperSignal West Dura Extended Duration

Substrate (Pierce), a luminol-based enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) HRP substrate for 15 minutes to develop the protein bands. A myECL Imager (Thermofisher) detected band widths/darkness via chemiluminescent and colorimetric filters. A total of 30 pictures were taken in 900 seconds with the first image taken after ten seconds(interval). NIH ImageJ software analyzed the images taken and quantified the protein bands based on band darkness and thickness to determine gene/protein expression. GAPDH served as the control as the enzyme does not regulate the cell cycle. Dark bands indicated a high expression of gene/protein while light bands signified low expression.

After the pictures were taken, the membranes were washed for ten minutes and stripped for 15 minutes.

The membranes were washed for an additional 20 minutes with the water being replaced every five minutes.

Five percent non-fat milk in Tris-buffer saline (TBS) solution containing 0.1% Tween-20 blocked the membranes again for one hour which allowed different primary antibodies to be added and tested.

All data is presented as mean ± SEM of at least three independent experiments (Figure 1). Statistical analysis was performed by Graphpad Prism software (Graphpad Software, USA) and statistical comparisons were evaluated by a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with a post hoc Newman-Keuls test. Significant differences are reported on the figures with *P＜0.05, **P＜0.01, ***P＜0.001.

RESULTS OVCAR-3

3-Hydroxyterphenylin decreased cell viability of OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 ovarian cancer cells in a c 0 μM 3-HT 2 μM 3-HT concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 between 4 and 8 μM (Figure 2,3). Flow cytometry analysis 1541 928 implied that 3-HT induced S phase cell arrest for OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 cells (Figure 4). As concentration G0/G1 57.92% G0/G1 37.29% S 62.71% Co1156 S 30.80% 696 of metabolite increased, the percentage of cells remaining in S phase increased and the percentage of cells G2/M 11.28% G2/M 0.00% un remaining in G2/M phase decreased (Figure 4 a,c). Western blot 771 464 analysis determined that CyclinB1 and Cdc25A expression t increased with exposure to 3-HT while expression of CDK4, 385 232

CyclinA2, and CyclinE1 decreased (Figure 5). 0 0

Figure 2. Cell Viability of A2780/CP70 vs. 3-HT 4 μM 3-HT 8 μM 3-HT Concentration. Cell Viability of A2780/CP70 cells

decreased with increased 3-HT concentration. 704 762 G0/G1 29.98% G0/G1 27.43%

Co 528 S 70.02% 572 S 71.99% Figure 3. Cell Viability of OVCAR-3 vs. 3-HT Concentration. Cell Viability of OVCAR-3 cells decreased with increased 3-HT concentration.

Figure 4. Distribution of OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70 cells treated with 3-HT in the G0/G1, S and G2/M stages of the cell cycle. a) A2780/CP70 cell population at each phase after 3-HT treatment at 0, 2,4 and 8 μM. b) Bar Graph comparing A2780/CP70 cell population to cell phase at each metabolite concentration. c) Distribution of OVCAR-3 cells exposed to different concentrations of 3-Hydroxyterphenylin. d) Bar Graph comparing OVCAR-3 cell population at each phase for each metabolite concentration.

Figure 5. Comparison of various cyclin and cyclin dependent kinase expression for treated OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP7 0 cells. CyclinB1 and Cdc25A expression increased with exposure to 3-HT while CDK4, CyclinA2, and CyclinE1 decreased.

DISCUSSION

Preliminary MTS assay trials demonstrated the effect of 3-HT on ovarian cancer cell life. The half

maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) quantitatively determined the amount of 3-HT needed to inhibit cell growth by half. The IC50 between 4 to 8 μM for 3-HT is much lower than the kaempferol IC50 of 40 μM from past studies.

This result is significant as a lesser amount of 3-HT is needed to alter progression of the cell cycle for faulty cells.

In this study, progression past S phase was inhibited by decreased levels of cell cycle regulatory protein

CDK4 and CyclinA2 and CyclinE1 and increased levels of Cdc25A and CyclinB1. After examining the distribution of cells, it is believed that the decreased expressed concentration of Cyclin A2 is most influential on the ovarian cancer cell lines as this cyclin is responsible for transitioning from S to G2/M (NCBI, 2017). The large number of cells in the S phase and few cells remaining in the G2/M phase after 3-HT treatment support this conclusion (Figure 4).

Progression through the cell cycle is dependent on various cyclin concentrations that activate CDKs, cyclin-dependent protein kinases. CyclinA2 is a rate limiting cyclin required by dividing cells to transition through G1/S and G2/M (NCBI, 2017). Decreased levels of Cyclin A2 prevents the formation of the CyclinA2-

Cdk2 complex which initiates DNA synthesis and G2/M transition. Cyclin E1, another cyclin with decreased expression after treatment, is also required for the cell cycle G1/S transition. Decreased levels of CyclinE1 results in fewer cells entering S phase. Cyclin-dependent kinase 4, the enzyme with decreased expression, is responsible for the transition at the G1-S phase. Lower levels of CDK4 restricts transition into S phase. Cdc25a is an enzyme responsible for the progression from G1 to the S phase of the cell cycle. Increased levels of

Cdc25a indicate that the cells enter S phase. The transition from G2 phase to mitotic phase is triggered by the activation of the Cyclin B1-dependent Cdc2 kinase. CyclinB1 forms a complex with p34(cdc2) forming maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and regulates G2/M phase transition. (NCBI, 2017).

In the future, studying the effects of 3-HT on ovarian cancer stem cells would be interesting. This study only measured the effects of 3-HT on cancer cell lines. Chemotherapy has the potential to kill most cancer cells, but some cells remain alive which results in a recurrence of cancer. These cancer stem cells are more tolerant to treatments and harder to kill. Thus, it would be neat to determine if 3-HT was just as effective on stem cells as cancer cells and exhibited similar effects on the stem cells.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research grant, NIH Grant 5P20RR016477 and 8P20GM103434 to the West Virginia IDEA Network for Biomedical

Research Excellence. Special thanks to Dr. Chen for the opportunity, Yaomin Wang for his patience and

Brandon Cavanaugh for assisting with trials in my absence.

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INFLUX Table of Contents - Prose Alderson Broaddus University’s Jeremy S. Linaburg: Strengths, Weaknesses, Literary Magazine Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Patrick A. McCombs: On Second Tier Heroes by Makenzie E. Rose the Fringes of Genocide: Buddhism and Tibet

In an interview with George Lucas, Bill Moyers quotes Joseph Campbell, * Makenzie E. Rose: At the saying, “All the great myths, the primitive myths, all the great stories have to Hands of a Book: Politics, Education, and Religion in be regenerated if they’re going to have any impact.” J.K. Rowling, author of Little Women The Harry Potter Series, did just that. Crafting a world of magic and * adventure, following the adventures of Harry Potter and his two best friends, Alexa M. Pigliacampi: The Effects of 3- Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, the ancient epic hero is recreated. The Hydroxyterphenyllin on the cell cycle of ovarian series explores the troubles, trials, and everyday problems the heroes cannot cancer cell lines Ovcar-3 and A2780/CP70 solve by magic. While Harry Potter is considered the “epic hero” of this * series, there are many other characters who qualify as heroes, for without Makenzie E. Rose: Second Tier Heroes (Honors them, Harry Potter would not exist. Seminar Project)

I think I’d Know if My Best Mate Were Here

The little red haired, freckle faced boy poked his head into the compartment.

“Do you mind?” he asked the bespectacled occupant. “Every other one is full. I’m Ron by the way. Ron Weasley.”

And so began one of the strongest and most important friendships in the

Harry Potter series. From that moment on, Ron Weasley is Harry’s “best

mate”. Never leaving Harry’s side, but for a short time, throughout the series, Ron shows loyalty, bravery, love, selflessness, patience, and a protective streak for those he grows to love and admire.

The second youngest of seven children, Ron Weasley knows poverty all too well. But never once does he let that stop him from giving something to someone else. Especially Harry. Growing up in a cupboard under the stairs, with a verbally abusive aunt, uncle, and cousin, Harry doesn’t know what it’s like to have a real family1.

When Ron hears of Harry’s plight, he wastes no time in sharing his large family and his magical home with

Harry. “It’s not much, but it’s home,” he tells Harry of The Burrow in The Chamber of Secrets. Throughout the series, Ron and his family adopt Harry into their many activities: the Quidditch World Cup, Christmas and birthday celebrations, and summer breaks at The Burrow. Ron’s brothers become Harry’s siblings he never had and the youngest Weasley, Ginny, marries Harry after their years at Hogwarts are over. Ron quite literally becomes Harry’s family with that union (The Deathly Hallows) (Goblet of Fire) (The Chamber of Secrets)

(Darby).

In any friendship, relationship or story, loyalty is always good trait for a hero to have. And on the heels of loyalty, comes bravery. It wasn’t easy being best mates with “The Boy Who Lived”. Ron has to face everything from a werewolf to his biggest fear: spiders. One adventure required the boys to venture into the den of Aragog, a giant spider, to solve the mystery of the students being petrified in Hogwarts. While Ron does not at all relish the idea of going into the home of his worst fear, he plucks up his twelve year old courage and accompanies

Harry. Another time, Ron sacrifices himself in a life size (and quite violent) game of Wizard’s chess to clear a path for Harry. Ron could have refused at any moment to help Harry with any of these adventures, but bravery and loyalty to his best friend wins out in the end (The Chamber of Secrets) (The Sorcerer’s Stone) (Darby).

A rather strong point in Ron and Harry’s friendship that really shows how committed Ron is to Harry shows up in The Order of the Phoenix. Harry often has nightmares that causes him to thrash around in his sleep. On one such occasion, Harry saw Mr. Weasley being attacked by a snake. Only, Harry was the snake. Awakened

1 Harry is raised by Muggles, people who possess not a speck of magical abilities. So not only does Harry not know anything about what it is like to have a real family, he also knows nothing of what it is to live in a magical family in a magical house. Ron shares both with him without thinking twice about it.

with a warning for Ron on his lips, Harry finds Ron sitting quietly as the foot of his bed, watching with concern as his best friend is sweating and thrashing around in his sleep. Although it was his father that was in danger,

Ron never leaves Harry’s side, holding him up on their way to see Headmaster Dumbledore. Then while at the hospital, Ron splits his time between checking in on his father and helping his best mate deal with the fear that the dream was all too real (The Order of the Phoenix).

Ron, in his own way, shows a great amount of bravery in every stage of the series. As it progresses, the boys grow a year older with every book. And as is normal, adventures and problems become more challenging. But through every challenge, Ron is there to either save Harry’s skin or to accompany him. Rebellion occurs amongst students at Hogwarts in reaction to The Ministry of Magic trying too hard to control the school. Of course, Harry is in the midst of every problem, but is now becoming cautious about involving those he cares about for fear of them getting hurt or in serious trouble because of him. But Ron immediately jumps in with

“Are you mental? We’re going with you.” He also reminds Harry that friends don’t leave friends behind:

“Maybe you don’t have to do all this by yourself, mate.” When Ron makes his return in The Deathly Hallows, it is to save Harry and retrieve the sword of Gryffindor. And with that sword, Ron faces his own fear of being second best to Harry and destroys the locket horcrux. Ron also follows Harry into the Battle of Hogwarts without question and remembers that the Basilisk fang can be used as weapon (Order of the Phoenix) (The

Deathly Hallows).

Patience is another heroic trait Ron Weasley possesses. At the start of their friendship, Harry knows zilch about magical communities and beings. He didn’t even know he was wizard or that his deceased parents were a witch and a wizard. Even as far as the sixth book and movie (The Half Blood Prince), Ron is still having to explain magical things to Harry. And he does so without complaint. Ron explains what the wizarding version of a story is versus a Muggle story or what Quidditch is and what happens when you break an unbreakable vow spell. Patience is required in any friendship, but even more so for heroes because they sometimes have no idea what is going on around them even though it is all about them (Darby) (Half Blood Prince).

And lastly, Ron Weasley protects those he loves. How many times did he jump to Harry’s defense? More than a reader/watcher could count. And it is not just Harry who is the recipient of Ron’s defenses. Hermione

Granger2, who is Ron’s secret love though the entire series, finds Ron casting spells against others and sacrificing himself in her defense from day one at Hogwarts. As an older brother, Ron is protective of Ginny.

He liked Dean, Ginny’s first boyfriend, until “he had his hands all over my sister.” And when Ginny is snatched into the Chamber of Secrets, Ron doesn’t care about anything other than figuring out how to get Ginny out of there. (The Half Blood Prince) (The Chamber of Secrets) (The Deathly Hallows) (Darby).

Oh, Honestly, Don’t You Two Read?

Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, said, “Young girls are told you have to be the delicate princess. Hermione taught them that they can be the warrior.”

A Muggle born witch, Hermione, is not just the more sensitive female counterpart of the infamous trio, but also the brains of the group. But being friends with Harry and Ron comes with its own amount of bravery.

Hermione portrays her character as it being perfectly acceptable to have big brains, a fair amount of gumption, and a caring side all wrapped into one loveable package.

Hermione is an instant success with the professors because she has an answer for everything. She spends her free time in the library, searching for clues to the puzzles the trio comes across. “Seriously, don’t you people read?” Hermione asks in unbelief when Harry and Ron have no understanding to what should be a simple answer. She is forever fixing Ron’s essays or proof reading Harry’s, telling him what needs corrected. When she’s not covering up the boys’ mistakes in essays, she giving whispered explanations in class because Ron and

Harry are too distracted to pay attention. She unraveled the instructions for a complicated Polyjuice potion, found the secret of the Basilisk and how it was traveling through the castle. She discovered what the sorcerer’s stone was, what it did, and who it originally belonged to. And she saw that Fluffy (Hagrid’s three headed dog)

2 Although Ron and Hermione don’t become an official couple until the very last book of the series, the signs of their affection for each other is sprinkled throughout the whole series and becomes love by the end. Ron jumps to Hermione’s defense as a Muggle born witch more than once. And after their years at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione get married, farther making “the golden trio’s” friendship all that more special.

“was standing on a trapdoor. It’s obviously guarding something.” (Rowling: The Sorcerer’s Stone) (The

Chamber of Secrets) (Bonner).

She understood the significance of the sign of the Deathly Hallows that was hidden in the book left to her by

Dumbledore and was the main planner behind sneaking into the Ministry of Magic. She also explained the significance of the sword of Gryffindor, patiently explaining to Harry that the sword absorbs that which will make it stronger, making it powerful against destroying Horcruxes. And cheers for all the points for earned for

Gryffindor house!

(The Deathly Hallows) (Bonner).

Hermione is also very skilled with spells and jinxes. According to Hagrid, Hogwarts game keeper, “they haven’t invented a spell our Hermione can’ do.” And performing these spells requires a fair amount of courage from her, because the trio is normally in trouble that requires Hermione’s quick wand and mind to get them to safety. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, she is smart enough to save all three of them from the grasping Devil’s Snare.

In The Deathly Hallows, Hermione wipes her parents’ memories to protect them from the grasp of Voldemort should he come looking for her because of her connection to Harry. Ron refuses to leave her behind, reminding

Harry, “We wouldn’t last two days without her!” After patching up Ron’s gashed arm, Hermione casts concealment spells and protective jinxes around herself and the boys, with Ron’s blood still on her hands. In

Part 2 of The Deathly Hallows, she destroys the horcrux cup, disfigures Harry’s face to disguise him, and talks her way of being killed by Bellatrix even when she’s being tortured (Bonner) (The Deathly Hallows) (Rowling:

The Chamber of Secrets) (The Sorcerer’s Stone).

Hermione, while stubborn and smart, is also sensitive. She is the one who is always thinking ahead to the consequences or results of whatever decision the golden trio is making. At the start of their last adventure, she thinks ahead enough to have a bag packed with extra clothes and supplies should they have to vanish at any given moment: “I’ve had all the essentials packed for days. Just in case.” Once the locket horcrux is snatched from Umbridge, Hermione realizes the heaviness it places upon the wearer and makes them all take turns to share the burden. She made Harry’s troubles her own. When Ron is injured while escaping the Ministry,

Hermione is concerned about travel because he is not strong enough. She also acts an emotional buffer between the boys, while hiding her own feelings for Ron as long as she can. She coaches Harry on how to interact with

Cho and reminds Ron that just because he has “the emotional range of a teaspoon” doesn’t mean that other people can’t fall in love. She is very confrontational on this topic: “Pluck up the courage and ask me before someone else does! And not as a last resort!” she eventually orders Ron. And when Harry has the molly grubs because Ginny is dating his classmate, Hermione there with a comforting hug and word of advice (The Deathly

Hallows) (Order of the Phoenix) (Goblet of Fire).

Hermione is also a secret keeper. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, with the permission of Professor McGonagall, she carries the time turner. While it starts out as way for Hermione to cram as many classes as she possibly can into her schedule, it soon becomes a device to save more than one innocent life. “If we manage that without being seen, it’ll be a miracle!” Hermione says once back in time three hours to save Buckbeak the hippogriff and Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black. Much later in the series, Hermione keeps it a secret from Ron that Harry has feelings for Ginny. She knows that Harry does not want to jeopardize his friendship with Ron (Rowling:

The Prisoner of Azkaban) (The Half-blood Prince).

It’s Not Much, But It’s Home

Two parents, seven kids: six boys and one girl. A large house, a father who works endless hours for little pay, but no one goes hungry and there is always room for one more. The Weasley family is the domestic and steady part of Harry’s life. From The Sorcerer’s Stone to The Deathly Hallows, the Weasley’s adopt Harry as one of their own, inviting him to events such as the Quidditch World Cup, a family wedding, and Mrs. Weasley keeps both Harry and Ron stocked with sweaters and fudge during the school term.

Molly Weasley, the epitome of a motherly figure3 with concern over her family’s full stomachs and safety, is not without a backbone. Having mischievous twin boys like Fred and George and another son whose best mate is the boy who lived will do that to a person. While Mr. Weasley wants to warn Harry about any danger that might be coming his way in his fourth year at Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley disagrees: “He’s happy not

3 Mrs. Weasley is described as “a short, plump woman with a very kind face.”

knowing!” she argues. She always welcomes Harry with a warm hug and an enthusiastic greeting such as “Oh,

Harry, lovely to see you!” or “Oh, hello, Harry, dear.” And Molly has a knack for having every kind of wizard known to the magical world in her kitchen. When The Order of the Phoenix takes up residence at number 12

Grimmauld Place, Molly has to feed not only her own large family, but a professor from Hogwarts and the rest of the ragtag group. When they have to relocate to The Burrow, Molly makes sure that everyone has a place to stay and a chair at the table (Rowling: The Prisoner of Azkaban) (The Order of the Phoenix) (The Deathly

Hallows).

The rest of the Weasleys easily sweep Harry into the fold of their close family. Ginny will eventually become more than a sister to Harry. She will become his wife. The twins, Fred and George, provide comic relief for the characters and readers alike. But their pranks sometimes had usefulness in them: extendable ears allowed the kids to eavesdrop on the Order to discover what was happening and a certain display of run rogue fireworks, set in motion a rebellion against detestable Professor Umbridge. Even the oldest Weasley son, Bill, offers sanctuary to those who need it. He and his wife Fleur graciously house the golden trio, a goblin, and an elderly wand maker during the challenging times of Harry, Ron, and Hermione searching for Horcruxes. But one of the most important times with the Weasley family occurs when Mr. Weasley toasts Harry, saying “Without whom,

I would not be here.”4 (The Order of the Phoenix) (The Deathly Hallows).

It’s no secret that Harry is the one that The Ministry of Magic and Voldemort are determined to catch. But this does not deter the Weasley family. They still take him in every summer without batting an eye. Fred,

George, and Ron come to break Harry out of the Dursleys’ house in The Chamber of Secrets. And those same three also become part of “the seven Potters” plan to whisk Harry to safety under the nose of Voldemort.

George loses an ear in the process and this could be looked at as the first major break in the domestic5. So far, no one except for Mr. Weasley has been seriously injured or attacked while sheltering Harry or rebelling against

4 Harry had a nightmare where Mr. Weasley was being attacked by a snake. Only Harry was the snake. Even knowing this, the family still takes Harry in, thankful that both he and Mr. Weasley are safe. 5 Percy Weasley practically disowns his family for a few books because he believes that The Ministry of Magic can do no wrong and he doesn’t agree with Ron being friends with Harry. He will later return for the final battle, bringing a complete, yet fragile form of the domestic back to the epic.

the Ministry. But this was no adult who was injured. George was still a young boy in many ways. The worst break of all for the Weasley family is Fred’s death in The Deathly Hallows. Fighting for a cause that was bigger than Harry, Fred gave his life with “the ghost of his last laugh still etched on his face.” (The Chamber of

Secrets) (The Order of the Phoenix) (Rowling: The Deathly Hallows).

Epics leave nothing the same. People, family dynamics (the domestic), locations, and even time itself, are altered or changed. Harry Potter’s time starts out as a troubling, but the danger is well hidden below the surface.

This changes rapidly as the series progresses, ending with friends no longer living, a castle destroyed, but the faintest glimmer of hope is on the horizon: the enemy was utterly destroyed. It was a time to rebuild. The marriages of Harry to Ginny and Ron to Hermione could be the start of a new era and generation of the domestic. They were rebuilding the Weasley and Potter domestic. Nineteen years later, the golden trio is sending their own children to learn at Hogwarts. They were never the same after the battle of Hogwarts and their children will most likely never the same again after their first term. But Harry’s scar “had not pained” him

“for nineteen years.” As the Hogwarts Express pulled away, bearing students off to new adventures, the golden trio could watch with smiles, knowing “all was well.” (Rowling: The Deathly Hallows).

You Too, Professor

To the students of Hogwarts, whether first year or final year, the professors are more than just teachers. They are protectors, care givers, and house leaders.

From the very beginning of the series, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is concerned for Harry’s safety. He along with two other Hogwarts teachers, leave Harry with the Dursleys’, saying “He will be much better off without all of that.” Even after Harry arrives at Hogwarts, Dumbledore has the students’ safety in mind. With every opening-of-the-school- year speech, he reminds students of the rules and that “I trust you to conduct yourself, always, with the utmost regard for your own and other’s safety.” But while Harry is often getting in trouble6, Dumbledore has a response/defense/explanation that keeps Harry from being expelled until the time

6 Often the trouble Harry gets into is not of his own doing. In The Chamber of Secrets, Harry gets blamed for the magic that Dobby performed. He has to defend himself and his cousin against dementors in The Order of the Phoenix, as just a few examples.

comes for Harry to fulfill his destiny as “The Chosen One”. Dumbledore, knowing that he is slowing dying from a curse, commands Professor Snape to kill in him when the time comes, so that Draco Malfoy7 won’t have to. Dumbledore knows that Voldemort is coming and to protect his students, including Harry, Dumbledore sacrifices himself, greeting death as an old friend (The Sorcerer’s Stone) (The Half-blood Prince) (The Deathly

Hallows).

While he is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore does not exactly discourage students from having adventures. It begins when he gives Harry the invisibility cloak with the caution to “Use it wisely”, knowing fully well that Harry would use it to his advantage. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore advises Hermione,

“I find that retracing my steps helps. Three turns should do it.” He cleverly keeps it to himself that he was the one behind the time travel adventure. Even in The Half-blood Prince, Dumbledore has a younger than his age personality: “And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” (The

Sorcerer’s Stone) (The Prisoner of Azkaban) (Rowling: The Half-blood Prince).

Professor Minerva McGonagall, leader of Gryffindor house, while stern in nature, has a heart of gold that beats for her students. As one of the original magical folk to drop Harry off at the Dursleys’, she voices her concerns about his safety: “I’ve been watching them all day. You couldn’t find two people who are less like us.” And it is Professor McGonagall who writes Harry’s official acceptance into Hogwarts letter, which would be hand delivered by Hagrid. She also rather firmly reminds the other teachers that “Potter is not a piece of meat,” when his name is spewed from the Goblet of Fire. And although “it’s always you three” she awards

Harry and Ron points for Gryffindor “for sheer, dumb luck” (Rowling: The Sorcerer’s Stone) (The Goblet of

Fire) (The Half-blood Prince).

In the final battle at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall casts a spell that she has always wanted to use to shield the school. Her main concern is safety for the students. She knows she cannot defeat Voldemort, but

“That doesn’t mean that we can’t delay him.” She is the first to step forward to defend Harry against Snape’s

7 Draco’s father is a death eater and has forced his son into the same role. Voldemort orders Draco to kill Dumbledore, but Draco is unable to. Being a death eater was not his choosing and it’s only because he fears for his life that he tries to follow the orders of his father and Voldemort.

wand and proceeds to chase her fellow professor out of the castle. She gives students permission to make things go “boom”, knowing all their skills will be put to the test. But she places herself in the danger’s way first, assigning students tasks that will keep them from facing the most dangerous individual until it cannot be helped

(The Deathly Hallows).

Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and keeper of the keys at Hogwarts, is a big part of Harry’s life from the time very beginning to the very end. He whisked baby Harry to the safety of Privet Drive where he met Professors

Dumbledore and McGonagall. “He fell asleep as we was flyin’ over Bristol.” Hagrid says of the sleeping bundle in his arms. And even then, Hagrid’s soft heart is shown as he blubbers like a baby and has to give Harry “a very scratchy, whiskery kiss” before Eleven years later, he would once again, take Harry under his rather large wing, to prepare him for the trip to Hogwarts. But before the trip even begins, Hagrid tells Harry the infamous phrase that would forever change the course of both their lives: “Harry – yer a wizard.” In The Deathly

Hallows, Hagrid once more ushers Harry to safety. From start to finish, Hagrid is a person that Harry trusts and loves. 8 To Harry, “There is no Hogwarts, without you, Hagrid.” (Rowling: The Sorcerer’s Stone) (The Deathly

Hallows).

Professor Severus Snape9 despised Harry from the very moment that the “boy who lived” arrived at

Hogwarts. He takes every opportunity to torture Harry with detention and low grades. But, unbeknownst to

Harry, Snape is working with Dumbledore to protect Harry until it comes time to face Voldemort. Snape accuses the headmaster of raising Harry like a pig for slaughter, protecting him from all harm for the final battle only. Dumbledore comes back with both barrels loaded, demanding if Snape has grown to like the boy. To which Snape summons the patronus of a silver doe, the same as Lily Potter’s10. Quietly Dumbledore asks,

“After all this time?” “Always.” was Snape’s reply. Although Snape might not have liked Harry directly, his love and faithfulness to Lily Potter kept him secretly watching over her son all those years. And he eventually

8 Hagrid carries Harry to Privet Drive and prepares him for his first year at Hogwarts, then six years later, carries Harry’s limp, but still breathing body, to the very place Hagrid had prepared him for so many years before. Hagrid was always taking care of Harry and the “golden trio” by giving them advice, clues, or being the friend that they needed. 9 Snape teaches Potions, but has always wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts positon even though it’s said to be jinxed. 10 Not all Slytherians have never known love. Snape loved Lily Potter and although he despises Harry because he looks and acts so much like his father, he cannot deny that the boy has Lily’s eyes. He feels obligated to protect Harry because he loved Lily so much.

gives his memories (contained in a tear)11 to Harry to show him that all he had done over the years, was really for Harry’s own good. Snape was just never able to tell Harry that directly, but in the end, to Harry, Snape was

“probably the bravest man” he had ever known (The Sorcerer’s Stone) (Rowling: The Deathly Hallows).

Conclusion

A redheaded, freckled boy. The brightest witch of her time. A half-giant professor. A love that will always be remembered. The list goes on and on. While Harry Potter didn’t ask to be famous, he was stuck with that label. But he wouldn’t have been famous had it not been for the many second tier heroes who stepped up to not only be his best friends, but also his caregivers and protectors. While sometimes battered and a little shabby, the second tier heroes of the Harry Potter series show that anyone can be a hero. You are never as broken as you think you are. Sure, you have a couple of scars and a couple of bad memories, but then again all great heroes do.

11 Snape gives more than just his memories to Harry. He gives his life. Once Voldemort discovers Snape’s unfaithfulness to him, he feeds him the snake. But Snape died knowing he had done his duty to Dumbledore, his true master, and to his love Lily.

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INFLUX Alderson Broaddus University’s Literary Magazine

A Special Thank You

Influx’s annual contest in art was judged by Mrs. Carol Del Col, a former professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University and a dear friend to the campus community. Mrs. Del Col was also the faculty advisor for many editions of Influx. Mrs. Del Col is held in such high estimation by Alderson Broaddus’s students that when judges were discussed, her name was first in every conversation! Influx’s annual contest in poetry was judged by Alderson Broaddus alum and former Influx editor-in-chief Emily Porter. Emily Porter is a 2016 graduate of Alderson Broaddus University. She graduated from ABU summa cum laude with majors in English and Journalism & Professional Writing. Emily is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Student Affairs and Higher Education. Emily still writes poetry often (as a hobby, of course), and credits that to Dr. and Mrs. Del Col and their belief in her abilities. The editors extend a special thank you to Emily Porter and Mrs. Carol Del Col and to SGA for contest funding. In order to ensure fairness, all identifying remarks were removed from all submissions prior to being sent to our judges.

Influx is an annual publication of Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, West Virginia. All students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University are welcome to submit poems, short stories, prose, artwork, or photography for consideration. For more information, email [email protected]