Author: Houghton STAR

The student newspaper of Houghton College for more than 100 years.

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor: Rebekah Bunal

Dear Editor,

I have concerns about the man who spoke in chapel this past Friday.  My big question is why did he still want to be identified as a homosexual then even though he doesn’t practice homosexuality?  As Christians when we first accept Christ, we are brand new.  Our past is behind us and we can live a new life with God on our side.  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) states, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  This man doesn’t have to struggle with sin anymore.  God has made him new.  His identity is in Christ.

Galatians 3:25-26 (NLT) strongly proclaims, “And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  I don’t understand why this man wanted to be known by his sin and not be identified as a child of God.  God healed people of their illness, He has fed the 5000, and He most importantly conquered death!  If the man claims he is a follower of Christ, I don’t see why God couldn’t heal him.

This universe is endlessly big.  Our human problems are not impossible for God.  I have heard some people who try consoling say it isn’t successful for this issue.  Matthew 19:26 (NLT) strongly claims, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”  God doesn’t always quickly heal people in an instant.  It can take some time.

We need to be there for people who struggle with this sin.  I don’t hate homosexuals.  I believe we need to pray and love them.  I believe wholeheartedly that God who created this vast universe and who has conquered death can heal homosexuals.  I think this should be Houghton’s new direction with this issue.

By Rebekah Marie Bunal, Class of ’16

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor: Matt Young

Dear Editor,

Last Friday the Chapel speaker was Dr. Wesley Hill, a gay, celibate, Christian. He advocated that Christians who are gay, should live a life of celibacy. He summed up his stance by saying, “I gave up marriage as a commitment to Christ.” He, along with with many members of the Houghton community, believe that God requires celibacy for all who are not hetroxexual. And this is what I have a problem with.

My problem is with belief in a God who supports this view of giving up marriage for Christ.What kind of God creates someone with a sexual attraction that they can NEVER act on? What kind of God expects his children to give up the possibility for the intimate relationship that only a marriage can provide, to abandon and alienate ourselves from a fundamental part of who we are? An evil one! A God not worthy of believing in, let alone following. This is not the God of the Christian narrative. Thankfully, there is another way of relating to that God.

Dr. Hill and others want LGBT people to give up marriage as a commitment to Christ. And I agree that we do need to give up something as a commitment to Christ. But it’s not marriage that needs to go. No, we need to give up God as a commitment to Christ. In order to commit to the loving, graceful, accepting, expansive, humanity-embracing way of Christ, we need to give up that former view of God. The God that creates people with an attraction they can never act on, that expects us to give up the benefits of marriage, that wants us to forsake a fundamental aspect of what makes us human, he has got to go! Thankfully there are other ways of interpreting Scripture, other ways of viewing God. The God who is oppressive, demanding, and asks us to forsake our humanity is not worth our time. So join me in giving him up. Give up God as a commitment to Christ.

Matt Young – Radical Theology Advocate,  Philosophy Major, Class of 2018

 

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International News

Mass Death Sentence in Egypt

An Egyptian court on Monday, February 1st 2015, sentenced 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death. The court proceedings were held over the killing of 11 police officers in the violence that had engulfed Egypt after the 2013 dismissal of the former Islamist president, President Mohammed Morsi.

The attack took place after Egyptian military forces cracked down on Islamist supporters of Morsi in July 2013. Egyptian security forces descended onto two pro-Morsi camps in July and August 2013, killing hundreds.

JoePoyfairAt the end of July and beginning of August 2013, hundreds of demonstrators were killed by Egyptian security forces. The Human Rights Watch said that this mass killing of protesters “probably amounts to crimes against humanity,” thus creating an international outcry that was quickly quieted by the Egyptian government.

The United Nations has called the trials “unprecedented.” Amnesty International’s Deputy Middle East and North Africa Program Director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said in a statement in response to Monday’s verdict.  “The death sentences are yet another example of the bias of the Egyptian criminal justice system.”

Sahraoui further stated that “issuing mass death sentences whenever the case involves the killing of police officers now appears to be near-routine policy, regardless of facts and with no attempt to establish individual responsibility.”

The original trial saw 377 people sentenced to life in prison in absentia, while not present at the event being referred to.  Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said it would be wrong to impose the capital punishment “when there are serious doubts hanging over the fairness of the trial which disregarded international law.”

The Egyptian court did not put 183 individuals to death lightly. The Egyptian government has been attempting to fight against terrorism in Egypt. Muslim extremism has seen an increase in central Egypt in the past decade, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been fighting against these extremists.

Egypt’s current government, led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has called for a ‘religious revolution’ and asked Muslim leaders to help in the fight against extremism. President el-Sisi has launched a war against terrorism, focusing particularly on the countries Sinai region, where an extremist group recently pledged allegiance to ISIS.

In an act of counter extremism, Egyptian authorities cracked down in 2013 on former supporters of Morsi, a longtime member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian government had officially declared a terrorist organization in December 2013

In a speech on New Year’s Day, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for a “religious revolution” in Islam that would displace violent jihad from the center of Muslim discourse. “Is it possible that 1.6 billion people should want to kill the rest of the world’s population, [which] is 7 billion people, so that they themselves may live?” President el-Sisi asked.

“We have to think hard about what we are facing,” President el-Sisi said. “It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire Islamic world to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing, and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible.”

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Opinions

How Houghton Handles Racism

Racism is a problem in America, throughout the world, and yes in Houghton as well. Racism, as I want to simply define it here, is a systemic and sometimes very unintentional devaluing of the lives of people of color. It is not limited to rude remarks; it’s most damaging roots lie in institutions which destroy lives through  denying people of jobs, housing, and freedom. Houghton graduates will have the chance to fight against this sort of racism as they go out into their fields of work- but to do that they must first be educated on it.

Emma.BrittainHoughton has tried to be more intentional when talking about racism in organized discussions. As a student of color, attending these discussions has shown me that even my peers who truly care about racial issues do not know how to approach the discussion. I believe without education everyone is a racist. We are shaped by our society and human nature to believe certain stereotypes. Unless we educate ourselves and try to break harmful patterns of conduct, we will be ensnared by racism.

Frequently in regards to racial issues, I hear Houghton students say “There are no races, I don’t see race.” But if we are not sensitive to race we can’t be intentional about combating racism. Sensitivity is a huge problem for discussions about racism, particularly when the majority of the participants are white. When I was in high school multiple times everyday I was referred to as “Black Emma” or other things that made me constantly aware that as a mixed (Black and White) girl I was an unwanted minority. Not seeing color was a privilege I was unable to have. Both fortunately and unfortunately this isn’t true for the “average Houghton student”; it is good that not everyone experiences racism even though it makes it harder for them to understand the issue.

For Instance, when people at Houghton who lead discussions about race are not themselves people of color, discussion is, once again, difficult. These facilitators are incredibly gracious and  they truly care about people of color, yet they lack the experience of racism and thus lack the high sensitivity toward it. Sometimes as a student of color, I have wished that there was a person of color in administration that I could go talk to about racism. It is uncomfortable for me to go to a white male and try to explain my experiences. Also, when there are deep pains in the Black community at large, the white males in Houghton aren’t entirely tuned in to this. Last school year the student body was told that regular chapel discussions about race would take place. However, I was personally upset this past semester when no such discussion became a reality. I checked on the planning process a few times and I was told they were trying to find a better time to hold them, however, I felt that discussions still should have been held while the future plans were in the works. The lack of discussion makes racism seem like something we only talk about when racial incidents take place, rather than presenting racism in its true light as being a constant problem. When we finally had a campus event to talk about Ferguson I felt like this just furthered the idea that if we talk about these topics a few times, then they will disappear. In reality, these topics impact the daily lives of people across the nation and around the world. When I explained these thoughts to the discussion organizers, they were immediately regretful that their efforts had appeared that way to me. I hope that in the future, race can be a continued conversation at Houghton.

Houghton has done a good job opening these conversations so perhaps someday soon we can have a person of color lead them and white students listen. I say white students in particular because I know many white students feel uncomfortable going to talks about racism, especially with the fear of being called racists. This is something we as a community can easily get over to move forward in changing the world- one Houghton graduate at a time.

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor Issue 12

Dear Editor,

I was disappointed with the news article “Riots in Ferguson Cause Unrest” in the last [Dec. 5, 2014] issue. It was unfortunately biased. The title starts out the piece with a questionable cause and effect relationship. Doesn’t unrest cause riots? I think it’s safe to assume that the unrest was there long before the riots. Or better yet, we need not try to mention any solid cause and effect relationship. A much better title could have been chosen.

Regardless, as the article continues it severely undermines the voice of the protesters. Calling the shooting of Mike Brown a “not so ordinary incident” expresses bias because a major aspect of the controversy surrounding this case is that it is believed that this is not a rare occurrence. Then, it is implied that all the protests were violent and the article fails to truly explain why the protests even occur upon first mentioning them. Then the account of the event, although it is mentioned as being debatable, is given from the final court decision, ignoring the voice of the protesters and their slogan “Hands up don’t shoot.” While you can say the evidence seems to support the side given —  it is important to explain why the protesters are protesting by representing their point of view especially as they responded before the court case and release of evidence.

Towards the end of the article the questions surrounding racism are finally brought to attention, but with some false conclusions. After the paragraph of quotes from President Obama about the “legacy of racial discrimination” it is said “these statements reflect the facts that Ferguson County consists of predominantly black communities”. The quotes used do not reflect that at all. Other assumptions are made that had just as little obvious correlation.

Overall the article was a disservice to the Houghton community. Many of the students here have not been following the Ferguson case or any others, and it is difficult for them to understand the complexity of Ferguson through this article. Some fine tuning could make this article much more informative.

Thank You,

Emma Brittain

Class of 2016

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor Issue 12

Dear Editor,

Regarding last [Dec. 5, 2014] week’s letters, it seems that Ms. Wool, class of ’16, and Mr. Oliver, class of ’15, can’t see the whole point of the new napkin policy.  Neither did I at first.  But, it is fully explained for all to see on the new, snazzy, dispensers:  “Better for you” they proclaim in bold print.  Smaller, yet still quite legible for those who can read: “One napkin at a time means better health.”

Get it?  Please remember it when I wipe my hands on the back of your shirt.

Carlton Fisher

No class at all.

 

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I am writing about the new napkin arrangement in the cafeteria. Recently Sodexo has snatched away our napkin dispensers and replaced them with more centralized napkin holders. Students no longer have access to napkins while at their tables, and must leave their food and friends to venture out for a measly napkin. As a result many students have begun to “silently protest” the new arrangement by snagging as many napkins from the holders as possible – whether they use them or not. This has led to significant waste of napkins and time. Another issue that the new arrangement has made is students often forget to grab napkins for their meal and must make, yet another, trip to the food lines in order to grab them. The problem is aggravated by the smaller plates that cause food to spill off the edges. This has created another issue altogether – finding a table clean of scraps. It is a shame that the new napkin arrangement has overshadowed the recent good changes that Sodexo has made. My request for Sodexo is simple; please bring back the napkin dispensers.

Bradley Oliver

Class of ’15

 

Categories
Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

This napkin fiasco is absolutely disappointing and disconcerting. It is frustrating that Sodexo would make such a fundamental change without even attempting to see how the Houghton community would react. While it is understandable, and even admirable, that our “food” provider is attempting to use less and conserve resources, getting rid of table-by-table napkin dispensers is not the best way to go about it. While I can appreciate the effort of trying to use less, I have seen innumerable students partaking in the usual meals, with stacks of unused napkins resting on their tables, or being sent into the dish room because everyone at the table brings a small stack of napkins, not knowing what disastrous spillage may occur. Especially considering Sodexo deemed it acceptable to completely throw away all of the table dispensers. Now, each one of the dispensers has a retail value of about $10, and let’s say there are 50 tables in the cafeteria (a modestly low estimate), that’s a solid $500 quite literally in the trash.  Could we not have donated them to a community organization, at the very least? Ironically, this has all come to light in the midst of the Eco Rep’s waste awareness week, a week dedicated to making the campus aware of exactly how much we’re wasting on a week to week basis.  I’m so glad we have Sodexo as such a wonderful example of what waste looks like.

Liana Wool

Class of ’16

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Stories In Focus

Michael Carpenter and Friends Perform in Java

Michael Carpenter and friends perform in the Java Coffeehouse. Michael Carpenter, Annie Hassen, and Hunter Gregory perform a mock cover of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars while holding ukuleles. Each song Carpenter played featured one or more of his friends.

Anthony Burdo-MichaelCarpenter and friends coffeehouse CMYK

 

Categories
Arts

Anchorage

Anchorage played in the Java coffeehouse Tuesday night, and covered a variety of songs by numerous artists. Members of the band include: Hannah Henry, Garren Barna, Josiah Bonifas,
Anthony Burdo and Jon Eckendorf.

Anchorage Coffeehouse1