Reputed surreal artist and spiritualist visits SC4
Mike Lucas
Guest Writer

A #2 pencil and a box of Cap’n Crunch may prove to be more influential to your professional career than you might think. At least that was the case for Brian Schorn, a successful graphic artist and musician who made a recent visit to SC4’s campus.
In his lecture entitled “In Search of the Philosopher’s Stone” held last Monday, Schorn shared that a simple mail-in artist aptitude test found on the back of a cereal box affirmed his youthful skill in illustration. This affirmation resulted in a lifelong pursuit of arts and the aesthetic, receiving four MFA’s in the course of his studies: Electronic Music & Recording Media at Mills College, Graphic Design at Cranbrook, Creative Writing from Brown, and Photography from U of M. He also attended CCS and studied Pre-Medicine at Oakland.
Schorn captivated his audience with a presentation featuring select works of art that were at times very graphic in nature. He took spectators on a personal journey through his life works, which he related to the Seven Stages of Alchemy in their progression.
His interest in the human body and exploring the unexplored were made apparent in pieces including amputation, decapitation, and studies of gross anatomy. A piece shown entitled “Wisdom Fluxum” included three thousand individual fingernails and his own extracted wisdom teeth.
Mr. Schorn explained that this visceral work both attracts and repels the viewer through display of the raw and tangible aspects of our bodies. In earlier years, Shorn received mixed and sometimes hostile reviews of his work. The pieces, while debatably disturbing were “cooled” and justified by use of medical textbook photography and by maintaining a sense of anatomical accuracy.
Some of his projects developed into performance art, including presentations such as being fully nude and wrapped in plastic while travelling inch by inch across a stage in a worm-like fashion. In another, Schorn invited members of his audience to dip their hands in red paint and punch him in the abdomen as hard as they possibly could. While these acts may seem silly or ostentatious to some, Schorn worked to expand the consciousness of his spectator: to give new meaning to the conventional definition of art, as well as to test the limits of human endurance in the name of personal, societal and artistic introspection.
The following day, SC4 hosted Schorn’s hands-on Surrealist workshop where students learned several abstract art techniques. Schorn discussed more about the origins of Surrealism, spanning from graphical art, to poetry, to literature and psychology.
The workshop turned interactive as Schorn encouraged students to employ their skills and work together to construct “Exquisite Corpses.” These collaborations of art, named after a French parlor game, prompted students to take turns constructing heads, torsos, and legs of figures at random with no planning or forethought. The contributions were then joined to create entirely new figures with components of all types. Such an exercise allowed students to create spontaneously and see the beautifully strange and unanticipated fruits of their labor.
Anthony Petit, an art student participant commented, “I enjoyed this; it was such a thought provoking experience.”
Mr. Schorn’s lecture and workshop took students on a journey through the mind of an influential member of the Surrealist movement and unconventional artist; one who was once in a similar place as we are now as college students.
When asked what words of encouragement he could share to the “starving artist” intending to make a living from his work, he supplied a message of perseverance. “Never get discouraged by society’s unaccepting nature. If you feel swayed, reanimate yourself. You have to make your work no matter what.”

InterVarsity throws community two step
Gregory Garofalo
Lifestyle Editor

Last Friday night, SC4 and the Port Huron community line danced and two stepped their way into the school gym for Intervarsity’s Sweet Country 2 Step.
InterVarsity welcomed SC4 students as well as the public, an open invitation to anyone who had a hankering to learn how to two step.
Nothing but positive reactions came from those who attended:
“It’s been really fun learning a barn dance and line dancing. It’s a cool and different thing to do on a Friday night, you’re not going out to a movie, or the bar, might as well go out and learn how to line dance,” said Sean Hurley, 23.
“It’s good fun to dance with all generations, and have fun with your friends,” said Misha Beverley Geno, 29.
“We just wanted to give students something fun to do while building relationships, leading them to InterVarsity, and hopefully build a relationship with Christ,” said Karly Humes, President of InterVarsity.
“InterVarsity is all about establishing relationships with all students on campus to point them towards Jesus,” Humes explained, “His love and the satisfaction that only a relationship with Him can bring.”
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a Christian campus mission group serving students and faculty on college and University campuses nationwide. Their vision: to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed by investing in students and spreading the love of Christ.
Having roots all the way back to 1887 when a group of young Christian students began to meet at Cambridge University in England.
Despite facing opposition and disapproval from University officials the group continued eventually calling themselves InterVarsity, standing for between college students. Eventually the group caught fire globally and in 1938, InterVarsity groups began to spring up around Canada and a few years later in 1941, The University of Michigan founded the first InterVarsity group in the United States.
Students at SC4 can get involved with InterVarsity via Facebook at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship – SC4. The group meets every Tuesday and Wednesday at 12 p.m. in the AJT building.

What students need to know about winter registration
Jenelle Kalaf
Photo Editor

The crisp air and the soft snow signal the stressful news: winter registration is upon us.
As of Nov. 3, SC4 open registration for the winter semester began and students are off to register as soon as possible to get that one class they need for graduation.
That doesn’t mean they all know what they’re doing while choosing the perfect Monday-Wednesday class schedule. Sometimes a little help goes a long way, and Carrie Bearss, Registrar for St. Clair County Community College, is the women to ask.
“Students who register now through Nov. 28 have no tuition payment required until the final due date of Dec. 12; partial payments are accepted through Dec. 11. Students who register after Nov. 28 are expected to pay tuition charges in full at the time of registration.” Bearss said when commenting on payment. Bearss also mentioned a payment plan available for the winter semester on SC4’s website.
Bearss also said, “Students seeking financial assistance should ensure they have completed the 2014/15 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available online at www.fafsa.gov.” She urges students to look into both internal and external scholarship offerings on the website.
So what about what classes one should take? Asking fellow students who have been on this road before may bring up some valuable information.
Sophomore Soraya Fernandez, 19, said “You should keep in mind where the offices are for registration, what labs fees you need to cover, and look into what professors you may take. It makes a world of difference if you get a professor that’ll suit your needs.”
Bearss advises students to make an appointment with an academic advisor by calling (810) 989-5520 or visiting the Student Services One-stop Center in Room 123 of the Acheson Applied Technology Center during business hours.
“For those students with quick questions,” Bearss said, “there is drop-in availability every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.”