A year ago, Virginia Wesleyan students made a commitment to fulfill the dream of Deonne Jenkins, Demetria Gordon, and their four children. On Saturday, with the help of many others, that dream became a reality as the South Hampton Roads' chapter of the Habitat For Humanity presented the family with a new home. The house, built at cost by Art Heine, is a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home. "There are interesting things that went into this house," Heine said. "Instead of a wood frame, the house was built of Styrofoam blocks . . . and filled with concrete." This procedure was said to have been the reason that the house took so long to build. However, as a result of the advanced technology, heating and air conditioning would cost the Jenkins and Gordon only $18 a month. This is the second house built by the Virginia Wesleyan chapter of Habitat.

"We built this tradition one board, one block, one nail at a time," said project director Beth Webster, "Virginia Wesleyan students put in over 400 hours." Habitat requires what they call "sweat equity" meaning the family themselves must work on the house. "And it wasn't just Mom and Dad working on the house," said David Spinazzolo, President of the South Hampton Roads chapter. "We count good grades at school toward those hours, and I must say, all four of them did a great job!" This is the first year the food bank worked with Habitat, offering a SHARE program, which stands of Self Help and Resource Exchange. In exchange for food for the house, the family must volunteer at the Food Bank. The family was very grateful to everyone who helped out. "I'm so excited it's finally ready," said Gordon. "It took many hours. Thanks to everyone who donated their time -- without them, it wouldn't be possible." Jenkins added, "The only hard part was coming out on cold mornings."

Orenda Aiken, a junior at VWC, didn't mind the work or the weather. "I don't think people realize how rewarding this experience is," she said. The house wasn't quite ready for the family yet. The water needs to be hooked up, aluminum trim has yet to be added, and grass and hedges need to be planted. Those interested in volunteering for Habitat can contact Beth Webster at 466-2689.

Students gathered in a dimly-lit Boyd Center the night of Jan. 20, waving to each other and trying to find seats among friends. A pink spotlight lit up the stage and the Comedy Club came to life with comedian Al Ducharme, followed by former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Victoria Jackson. Ducharme started off the night by commenting on a variety of topics. Girlfriends, Virginia Wesleyan’s security (or lack thereof) and recreating movie scenes to name just a few. He also interacted with the audience.

All the girls went wild as he started to strip. He stopped before getting too far and reminded the audience, "It’s a Christian school." Before Jackson took the stage, girls could be heard in the bathroom commenting on Ducharme’s performance: "He’s funny, and so cute!" Jackson started her performance by standing on her head and reciting a few of her poems. She followed up with songs accompanied by a ukulele and impressions of Jewel, Fran Drescher and Britney Spears. "I had never done impressions before ‘Saturday Night Live,’" said Jackson, who starred on the show for six years.

"I’ve always just played airheads." Now Jackson stars as Patty, a girl with a metal plate in her head, on Comedy Central’s "Strip Mall." Jackson describes it as being "the raunchiest, stupidest show in the world." She agreed to do the show as long as she did not have to swear and in hope of one day being able to have her own sitcom. Jackson refuses to swear because she is Christian and sees no reason to use bad language. She has even been on Politically Incorrect eleven times "defending the Lord." Backstage Jackson admitted that she was a little discouraged by the number of students coming and going during her performance."That’s never happened to me before," she said. "I had to tell myself, ‘Focus, focus.’" Jackson currently has a CD out called "Use Me" which contains many of her bits and ukulele songs and can be ordered from her web site. She also has two children’s albums out called "Ukulele Lady" and "Ukulele Ditties for Itty Bitty Kiddies." A short biography on her and a list of her characters on "Saturday Night Live," films, and club dates can be found at her web site, www.VictoriaJackson.com

It is known that there are few clubs on Virginia Wesleyan’s campus focused on religion. However, this school is founded on the beliefs of John Wesley, who started a Christian revolution in the 1700’s. In years past many have tried to start religious clubs on campus. Three years ago, Fellowship of Christian Athletes was established and continues to be a source of Christian interaction. Now, there is a new organization on campus that is spreading across Wesleyan’s campus. This organization is Virginia Wesleyan HolyFire. Created by Joy D’Amelio, junior, HolyFire was started to extend to students on campus a discussion of the Bible and a time of praise and fellowship. It is a student-led Christian Fellowship that focuses on building real relationships with each other and with a personal God. "My heart is to express the love and freedom there is in having a relationship with Jesus Christ," D’Amelio said. "To me HolyFire is not just the name of a group. . . It is the passion in my heart to share the truth of Jesus with all I meet."

It was thought that the initial turnout was going to be slim and D’Amelio was not even sure if the club would spark interest. A leadership team comprised of sophomores Katie Gunther and Jordan Brown, and freshmen Derek Orem and Dustin Miller, began preparation for the first meeting. After countless flyers, prayers, and verbal advertisement, the worries were soon put to rest. Though there was only the expectation of about ten people coming, in truth over twenty attended. When asked how HolyFire has impacted her life, freshman Heather Kelley responded, "HolyFire has been a positive aspect in a place where there are many negative things." It seems that HolyFire is attempting to do more than just replace negativity on school grounds. Some students feel that it is bringing them closer to God. "HolyFire has helped me with my worship," senior Danielle Brewer said. Sophomore Katie Gunther expressed that "it has provided a place for students to fellowship with other Christians and enhance their spiritual lives."

Some students believe it is a place where they can come and be very real about what God is doing in their lives. Rex Hamaker, a freshman, said "HolyFire is not a group that tries to please everybody. We want to accept truth as absolute instead of tailoring it to our needs." HolyFire appears to have started a mini-revolution that is continuing to spread like a wild fire on this school’s campus and in the lives of students. HolyFire meets Thursday nights in the Chapel at 7:30. Ben Seidl summed it up best. "Holy Fire is a group of students who are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and realize its importance in our everyday lives."