The Opera Party: An Inquiry into the Politics of Opera in England during the 17th and 18th Centuries

By investigating research from a number of sources, this paper seeks to provide evidence that opera can be used to communicate political opinions and that it, in fact, has been used to do so in the past. Operas from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in England are the main focus. After a brief explanation of the origins of opera and its arrival in England, the methods and motivations of composers who included political propaganda in their works are discussed. A summary of the political state of England is included to provide background for the dissection of Handel’s Arianna in Creta and Porpora’s Arianna in Nasso which are used to supply specific examples of politics’ role in opera. In light of the history of opera, the methods and intentions of composers, and the political status of Great Britain during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the analysis of these two operas suggests their integration of political propaganda. The author concludes that not every opera is a vehicle for propaganda but that every opera should be carefully evaluated to determine if there is political intent

National Christian College Forensic Association Champions 2025

The Cedarville forensics team garnered 45% of the available points to clinch the national title. Cedarville students earned 13 individual first places during the competition, with several other top three finishes across multiple events. The tournament was held at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. Back Row: Josha Parker, Spicer Wadman, Deidra Hall, Aaron Towner, Issac Piper (Coatesville, Pennsylvania) Middle Row: Zane Enos, Amelia Elkins, Laura Ball, Lilly Deaton (Milan, Indiana), Eliana Boerner (Cincinnati, Ohio) Front Row: Serine Warner (Westerville, Ohio), Kayla Sheaffer, Ellia Torlone (Delaware, Ohio), Noah Hollenbach, Cara Enos (Colorado Springs, Colorado)https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/forensics_trophies/1020/thumbnail.jp

2024-2025 Cheerleaders

Color photograph of a cheerleading teamhttps://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cheerleaders_gallery/1082/thumbnail.jp

The Gift of Transience

In a world where time seems to slip through our fingers, work is focused on celebrating the gift of transience. For many years, I wrestled with the sting of time passing by. Clinging to the paradise of my childhood years, I found comfort in nostalgia, looking back to the good times. Fearing the future, I desperately grasped at every moment in an attempt to capture it before it slipped away. This tiring pursuit continued for years until I brought my frustration to God, and He revealed that I have been in His hand all my life. Just as He had been the artist of every noteworthy moment thus far, so would He continue to paint my days with color. As it is written, “For what He has started, He will finish.” This revelation changed my perspective and inspired my work. Instead of mourning the passage of time, I look boldly ahead, trusting that God\u27s abundance will continually prevail. In the past few years, my main goal has been to cast a wide net in terms of the mediums I use. From painting, to printmaking, to sculpture, I strive to illustrate my impression of the emotional forms within a moment. With slightly exaggerated detail and natural, fluid compositions, I elevate otherwise overlooked features. Through my current works, I aim to convey the spirit of celebration and gratitude I feel toward the gift of fleeting beauty. To achieve this, I have sought to create a balance of precision and play. This is evident in my artistic process, where I prioritize being driven by improvisation and then refining that foundation. My oil and watercolor paintings venture into abstraction, inviting the viewer to experience a memory with me and form a connection of their own. In my Artist Talk titled “The Gift of Transience”, I hope to share my testimony, my artistic process, and my current work

Making the Presidency More Loving: A Simple Way Elections can Represent Democracy

The Constitution of the United States declares that all persons born outside of the country do not possess eligibility to serve as president. The intent behind Article II Section I Clause V was to protect the U.S. from a British born loyalist winning an election and turning the U.S. back to the motherland. The threat of this never occurred and is even further removed now. Citizenship in the U.S. includes blood and land yet, the Supreme Court has never had a case in which they were forced to define what a “natural born citizen” is. There have been disputes between Senator Obama, Senator McClain, Senator Rubio, and Senator Cruz’s place of birth. Most as political mudslinging promoting a culture of division and polarization. The very design of the Constitution gives space to each branch to move and work, since they do not hold sole authority. The checks and balances in place correct the president\u27s actions and character, which applies to those born in the U.S. or abroad. The argument for a Constitutional amendment and the repeal of Article II Section I Clause V outweighs that of the current position. Britain is not in fact a threat to U.S. homogeny. America was birthed out of immigrants who braved the Atlantic and sought new life. One asks the question, can the presidency be more loving? The answer is yes. It can be made to represent 45.3 million immigrants better. The American people want to elect people that truly represent the needs that they possess. It can be made to support one’s neighbor better. This is not a matter of Right vs. Left. Rather, if one is deeply convinced that love for the neighbor stems from dignity found within the imago dei, and they walk around as a reflection and reminder of Christ’s beauty, people’s needs ought to shape change

Volume of a Potential Lake in the Colorado Plateau Basin

The southernmost area of the Colorado Plateau, known as the “Bidahochi Basin,” is a structural depression over much of the Little Colorado River. The basin is primarily bounded by the Mogollon Rim and the Kaibab Uplift and is filled with Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary strata that reflect a lacustrine environment, most notably preserved in the diatremes and maars of the Hopi Buttes. Initially interpreted as remnants of smaller playa-like lakes (~7000 km³), recent discoveries of tufa deposits and shoreline terraces at 1800-2000 m elevations suggest a larger lake. Others have estimated this “Hopi Lake” to have volumes up to 30,000 km³ (Dallegge et al. 2003). Due to its size and proximity to the Grand Canyon, others have hypothesized that this large lake contributed to the carving of the Grand Canyon by catastrophically overflowing the Kaibab Uplift (Austin et al. 2023; Douglass and Gootee 2024). Alternative theories have also been suggested, such as karst piracy (Hill and Polyak 2014) or serial lake spillover models. Given these interpretations, creating a comprehensive map to better analyze the basin is essential. The basin was initially outlined in Google Earth Pro using the polygon tool at the 1860 m contour, providing a rough surface area estimate. All subsequent analyses were performed in ArcGIS Pro. Raster data for the Colorado Plateau was acquired from USGS EarthExplorer and merged into a mosaic. A fitted polygon, created in Google Earth Pro and imported into ArcGIS, was used to trim the raster. This trimmed raster generated 20m elevation contours for the basin. Six key elevations—1600, 1800, 1860, 1950, 2000, and 2100 meters—were selected based on prior research and converted into polygons. Volume calculations for each elevation were made using ArcGIS’s “Surface Volume (3D)” tool. Notable features and Mogollon Rim/Kaibab Uplift gaps were recorded, and relevant geologic map units were included to highlight the basin’s volcanic and lake deposits. Hopi Lake extended much further north than previously thought, reaching from the Grand Canyon’s mouth up to Moab, Utah, at each studied elevation. At elevations above the 1800 m contour, it reached the Uinta Mountains. Additional “basins” appeared in Glen Canyon, Monument Valley, and areas west of Canyonlands National Park. A lake “outlet” also opened north of the Vermillion Cliffs across the Cockscomb (Kaibab Uplift, Utah). At the 1860 m contour, a “shoreline” lies along the Hopi Buttes, and above the 2000 m contour, another outlet occurs north of the San Francisco volcanic field. Volumes for each elevation are shown in Table 1. Our analysis suggests Hopi Lake extended farther north, possibly suggesting a serial lake spillover model. With a volume of ~40,000 km³, it could have catastrophically carved the Grand Canyon, similar to how Lake Missoula (~2600 km3) or Lake Bonneville (~10,000 km³) shaped their respective drainages (Smith 2006; O’Connor et al. 2020). Based on its current elevation, the Hopi Buttes volcanic event may also have contributed to Hopi Lake’s overspill, possibly uplifting and displacing enough water to overtop the Kaibab Uplift. Field investigations at proposed outlets or shorelines could further clarify the lake’s true extent and geologic history. References: Austin S.A., E.W. Holroyd III, T.F. Folks, and N. Loper. 2023. Shoreline transgressive terraces: Tufa-encrusted landforms indicate rapid filling and failure of Hopi Lake, western Bidahochi Basin, northeastern Arizona. In J.H. Whitmore (editor), Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Creationism, pp. 346-362. Cedarville, Ohio: Cedarville University International Conference on Creationism Dallagge T.A., M.H. Ort, W.C. McIntosh. 2003. Mio-Pliocene Chronostratigraphy, Basin Morphology and Paleodrainage Relations Derived From The Bidahochi Formation, Hopi and Navajo Nations, Northeastern Arizona: The Mountain Geologist 40, no. 5:55-82. Douglass J., and B.F. Gootee. 2024. Discovery of beach sand, beachrock, and capping tufa on Balakai Mesa: Implications for the Bidahochi Formation and the overflow origin of the Grand Canyon: Open-File Report 24-02, 9 p. University of Arizona: Arizona Geological Survey. Hill C. A., and V. J. Polyak. 2014. Karst Piracy: A Mechanism for Integrating the Colorado River across the Kaibab Uplift, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. Geosphere 10, no. 4:627–40. DOI: 10.1130/GES00940.1 O’Connor J.E., V.R. Baker, R.B. Waitt, L.N. Smith, C.M. Cannon, D.L. George, R.P. Denlinger. 2020. The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin: Earth-Science Reviews 208, pp. 1-51. DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103181 Smith L.N. 2006. Stratigraphic evidence for multiple drainings of glacial Lake Missoula along the Clark Fork River, Montana, USA. Quaternary Research, no. 66:311-322. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2006.05.009 Appendix: Table 1 Volume data of each contour with Lake Bonneville included. Elevation/Location Volume (km3) C Plateau- 1600 m 10,649 C Plateau- 1800 m 33,656 C Plateau- 1860 m 44,178 C Plateau- 1950 m 62,429 C Plateau- 2000 m 74,393 C Plateau- 2100 m 101,816 Pluvial Lake Bonneville (O’Connor et al. 2020) 10,420 Glacial Lake Missoula (Smith 2006) 2,600 Caspian Sea 78,200 Lake Superior 12,10

Living in Community: Friendship and Hospitality in Martha McMillan’s 1889 Journal

This paper explores the stories of friendship from that characterized the life of Martha McMillan in 1889. The stories reveal the nature of hospitality and community in Cedarville, Ohio, in the 19th century. – Editor’s Summar