Category: Opinions

Last week, President Mullen gave a chapel talk about how the Houghton community needs to work together to ensure that all students who attend school here feel at home. Her words are very true; however, I can tell you for certain that we are not currently doing that for queer students on campus. If the Houghton community is to truly take President Mullen’s words to heart, we need to re-evaluate our attitude towards students who are in the LGBTQ community.

Last semester, two other students and I conducted a survey of 185 students on campus for a Social Psychology project. The premise of the project was to address a problem Houghton students face; the problem we chose to address was Houghton students’ poor attitude towards the LGBTQ community.

In order to get a baseline and to see if attitudes toward queer public displays of affection differed from attitudes towards heterosexual public displays of affection, we asked about PDA twice: once at the beginning of the survey for “normal” straight couples and once at the end of the survey for LGBTQ couples. The survey measured how appropriate the subjects felt casual displays of affection were on a scale from one (completely inappropriate) to nine (completely appropriate) and how appropriate subjects felt intimate displays of affection were on the same scale. The data from the question on casual displays of affection showed a mean of 7.7 for straight couples and a mean of 5.6 for LGBTQ couples, which indicated that students generally felt more comfortable with casual displays of affection from straight couples. This trend was also seen in attitudes towards intimate displays of affection from straight couples as opposed to LGBTQ couples: the means for this question were 5.2 and 4, respectively. Overall, the students surveyed felt that public displays of affection were more appropriate coming from heterosexual couples.

When we asked on a scale from one (absolutely not) to nine (absolutely) if students felt that LGBTQ marriages should be legal, the average result was fairly in the middle at 5.5; however, this was leaning toward the affirmative as the mode (most frequent answer) was 9. When we asked on a scale from one (absolutely not) to nine (absolutely) if students felt that transgender and nonbinary people should be allowed to use the bathrooms they prefer, the average result was fairly in the middle at 4.8; however, this was leaning toward the negative as the mode was 1. Furthermore, an astounding 17.8% of the population was either unsure or did not believe that people in the LGBTQ community could be Christian. Further, some people wrote comments about how those who are sinners cannot be Christian or a part of the Church.

Queer students come to Houghton because they have a desire to be a part of a thriving Christian community of learning. They want to find a home in Christ here, but the Houghton community’s current attitude as shown by this research does not fully reflect the love of Jesus or the home President Mullen talked about. Every single one of us has fallen short of the glory of God and even if you believe queer relationships are sinful, you cannot biblically say that the sin of being in the LGBTQ community is somehow worse than any of your own sins. Queer people are a part of the body of Christ just like anyone else here and our attitude towards them should reflect that.

So how can we work on changing this attitude of exclusion and hate toward queer students at Houghton? To those of you who are LGBTQ affirming or accepting, I ask that you be loud and outspoken about your beliefs. To the administration, I want to remind you that you have a lot of influence as authority figures. To all of the Houghton community, I ask that you try to regularly interact with someone who is in the LGBTQ community. Our survey showed that 92.4% of the students surveyed said they knew someone who was queer, but only 69.7% of the population said that they regularly interacted with and talked to people in the LGBTQ community. Talk with them, befriend them, and hear their stories. Above all, let us create a home here. Let us remember that the greatest of these will always be love.

Hope is a sophomore majoring in psychology.

On the way back from the holiday, I listened with bemused horror to an episode of Radiolab in which host Simon Adler interviewed a technologist from the University of Washington’s GRAIL (Graphics and Imaging Laboratory) who heads a team in charge of developing facial mapping software. In several years, her team hopes allow users to accurately project their expressions onto another person’s features.

The discussion is chilling. “I just think maybe America isn’t ready for this technology,” Adler says, pointing out just how easily it could be used to blast propaganda across the globe.

“When every technology is developed, there is this danger,” the developer replied. “Scientists are doing their job and showing off. We all need to think about the next steps…but I’m just a technologist. I’m a computer scientist.” She began to stutter. “There is not…not worried…too much.”

In “The Question Concerning Technology,” Heidegger worried that modern technology would “challenge” nature rather than “bring it forth.” In other words, he believed that future tech would focus less on bringing out the truths discerned in nature and more on demanding it fulfil our needs and desires. Everything, from trees and air to human voices and faces, must be manipulated for profit and pleasure. Heidegger envisioned an outlook that could only “reveal” truth by parsing, simplifying, and mastering nature.

In a way, what he feared most was modern technology’s neutrality, which can transform cornfields to food factories and mountains to mines—in the same way that the GRAIL program uses human faces and voices as raw materials to formulate destructive or peaceful messages.

Heidegger was writing about the atomic bomb, but the modern tech world has achieved an complexity (and absurdity) that he couldn’t have imagined. Remember when Google’s photo categorization programs catalogued African-American women as “gorillas”? When Flickr’s algorithms tagged images of Dachau as “jungle gyms”? It’s only going to get weirder from here.

Innovators and consumers alike, however, refuse to shoulder ethical responsibility for these issues. “It’s the consumer’s task to use this ethically,” the developer says, with confidence. Beguiled by the new technology’s potential, consumers quiet any moral objections by assuming the developers “already thought of that.” Both absolve themselves of responsibility. And now that the technology exists, we feel obligated to use it, as if abstention would be a waste.  

In a sectarian atmosphere, everything neutral feels positive. When we insist that technology’s amorality is a good thing, we dismiss valid concerns about the way its neutrality changes our own perspective and delude ourselves about exactly why technology can be so harmful.

“The threat to man does not come in the first instance from the potentially lethal machines and apparatus of technology,” Heidegger wrote. “The actual threat has already afflicted man in his essence. The rule of enframing threatens man.” We do not need to worry about racist AIs, automated factories, or killer robots (well, okay, maybe that one) as much as we need to worry that modern technology’s amorality—its inability to discriminate, assign value, and judge between things—encourages that tendency in ourselves too.

Technology is designed to replace human processes, but is almost never held to the same standards as the humans they replaced. Maybe we are just tired of holding each other accountable for our hurtful presumptions, classist biases, or unwillingness to respect others. How convenient that technological advances can allow us to stop even trying!

When I evaluate a new technological advance, my first question will always be this one: how easily or quickly could this create a damaging framework for humans to live? The GRAIL software, for instance, is troubling on this account. Will it prompt us to view the sacred human body and voice as elements to be manipulated or used however we choose?

As technology progresses further, asking this question will only become more complex—and more crucial. But we must not content ourselves with philosophical debates. We should also be willing to give actual answers, draw definite lines of morality, and have the courage to say “this far, and no further.”

This isn’t just about impossibly complicated facial simulators, but all the technologies that we sanction with our attention and money. We need to do better. Maybe that means doing less.

Carina is a senior majoring in writing and communication.

“Honestly, I feel like everybody’s feeling kinda lost, and everybody knows it- but nobody takes the time to talk.” -Gnash

At five years old, I was asking silly questions like ‘Why is the sky blue?” or “Where do we come from?” Flash forward another five years, and I was asking questions like “If I don’t have a birthday party, how will I know I’m growing up?” When I was fourteen, I was trying to figure out if the cute boy in math class liked me back. At sixteen years old I was bawling at my high school graduation, asking my friends questions like “We’re going to stay in touch forever and ever, right?” and “What on earth are we supposed to do with our lives now?” A month before my eighteenth birthday, I experienced my first heartbreak. Questions like “Why wasn’t I good enough?” and “Are all boys jerks?” were constantly hurled at God and everyone around me. Now at eighteen and a half, I find myself just a little lost.

As we grow older, I feel like our curiosity dims. We let other stressors in our mind. Responsibilities take over. We’re at that age where everything kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn’t. We’re old enough to have an idea of what the real world is like, yet we’re too young to truly understand. We say we know how to adult–but do we actually? Things that used to be the center of our attention are now pushed to the archives of our mind. We all act like we have everything together because in the outside world it’s a common belief that in order to be viewed and respected as a high-functioning adult, we have to be organized all the time. But we don’t. Sharing our questions with others is a healthy process that shapes our growth and strengthens our relationships with those around us.

Questions are a sign of human interest. They help us create connections. We might ask, “How’s your mom doing?”, “What kind of music do you like listening to?”, or “Do you have any pets?”. These are all questions that show that we care. Sometimes we ask them, sometimes we don’t. There are many reasons that we might fail to ask these questions, and often it is as simple as preoccupation. Sometimes, we may ask these questions as a way to pass the time rather than out of interest. Either way, I think that these are questions that are worth asking. The answers to these questions matter to someone. You may not think it at first, but they matter to you too.

Most people aren’t just going to walk up to you and ask you for help. Sometimes, you have to offer it to them. Sometimes, you’re going to be on the other end, asking for help.  Asking for help isn’t easy, nor is offering.  You may worry about how asking questions makes you appear to others, but asking those questions could save someone’s life. It doesn’t take much at all–offering a kind smile, a simple hello, or a listening ear is a start. Once a relationship has been established, you may be able to offer honest words of encouragement. Too often we underestimate the power of even the littlest gesture of kindness–but each of these has so much potential to turn a life around.

Be the light in someone’s life. Lift each other up, help each other grow. Help yourself and the people around you. Ask the questions, because we’re all just a little confused. Everyone’s fighting their own fight.

What this world needs is a big group hug, so dear reader–let’s start forming the circle, because guess what? We’re all just a lost bunch of kids trying to find our place in this big, crazy, slightly intimidating world.

Celine is a sophomore majoring in psychology and political science.

I find that in the Christian community, toxic relationships can be more conflicting to manage than in other communities. These types of relationships can be with anyone: a close friend, a romantic partner, or a family member.  We’re familiar with the importance of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, even at their most unlovable. We’re familiar with the importance of mercy and second chances. Consequently, choosing to remove someone’s presence from your life comes with a lot of guilt.

It’s easy to equate forgiveness with reconciliation; however, I think it’s important to distinguish one from the other.  

Forgiveness is an inward discipline of mind, heart, and soul.  It’s refusing to allow your thoughts and actions to be controlled by hate or vengeance. Most importantly, the Bible warns us not to set limits on how many times someone can earn our forgiveness. When Peter asks how many times he should forgive someone who continually hurts him, Jesus replies, “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times”. (Matthew:21-22) Even as the 76th offense leaves its sting, we are called to set aside our frustration and react with grace.

Reconciliation, however, takes two people. In order to re-enter into a previously harmful relationship, the relationship needs to be reconstructed to support each person’s needs. That part requires both people’s cooperation and effort.  

While reconciliation requires forgiveness, forgiveness does not necessitate reconciliation.  Your capacity to forgive does not depend on anyone or anything but the grace of God. You do not require another person’s cooperation to forgive them.

You do require another person’s cooperation if reconciliation is to take place. If a toxic relationship cannot undergo this transformation, then resuming the relationship may cause even greater damage. I’m not encouraging you to spontaneously give up on someone who relies on you. Relationships take hard work, and any relationship with history deserves time, conversation, and attempts to identify and heal the broken parts.  

But forgiveness is not just existing in a relationship that continues to cause harm. If the relationship continues to cycle through the same problems without change, it will only serve to fuel contempt.  Forgiveness does not require you to accept the role of the victim.  You can continue practicing forgiveness without subjecting yourself to the same abuse.  You don’t need your offender’s approval to forgive them; sometimes the most powerful form of forgiveness occurs when it is done silently and without declaration or approval.

Residual resentment is nearly unavoidable after a relational breakup.  Forgiveness becomes extra important when reconciliation is not possible.  Forgiveness means replacing that resentment with a prayer for that person when you bump into them.  Forgiveness is protecting the reputation of someone who has hurt you by being mindful of how you talk about them.  Forgiveness is surrendering vengeful thoughts to God with trust in His control of the situation.

So, work hard at your relationships. Reconciliation is not a one-way street, so if you’re asking for change, be willing to make your own changes. But ultimately, do not let yourself be so consumed by a relationship that you cannot focus on edifying pursuits and people.  Invest in those who push you closer to Jesus rather than compromise your pursuit of Him.

Brianna is a junior majoring in business administration and communication.

In general, I think most people would say they want to live a happy life. However, most of the people I talk to on a day-to-day basis don’t really give me the impression that they’re living a life of happiness. Popular answers to the question, “How are you doing?” include “I’m stressed,” and, perhaps even more frequently, “I feel like death.” Now I’m not talking about people who are experiencing extreme suffering, just ordinary, relatively decent life. People can easily say what’s wrong in their life, and how they wish things were, but rarely do people enumerate to me all of the happiness they are experiencing.

We all have these ideas about what will make us happy. We think, if only I can get an A in this class, if only I can get this cute guy to notice me, if only my roommate will stop making such a racket at night when I’m asleep, then I will be happy. But, in my experience, even when these things are realized, I’m not perfectly satisfied. Once one goal is met, I can immediately fix my mind on something else that I simply must have in order to be happy. The fact of the matter is we could go on like this forever without ever allowing ourselves to be happy in the present.

While it’s good and important to have hopes and goals, I think we need to focus a little more on all the good things that are happening in the present. When we recognize that things don’t have to be perfect, and what we have now really is good, then we can have joy.

I think some of our wrong conceptions about happiness come across even in our language about it. We place our happiness on external things that happen to us, rather than our internal state. We say, “It’s snowing outside and that makes me happy,” as though it is the snow that forces us to be happy, and not our choice to respond to the snow in a positive way.

There was a Greek Stoic philosopher named Epictetus, who held that we should only let our feelings be affected by things that we can control. He said we should, “Demand not that things happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will go on well.” If we recognize that the way our life is going is good, and decide that we are satisfied with it, then we will be much happier.

This idea ties in with something I started doing a few years ago. I’m terrible at making decisions—the knowledge that I could miss out on something good by choosing the other cripples me. And then, when what I choose isn’t perfect, it’s easy for me to imagine how good the other option could have been, and idealize a reality that doesn’t exist. So, I resolved that whatever decision I made I would decide to be happy with it. Even if it wasn’t everything I might have hoped, I would recognize the goodness in it and be happy.

Sometimes all we must do to be happy is recognize that our feelings are our own. We don’t have to let ourselves be buffeted by things that happen to us. Of course, you will be affected by things that happen in your life, but you have control over how much you react, and in what way. You don’t have to go out searching for the illusive thing that is “happiness,” because the tools to make it are already in your hands.

Ally is a first-year student majoring in English and math.

Tragedies are a time to come together. The shock that comes with senseless loss of life demands that we speak – that we console one another and affirm the lives of those around us as we mourn those which have so suddenly ended. On November 5, posters handwritten in Sharpie appeared on doors around Houghton’s campus:

“In Memory of those lost Today in Sutherland Springs, Texas, may you all Rest in Peace.”

Students are shaken after a tragedy – afraid for their friends and family near to acts of brutality, and heartbroken that someone would bring such hatred to a place where people celebrated their deeply held identity. The simple message written out on printer paper was a comfort to students going through their day in a haze, and students organized a prayer meeting in the campus center, pulling one another close in solidarity amid confusing and violent circumstances. This is the power of the Church, one body which feels in unison and comforts in unison.

Some people, however, have found themselves on the outside of this embrace. Even students who have dedicated their youth to the church, who have committed their college years to Christian institutions, and have given themselves in trust to the communities which promise them the love of God may feel that this love is conditional.

Secular students, religious minorities, and queer Christian students here have been met with a question when they ask for acceptance: “Why did you even come here if you’re like that? You knew what you were getting into.”

As though they should expect marginalization as a matter of course at a place built on Christ.

Our college years are times of upheaval and change. Many young people are free for the first time to examine their faith and identity without pressures from their families. It’s a time to finally explore truth beyond the force of tradition or the threat of punishment. Why would students who don’t fit the evangelical template come to Houghton College?

Maybe it’s because they were never given a chance to realize their differences until now. Maybe it’s because they gave all they had to the Church, and had nowhere else to go. Maybe it’s because they expected a welcome at a place advertising God’s love.

A loud sector of students make it clear who is welcome here: “I’m uncomfortable on a campus that tolerates the presence of sin,” one of several loud students proclaimed during an SGA forum last fall, describing the way he saw the presence of the LGBTQ+ community as a dark cloud of evil. Anonymous messages left on campus have seconded such sentiments: a declaration on a whiteboard that being gay is “heresy;” an ominous statement on the sidewalk in Hebrew, translating “your days are numbered;” and, a classic, the succinct but expressive “fag.”

Worship is an integral part of Houghton culture, a major bonding force among students and a chance to serve and bless one another. Queer students have been stripped of their positions in prayer and music ministries after coming out, solely because they would not renounce their identity. The college apparently sanctions this discrimination, and has added RA to the list of service positions which gay students in relationships are unfit to hold here.

This is the world queer students live in. This is their harsh reality – one where their place here at Houghton, and among their churches and communities, is constantly on trial.

The way that we respond to tragedy is one of the ways our values show most clearly. And on the heels of the most recent in a seemingly endless procession of painful episodes, I can’t help but think of the stories of these students and their questions.

We responded in the right way, the only Christian way, to the tragedy in Sutherland Springs. We came together in love and we prayed, we mourned, and we comforted one another as a family.

When will we do anything but debate the worth of the students who are, truly, the most vulnerable students in the world of American Christianity? Will we stand up and affirm that these lives matter just as much as those of straight theology majors and the rest who fit the evangelical mold?

It’s time, don’t you think, to take to heart the words Houghton carved in stone on her walls: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.”

Let’s embrace all of those among us who are hurt. We can do it. There’s room at the table, there’s room in our prayers, and there’s room in the heart of Christ.

It’s time to make room, now, in our own hearts – and to live the compassion of the God we love.

Eli is a sophomore majoring in communication with a concentration in media arts and visual communication.

There is something inherently human about an apology. The ability to feel remorse for an action and then to take blame for what has been done cannot be found in any other living organism. Humans are naturally empathetic creatures. It is good for us to practice apologizing because it builds empathy within us, making us more and more human with each wrongdoing.

As beautiful as I’d like to think apologies are, they make us vulnerable to critique. No one likes critique. We like to hear about our successes and how we’ve made a positive difference in someone’s life. Criticisms never portray us in the best light. They point out the ever-present knowledge that we are not always right.

The only way for us to build empathy when we have hurt someone is to look them in the face and see the damage done. We have to deal with the very real consequences of our mistakes and see the wreckage we’ve left behind.

The empathy-building miracle drug that is a genuine apology can only do its work in us when it happens in person. I don’t think you can fully accept responsibility or understand the weight of your actions if you send it through Facebook or Gmail. Sure, the person you’re apologizing to may feel resolved after you sent them an “I’m sorry” text, but I am not totally convinced that anything will have changed in you. That’s not to say that you won’t feel terrible about what you’ve done if you offer a digital apology.

I experienced this myself last fall, when I snapped at a fellow Resident Assistant. I was calloused and cruel, and to make matters worse, I snapped at him in front of his residents. That night, I apologized over Facebook Messenger because I felt awful about what I said. Upon receiving my apology, he felt resolved and we moved on. What’s the problem with that?

I didn’t have to fully deal with the consequences of hurting my friend. I didn’t know whether or not he cried thinking about what I had done and there was no way for me to understand the depth of what I made him feel.

Additionally, there was no way for him to gauge the depth of sincerity in my apology. I would imagine it must have been more difficult for him to rebuild the trust he had in me.

Social media removes a human element from our conversations with others. We cannot see how our actions are directly impacting those around us, and because of that, it’s easier for us to move on without considering the other person going forward. On top of that, we can edit paragraphs of text to remove every stutter, hesitation, and misunderstanding until we sound as faultless as possible. This is counterproductive because the entire point of an apology is to accept and admit fault!

When I sent a message to communicate my remorse, I didn’t have to console my friend or confront the reality of the hurt that he felt. It was quick, convenient, and easy to address. Since when do those adjectives describe a healthy relationship?

Relationships are more complicated than sending out paragraphs of text-based emotion. Emotions are more complicated than reducing them to a 120-character response. You cannot simplify these complex human interactions to make yourself feel safer, especially when you are in the wrong.

If we can hurt people in-person, we better have the guts to reconcile in-person. Most of us have been guilty of avoiding apologizing in person, but moving forward, we need to do better. If we can claim to be a close-knit Christian community, we need to act as if that were true.

We owe it to each other and to ourselves to strengthen our empathy muscles and hurt with those we’ve hurt. We can even start today with an apology to those we’ve texted “I’m sorry”– and this time, it better be face-to-face.

Joe is a senior majoring in Communication with a concentration in media arts and visual communication.

The leaves are falling, the air has that crisp chill to it, and people are beginning to plan their breaks. This can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving season is here. Thanksgiving is a great holiday full of family time, stomach enlargement, and tryptophan hazes that we Americans just can’t seem to get enough of. But there is another thing that this holiday contains, which our culture seems to lack in great quantities: thankfulness.

One of my least favorite phrases thrown around during the Thanksgiving season is “have a thankful heart.” This isn’t because I think having a “thankful heart” (whatever that means) is bad; I think we should always be thankful for what God has given us. The reason I don’t like this saying is because it completely ignores thankfulness and appreciation as they should be.

Let me explain. We live on a campus where everyone is talented in one way or another. We have CAB members, RAs, writers, musicians, preachers, videographers, artists, and many more than can be listed here. The student body participates in coffeehouses, discussions, and performances, which doesn’t even begin to cover the accomplishments of our students. Still, I see a self-confidence problem on campus. So many of my friends with these amazing talents tell me that they have a hard time finding self-worth, and that they end up comparing themselves to others.

This is where having a “thankful heart” doesn’t cut it. Many of us just assume that others know their self-worth, and thus avoid telling them how much we appreciate the things they do. But how can others know that what they’re doing is good if we haven’t told them? How will people be encouraged to continue in what they’re passionate about when all we do is consume what they produce, then walk away? When we live life only thankful for the things God has given us personally, rather than the people, it takes away from the lives of others and from our own lives. Our friends end up feeling as though their contributions don’t matter, and that is a disservice to the wonderful people who surround us.

If you think about it, this kind of thankfulness is even scripturally based. We know we are made in God’s image, and that we are each given differing spiritual gifts. Thanking another person for their contributions to a party, a performance, or even just our friendships and relationships is like telling God that He has blessed you abundantly. He has not only given you the ability to enjoy your own gifts, but to enjoy the gifts that He has given others as well.

In fact, there’s even a verse about this sort of thing. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes to the church in Corinth and tells them not to compare themselves to others. He says that each spiritual gift that God has given them is valuable in its own way, and rather than desiring someone else’s gift, we should appreciate our own, as well as those of others. Paul says that “the parts should have equal concern for each other” in verse 25, and I have to believe that this refers to gratitude for one another as well.

So this Thanksgiving, while you’re sitting around the table saying what you’re thankful for, it’s not bad to be thankful for the nice things you have. But while you’re at it, consider who is sitting at the table around you. They all have gifts and talents that you wouldn’t dream of having, which is a real cause to celebrate. Their uniqueness and hard work in their respective interests allows you to have a greater quality of life, and that is a gift to be thankful for.

Tyger is a junior majoring in inclusive adolescence education and English.