Uganda: University Students
Upset in Quest for Sabbath Rights
he Constitutional Court in Uganda has dismissed an appeal filed by three Adventist students at Makerere University's law school who claimed the institution infringed on their religious rights by requiring them to take exams and attend lectures on the Sabbath, or Saturday.
"The Makerere University policy complained of by the Seventh-day Adventist students was fair and its students, including the petitioners, voluntarily joined the university," the court ruled in late September. The court agreed with assertions that the students could attend other institutions, including Bugema Adventist University.
At the same time, two Adventist students at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania have been suspended over Sabbath issues, church officials report.
Mutuku J. Mutinga, public affairs and religious liberty director for the East-Central Africa Division, says that the Makerere decision will be appealed, and the church will support the students.
"We have a large population of Adventist students in Makerere University," Mutinga, most recently the president of the University of East Africa--Baraton, told the Adventist News Network in a telephone interview. Noting that the students asking for relief were in the law school, he said that other Makerere students "have been able to, through struggles, find solutions to observe [the] Sabbath."
He stressed that since Makerere is a public university, its facilities and schools should be open to all eligible students since their families provide taxes to support the institution. While Adventist colleges and universities exist in East Africa, they do not yet have schools of law, medicine or veterinary medicine, and Adventists who wish to enter these professions must attend other universities.
"Makerere is our university, it's a public university, so no one has a right to say, 'Hey, you don't belong here,'" Mutinga said. "A lot lies at stake. If they lose, then a lot of our students will find themselves in a very difficult situation; they will say 'go to Bugema, go to Baraton, go to whatever.' We don't want that kind of situation."
The Adventist official said that in his earlier academic career similar situations arose at a public university, but a solution was found.
"The University of Nairobi, with 30,000 students, has more than 3,000 Adventist students," he explained. "This is the case with other public universities--there are many Adventist students. They are given consideration. When I was teaching at the University of Nairobi, I had the faculty Senate rule that they should not teach on Sabbath, and there would be no exams."
Mutinga is more hopeful about the situation in Tanzania, where he hopes to meet with the vice chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam soon. --Adventist News Network
McDonald's Australia Buys Veggie Burger
from Adventist Health Foods Company
Sanitarium Health Food Company in Australia recently sold more than 1.8 million vegetarian patties to McDonald's Australia. The Australian restaurant group launched a new "Salads Plus" menu in August that included the vegetarian "burger" option.
"We are delighted that McDonald's has created a range of lighter, healthier food choices and taken the additional step of providing nutrition labeling on products," said Dale Williams, Sanitarium's general manager for business development. "We believe McDonald's has shown a leading example in providing alternative food choices in the quick service restaurant industry."
He says Sanitarium is excited to be involved with McDonald's in bringing nutritious food to the general public. With rising obesity rates in Australia and elsewhere, both firms say they saw a need within the fast food service industry for genuinely healthy alternatives.
Sanitarium has increased production of the veggie burger for McDonald's as a result of higher demand. Sanitarium, whose mission is to improve the community's well-being, is Australia's best-selling health food brand. The company provides services ranging from nutrition advice to giving products free of charge to the community.–Adventist News Network
Web Site Feature Dramatically Increases Bible Studies
In one day, thousands of visitors to www.lifetalk.net, an Adventist web site, were turned away due to an overloaded server. TAGnet (Three Angels Global Networking), the server for Life Talk Radio, went into immediate action and purchased additional equipment to keep pace. In a recent two-week period, 15 requests per second or 5.3 million hits were generated with 406 new students enrolling in the Discover Bible Course.
The increased activity resulted from two 90-second videos on Christ's Second Coming and Creation. Designed by Matthew Brass, a young Adventist in Lenoir City, Tennessee, each one ends with an invitation for Bible studies. The two videos currently bring in scores of new Discover Bible students every day.
During the week of September 7-13, TAGnet logged 388 requests for the videos. By the fourth week on the site, requests had escalated to 584,631, an increase of more than 1500%. Prior to these animations, Life Talk averaged 50 new students each month for online Bible studies. They now enroll more than 50 students each day.
To view the animated videos, visit www.lifetalk.net. Scroll down to click on the box containing the words "It's no secret" or "WHEN is the only secret about it," or "Think You've Had a Busy Week?" (boxes alternate automatically).
News Notes
William Olson, treasurer of the Trans-European Division, was recently elected president of the Alberta Conference in Canada.
Mike Cauley, president of the Pennsylvania Conference, has been elected president of the Florida Conference. He replaces H. Lewis Hendershot.
Dale Galusha, assistant Vice President of Pacific Press Publishing Association, was recently named Vice President for Sales and Ministry.
Andrews University nursing department students recently achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the state nursing boards. This is a significant event because it reflects the new curriculum initiated in the 1999-2000 school year; it is a first for the department in the past 20 years; and, it reflects a group of students with very diverse ethnic backgrounds from different countries.
Seventh-day Adventists throughout Puerto Rico took to the streets on Sabbath, October 4, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of El Centinela magazine on the island. Instead of the normal worship services, thousands of members distributed over 300,000 commemorative El Centinela issues throughout the island beginning at 9:00 a.m., and returned for Sabbath school and church service in the afternoon. The special edition contained articles on education, the home, the history of the magazine, and Seventh-day Adventist beliefs.
For the tenth straight year, Pacific Union College (PUC) placed in the top tier in U.S. News and World Report's annual edition of "America's Best Colleges." The national magazine's 2004 rankings placed PUC as the number two comprehensive college offering bachelor's degrees in California. It also placed PUC in the top 10 among the 14 Western states.
Along with these overall standings, PUC ranks in the top tier for ethnic diversity, best value, student/faculty ratio, low debt ratio, and full-time faculty. Although the most recent America's Best Colleges 2004 edition was published in August, it reflects data from the 2002-2003 school year.
The first baby to be born on Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific in 17 years was born on September 14. Nadine Christian gave birth to a daughter, Emily Rose, in the Pitcairn Island Medical Clinic. Her husband, Randy, is an eighth-generation descendant of Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. Pitcairn is noted for its Adventist community and heritage.
Anne Kimball, Forest Lake, Florida, celebrated her 100th birthday on June 23. Her birthday wish was to ride a motorcycle. A member of the Forest Lake, Florida church made her wish come true, giving her a ride on a 100th anniversary edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Kimball was also presented with 100 roses by the Forest Lake church in recognition of her special day.
Family Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America invites you to attend "From This Day Forward," a one-day marriage tune-up for members and their friends. Five events are scheduled in 2004 at the following locations: Atlanta, Georgia, January 24; New Orleans, Louisiana, March 20; San Diego, California, April 24; Washington, D.C., October 9; Toronto, Ontario, November 6. For registration information, call 1-800-732-7587 or log on to www.plusline.org.
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