Category: Opinions

Categories
Opinions

Stress, Rest, and Sabbath

By Christian Welker

A new semester has begun with all the stresses and anxieties we have come to expect, from the first-year students who are still learning about college life to the seniors who are starting their long sprint to the finish line, looking so near and yet so far at the same time.

Rest assured, this will not be a “Just give it to God” article. The Sparrows and Lillies don’t have a German test in an hour or a concert a week from today.

I firmly believe that the Lord is and always will be the ultimate source of peace for his children. However, I’m also willing to admit that in places like this, it often feels as though the very act of giving up your stress to God is a requirement that brings its own anxieties. It’s hard to lean on the peace of God while counting how many Around the Tables you still need to go to, or dragging yourself out of bed to get to church on the one day you would have been able to sleep in more, or even sitting in Chapel, worrying about the test you have during your 12 o’clock class that you really need to study more for.

At a place like Houghton, sometimes it can feel like trying to get the peace of God only helps drive it away. Professors talk about how students need to take Sabbath more and then give you 60 pages of reading and a paper to do before Monday morning. However, something I learned in my time at Houghton is that God doesn’t limit rest to going to church on Sunday and then sitting around doing nothing in the afternoon. Rest and Sabbath can be wherever you can fit it into your schedule. A Sabbath for me is Tuesday evening Nerf Nights in Roth. On the surface, it doesn’t seem relaxing to charge up three flights of stairs, blast random guys with toy guns, and then run back down to start over. However, it’s a time when I can put due dates and projects to the side for an hour or two and enjoy fellowship with my hallmates. We don’t tend to think of times like that as Sabbath because it doesn’t feel like God is there. Yet it provides the mental rest that we need as we continue on in the week.

These small moments are Sabbaths that students can take wherever and whenever they can. It doesn’t have to be weekly. If something needs to be done by Wednesday morning, you would be much more likely to find me in a study room than the trenches of Roth’s first floor, but having those times that you can set aside for your physical and mental health is important. Without times like these, you run the risk of burning yourself out or making yourself sick right before the big paper is due.

Is it good to rest on a Sunday after church? Of course! But it’s also good to take some time on Wednesday to watch your favorite TV show, spend Friday evening playing games with friends, or even just lay down on a bed or couch and relax between one class and the next. It may not add up to a whole day of rest, but taking a Sabbath where you can will help as we continue throughout the semester.

Rest can be found in the Chapel, but it can also be found in study rooms or dorm rooms, in the woods or on the quad, or anywhere where a student closes their textbook for a few minutes and thinks:

“You know what? I earned a break, and I’m going to lay down.” ★

Categories
Opinions

The Way Things Were

By Grace Deitrick

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand – there is no going back?” – Frodo Baggins, The Return of the King

When I returned to campus this fall, I began to wonder how to pick up old threads at Houghton. I had the adventure of a lifetime as the Program Assistant for London Honors in the spring and as an intern in Vienna during the summer. While I was gallivanting in Europe, though, the Houghton community changed profoundly. It is not the place it was when I left.

Yes, I’m addressing the elephant in the dorms. And in the classrooms. And in the Center for Sustainability (though I don’t think an elephant would fit in there).

Let me be clear: I’m not here to talk about news cycles or The New York Times interviews. Any mass media class at Houghton will tell you that the average bystander forgot about those stories 24 hours later. You and I, though, can’t forget so easily. We’re in spaces that remind us of the way things were before our Houghton bubble burst, spilling all over the world in ways that make us hesitate before naming our university or employer in a conversation.

As we walk by empty offices and renovated spaces, Frodo’s realization becomes clear to us: there is no going back. There is a promise, though, in the sorrow of leaving behind the way things were. The God of steadfast love says, “See, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). One day, all things will be made new and right. Justice and love will harmonize perfectly as we live together in peace.

While that vision is far from us, though, renewal can happen in small ways here and now. The policies of Houghton may be established (whether you resonate with them or not), but the culture is enacted by us. My prayer for all of us this year is that we would be made new–not ignoring the past, but willing to cultivate the kind of Houghton we want to see. The Residence Life staff in Gillette, Lambein, Roth, and the Townhouses have demonstrated this mindset of renewal to me this semester. Despite the toll that last spring took on them, they’re still cultivating spaces where we can live and grow well. They’re keeping some old traditions and honoring those who established them while modeling joy in the new things happening. I’m immensely proud of the ways they all care for the Houghton community.

All of us can follow their example. Resist the narrative that you must remain bitter. Allow yourself to be surprised by an unexpected friendship. Compassionately discuss something difficult with a classmate. Listen well. These may seem like small acts, but the sum of them together can not only renew the Houghton community but offer healing to a world that desperately needs it.

We may not be able to pick up the threads of the way things were, but we can weave new ones into the Houghton story. ★

Categories
Opinions

Stepping Into the Unknown

By Victoria Hock

At this time next month, I will be done with my academic career. I will have walked the stage in my cap and gown, said goodbye to my friends, and be close to starting or have already started my first full-time job.It’s crazy to think that my time as a Houghton student is almost done. It may sound cheesy, but your four years here will really fly by.

Just two days into orientation week, I called my mom, upset and saying that I wanted to go home. I had never been away from home that long, and I was sure college was not for me. However, my mom convinced me to stay, and I’m so glad she did. College has given me so many things, and one of those things has been friends, some of which came into my life in unexpected ways. One technically entered my life helping my mom carry a box of supplies up the stairs in my dorm. I was eventually officially introduced to this person through a mutual friend who I had met through an amazing Houghton faculty member.

I would also be remiss not to mention the many friends I’ve made through working with the STAR. I came into college with no journalism experience. I decided to try out writing for the News section, and I am so glad I did. I was met with support and guidance from Editors who genuinely wanted to help me improve my writing. Eventually, I was offered the News Editor position, followed by the position I am in now—the Co-Editor-in-Chief. I am fortunate to work with a wonderful team of people. We all support each other as we work to create each issue of the STAR.That is not the only leadership position I am in. I am also the Vice President of the Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF), another campus organization that provides students with service and fellowship opportunities, and even a church to attend.If anyone would have told me in high school that I would end up holding two leadership positions in college, I would have laughed.

Now, this is not an ad for contributing to the Houghton STAR, nor joining the SASF (though both of these organizations are amazing). Rather, it is encouragement for you to step out of your comfort zone while you’re here. Stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to look like taking on a leadership position. It could mean simply joining a club. It could mean getting a campus job. It could even mean taking a class outside of your major if you’re given the opportunity.

Regardless of what this might look like for you, stepping out of your comfort zone can positively affect your college experience in so many ways. You may learn new things, such as a new genre of writing, or gain leadership skills. You may even meet new people, some of whom may become good friends.For me, even just staying here was stepping outside of my comfort zone. Sure, I thought at the time that I would have probably been more comfortable at home, going to school locally or online.However, I chose to stay at Houghton. Had I not done that, I would not have the friendships I do today. I would not have the knowledge I do today. I have even decided on my future career—a journalist. Had I not taken the leap and written for the STAR, I don’t think this career idea would have crossed my mind.

It has been a privilege working for the STAR. While I am sad to leave what quickly became my favorite pastime, know that you will be in excellent hands next year and beyond. I can’t wait to see this publication grow and thrive for many years to come.

At this time next month, I will be done with my academic career. I will have walked the stage in my cap and gown, said goodbye to my friends, and be close to starting or have already started my first full-time job.It’s crazy to think that my time as a Houghton student is almost done. It may sound cheesy, but your four years here will really fly by.

Just two days into orientation week, I called my mom, upset and saying that I wanted to go home. I had never been away from home that long, and I was sure college was not for me. However, my mom convinced me to stay, and I’m so glad she did. College has given me so many things, and one of those things has been friends, some of which came into my life in unexpected ways. One technically entered my life helping my mom carry a box of supplies up the stairs in my dorm. I was eventually officially introduced to this person through a mutual friend who I had met through an amazing Houghton faculty member.

I would also be remiss not to mention the many friends I’ve made through working with the STAR. I came into college with no journalism experience. I decided to try out writing for the News section, and I am so glad I did. I was met with support and guidance from Editors who genuinely wanted to help me improve my writing. Eventually, I was offered the News Editor position, followed by the position I am in now—the Co-Editor-in-Chief. I am fortunate to work with a wonderful team of people. We all support each other as we work to create each issue of the STAR.That is not the only leadership position I am in. I am also the Vice President of the Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF), another campus organization that provides students with service and fellowship opportunities, and even a church to attend.If anyone would have told me in high school that I would end up holding two leadership positions in college, I would have laughed.

Now, this is not an ad for contributing to the Houghton STAR, nor joining the SASF (though both of these organizations are amazing). Rather, it is encouragement for you to step out of your comfort zone while you’re here. Stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to look like taking on a leadership position. It could mean simply joining a club. It could mean getting a campus job. It could even mean taking a class outside of your major if you’re given the opportunity.

Regardless of what this might look like for you, stepping out of your comfort zone can positively affect your college experience in so many ways. You may learn new things, such as a new genre of writing, or gain leadership skills. You may even meet new people, some of whom may become good friends.For me, even just staying here was stepping outside of my comfort zone. Sure, I thought at the time that I would have probably been more comfortable at home, going to school locally or online.However, I chose to stay at Houghton. Had I not done that, I would not have the friendships I do today. I would not have the knowledge I do today. I have even decided on my future career—a journalist. Had I not taken the leap and written for the STAR, I don’t think this career idea would have crossed my mind.

It has been a privilege working for the STAR. While I am sad to leave what quickly became my favorite pastime, know that you will be in excellent hands next year and beyond. I can’t wait to see this publication grow and thrive for many years to come.

At this time next month, I will be done with my academic career. I will have walked the stage in my cap and gown, said goodbye to my friends, and be close to starting or have already started my first full-time job.It’s crazy to think that my time as a Houghton student is almost done. It may sound cheesy, but your four years here will really fly by.

Just two days into orientation week, I called my mom, upset and saying that I wanted to go home. I had never been away from home that long, and I was sure college was not for me. However, my mom convinced me to stay, and I’m so glad she did. College has given me so many things, and one of those things has been friends, some of which came into my life in unexpected ways. One technically entered my life helping my mom carry a box of supplies up the stairs in my dorm. I was eventually officially introduced to this person through a mutual friend who I had met through an amazing Houghton faculty member.

I would also be remiss not to mention the many friends I’ve made through working with the STAR. I came into college with no journalism experience. I decided to try out writing for the News section, and I am so glad I did. I was met with support and guidance from Editors who genuinely wanted to help me improve my writing. Eventually, I was offered the News Editor position, followed by the position I am in now—the Co-Editor-in-Chief. I am fortunate to work with a wonderful team of people. We all support each other as we work to create each issue of the STAR.That is not the only leadership position I am in. I am also the Vice President of the Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF), another campus organization that provides students with service and fellowship opportunities, and even a church to attend.If anyone would have told me in high school that I would end up holding two leadership positions in college, I would have laughed.

Now, this is not an ad for contributing to the Houghton STAR, nor joining the SASF (though both of these organizations are amazing). Rather, it is encouragement for you to step out of your comfort zone while you’re here. Stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to look like taking on a leadership position. It could mean simply joining a club. It could mean getting a campus job. It could even mean taking a class outside of your major if you’re given the opportunity.

Regardless of what this might look like for you, stepping out of your comfort zone can positively affect your college experience in so many ways. You may learn new things, such as a new genre of writing, or gain leadership skills. You may even meet new people, some of whom may become good friends.For me, even just staying here was stepping outside of my comfort zone. Sure, I thought at the time that I would have probably been more comfortable at home, going to school locally or online.However, I chose to stay at Houghton. Had I not done that, I would not have the friendships I do today. I would not have the knowledge I do today. I have even decided on my future career—a journalist. Had I not taken the leap and written for the STAR, I don’t think this career idea would have crossed my mind.

It has been a privilege working for the STAR. While I am sad to leave what quickly became my favorite pastime, know that you will be in excellent hands next year and beyond. I can’t wait to see this publication grow and thrive for many years to come. ★

Categories
Opinions

More God, Less World

By Victoria Arndt

Here at Houghton University, students are required to attend a mandatory chapel service on Mondays and Fridays, with an Around the Table program on Wednesdays which allows students to hear about God’s work in the lives of others. 

Although these chapel times help students have a break between classes and let them give a moment of their time towards God, I’ve found that sometimes I head to chapel with a faint feeling of dread, not because there are many other things I could be doing with that time, but because of what the message will be that day.

Since my freshman year, I quickly came to realize that I wasn’t connecting to the messages I was hearing in chapel. It wasn’t that the messages were bad or held no relevance to us as students, but that they didn’t resonate with me in the way I thought they would. Some messages had little relation to the Bible verses read before it, instead mostly focusing on a current-day issue or concept rather than how the verses tied into the message, while others had good relation between message and verses but felt a little lackluster in terms of spiritual emphasis on God or what the Bible was trying to teach us through the verse. Some messages from guest speakers even felt more than a little preachy on their topics, speaking directly on the topic with no mention of God or the Bible. It was all well and good, but those messages left me feeling confused and most of all dissatisfied, with me questioning how I was to utilize what I’d heard when I felt no emotional connection or calling towards it, especially when it felt like I had just been listening to someone’s soapbox rant for half an hour and had gotten nothing substantial out of it.

More often than not, instead of the speakers’ messages actually affecting me and making me want to listen to what they had to say, their messages started to lose my interest as soon as I heard more about current-day issues rather than the goodness of God. At times it was even frustrating, and it made me start to wonder if the chapel message I was about to hear was going to be about the Bible and God in a way that resonated with my spirit, or if it would just be another sermon on more world issues.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand the importance of speaking on current-day issues and how we are supposed to approach them as believers in the Church. Christianity and worldliness go hand in hand, and it’s definitely important to hear about issues that affect us as individuals and as fellow Christians and what we can do to help change them. But when I attend chapel, I want to listen to a message that encourages me to continue my walk with God, not hear about another worldly issue that I personally am not called to change or can change from where I currently stand. I want to hear about how a particular verse can relate to me as a Christian and as a weary college student, not on topics I hear about nonstop on social media. Chapel is supposed to be a time when we can relax and spend a moment with God and hear a small message to encourage us throughout the rest of our day. When that time is filled with topics other than God and the Word, what once was a time of worship and reflection becomes a time of listening to what feels like activism from the pulpit, with messages that have nothing to spiritually or emotionally connect with.

My point here is not to slight any of the chapel speakers or their messages, but just to share the respectful musings of a college student looking for more God and less world in the messages she hears during chapel. My hope is that future chapel messages will have a more spiritually substantial and emotional impact on its listeners going forward, not through simply discussing modern issues and problems, but with an emphasis on the power and hope of God as something to look to even throughout troubling times, so that those who need to hear a certain message on those days can hear a message that encourages their souls. ★

Categories
Opinions

Why the Earth is Flat and You are Wrong (STAR April Fools 2023)

By Elizabeth Sutay

We live in an age where fake news is as common as a rainy day. We are told that Mark Zuckerberg is a lizard person, that Jonah was swallowed by an alien spaceship, and that the new Star Wars movies weren’t just an elaborate fever dream. However, the largest case of widespread misinformation concerns the shape of the place we all live. Most would tell you that it is round, and that would be a lie, as the Earth is in fact flat. As anyone can clearly see by looking outside their window, other than the hills, bumps, and curves, the terrain is completely flat. The idea that the world is actually round has been spreading like wildfire due to the easy access to misinformation provided by the internet. Minority voices with absurd theories get projected as loud as the truth, and those with similar beliefs will flock together to create groups such as the Round Earth Society. This then allows others who are more susceptible to influences to find them and join in their strange beliefs. 

This coverup started to pick up pace in the 1780s by the British government as they sent their criminals to “Australia”. In reality, Australia is not real, and the British were simply sending them off the side of the world. To keep the peace, they instead claimed to be sending them to an island in the middle of the ocean, one that is filled with deadly made-up creatures never seen in Europe, like the koala. This would allow the British to continue shipping off their criminals without concern, and the threat of the dangerous creatures would keep curious people away. In the present day, the lie has continued, and elaborate systems are set up on the island of New Zealand to keep up the facade of an ‘Australia’ existing. 

In preparation for this article, I spoke to a professional on this subject that wished to remain anonymous, but they further elaborated on the  topic. According to them, there are studies people can do at home that prove the Round Earth theory to be completely false. For example, taking a marble and placing it on the top of a slope results in it rolling down to the bottom. However, using a metal marble and a strong enough magnet, the marble will not move. This clearly illustrates how gravity works in the Flat Earth model, while completely disproving the Round Earth model. Alternatively, looking up at the sky on a clear night reveals the stars. In the Flat Earth model, no matter where a person is, they will look up and see those stars. In the Round Earth model, those stars would be at different angles around the “globe”. As the former is true, this points to even more evidence of the Flat Earth model. The professional concluded their statements with “Pretty sure I read that on the internet somewhere, so it must be true.”

With free access to the internet, blatantly false information such as the Round Earth theory is left unchecked as it continues to grow. To combat this rampant misinformation, we must let all research and findings be published to mainstream media and treated with the same respect. Furthermore, to prevent the censorship of the truth, only trusted sources should be allowed to post the information online, and to ensure the free spread of this information, there should be an information tax that goes into protection against misinformation, allowing those who pay to share it with a large audience. With the government involved in creating and spreading these lies, there should be an additional branch of the military strictly dedicated to protecting this information. With these steps, hopefully the truth can become more abundant than the lies. ★

Categories
Opinions

Spiritual Life at Houghton

By Kat Wojsiat

Houghton University is a college founded on a Wesleyan faith in the Trinity, meant to be a community of believers pursuing academic excellence. As part of this institutional identity, spiritual life is an important focus on campus. Houghton offers numerous spiritual outlets to students, including chapel programs, worship sessions, daily prayer, and small group meetings. On paper, it looks like Houghton’s spiritual life is thriving, with lots of programs and events. However, a real look at Houghton shows the sadder reality here.

A year ago, I spoke with a friend of mine who was President of Mercy Seat at the time. Mercy Seat is an hour-long worship session open to all students that occurs every Monday-Friday night. He was having a terrible time finding musicians and prayer leaders to lead daily worship, and there were only one or two students actually attending Mercy Seat on any given night. He was so discouraged by the lack of student desire for worship that he purposefully gave Mercy Seat a one-semester break in hopes to give the students a chance to miss it. Since it returned last spring, attendance has been highly unpredictable, with anywhere from one to ten people on a given night. The current President, sophomore Jadyn Matton , said it is difficult to get people to attend, but when they are there, she has “definitely seen people uplifted and very excited!” People seem to enjoy their engagement with Mercy Seat and The Cry, but people just don’t often participate! In addition to this, a small few students utilize the daily prayer and communion, with only between one and six students there on a regular basis. 

The icing on the cake for me was Chapel on March 17th. Students had the choice to go to chapel 20 minutes early for extra praise and worship, but most students did not arrive until the usual start time. I got there after class at 11:05 and found that many students who were there already were sitting down or on their phones, as though this was not real worship and they were just waiting for the real part of Chapel to start. Worship is worship! We were given a chance to praise God with a little extra of our time, and so few people were actually excited to take advantage of this opportunity! The purpose of Chapel is not to just satisfy God with 40 minutes, but to practice honoring Him with all of our being; when there is worship going on, God wants you to join in! Even more, you should want to join in!

After worship ended, we had Houghton Alum Katie Allen (20’) come from Asbury Seminary to tell us about the Asbury Revival. It was a huge blessing to have a Houghton Alum right there experiencing this outpouring, and it was even more of an honor that we get to hear from her directly! She came all the way from Kentucky to tell us about this huge spiritual awakening that happened at Asbury! As she spoke about this revival, I sat in my seat feeling encouraged and warmed to hear about how God is moving in our country today. My heart was then broken when I looked around the chapel to see over half the students within my view on their phones and many more on their laptops. 

I am a student too, and I fully understand that sometimes you have to cram in your reading for your 12 o’clock class during Chapel; these things happen! But over half of our students just scrolling away on their devices while our speaker is telling us about spiritual renewal is just so discouraging. God is moving in the hearts of thousands in our society, but here at Houghton it seems like we are just pushing Him away. We see what God is doing in other areas of the world, and I know He can do it here at Houghton too! We just have to open our hearts and minds and put God first! After Chapel, worship continued, but very few students stayed. I want to encourage the student body to put down their phones, take out their earbuds, close their laptops, and rest in the sacred time chapel provides. Scripture firmly encourages taking a Sabbath, but I look around campus and see hundreds of students who never take a break. Chapel is a set time designed to allow us to rest in the Father’s arms and join in communal worship, and we should engage in the time we are given to do so. 

I pray that Houghton will see its own revival and that the Spirit will pour out on us. Our spiritual life has taken a beating since COVID, and we need to be renewed in our desire to seek God. There are plenty of resources; it is on us to utilize them. Participate in a Life Together group, dedicate one day a week to go to afternoon prayer, or make time to go to Koinonia each week! I hope that those who desire spiritual awakening will pray for Houghton to be renewed in the Spirit. I am not saying we need a two-week-long, nationwide, non-stop Revival. I just hope that each individual here at Houghton will take the step to make room for God in their lives, and I pray that God will move in this way here. ★

Categories
Opinions

Fish Fridays

by Ethan McCarthy

Do you know what Dean Jordan means when he talks about Lent? While the ancient practice may not be present in all denominations, there are some, namely Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Orthodox, along with some former members of these denominations and many other students who desire to follow this traditional Christian season of penance, abstinence, and fasting.

When I first came to Houghton, I expected that it would be easy to maintain this practice of my faith, namely the exclusion of all meat on Fridays throughout Lent, with the exception of fish and other seafoods, such as shrimp. However, the dining hall did not make this easy, with the poor selection of products that do not include meat being restricted to salads, cheese pizza, and the miniscule vegan section. Often this results in students not receiving enough protein. Think of the athlete that only has those options on game day. Does anyone really think that would go well? “It’s really hard as an athlete to not have any protein on what are typically game days when I’m in-season. Even if fish or seafood of some sort was offered at lunch and not necessarily dinner on Fridays, it would allow those who observe Lent to get some much-needed protein in their systems prior to competing in the afternoons…it is offered enough in the dining hall already that simply aligning those days with Fridays seems reasonable,” says Jackson Medeiros, a sophomore pitcher on the Houghton baseball team.

The realization of this fact was very disappointing to a number of students who observe Lent, including myself. I thought that a Christian university which claims to be open to students of a variety of different traditions, which claims on the What We Believe page that this diversity has led to “wonderful and sometimes heated discussions across campus, in classrooms, and in the coffee shop!” would not make it difficult for members of the Christian family to observe their traditions. But sadly, with the current meal setup, they have made it a challenge nonetheless.

Thinking about it, Houghton does serve fish, shrimp, and other hearty meal options that would be perfect for those observing Lent, but despite years of asking, Metz has refused to make a change to help these students in their faith journeys. Even McDonald’s, a secular company, created the Filet-O-Fish to provide food to those observing Lent. It does not sound all that radical to me: take the fish or shrimp that are served throughout the week and serve them on Fridays instead. Even something like pierogies and those mini pretzels would work (something I would certainly enjoy). Of course, there was shrimp served on a recent Friday for supper, but this has not been a common occurrence, since lunch that day did not have a Lenten meal as well, even though there was fish served on Monday and Thursday that could have been served on Friday instead. A Metz employee told me that there is a five-week schedule of meals, and considering Lent lasts for 6 weeks, it is certainly possible for this to be properly planned ahead of time.

When speaking with other students, there has been confusion towards the actions of Metz and the university and compassion shown towards those observing Lent. “It seems like a reasonable expectation that Metz would make the requested accommodation for students engaging in this spiritual practice,” says Gabe Huizenga, a Theology major.

Houghton certainly has a strong community (yes, I said the magic word) of students and staff that supports the different Christian traditions that are present at this university, so this is not a knock at them, but simply a request for Metz and the university to help students accommodate their religious traditions.

For years students have put up comments on the suggestion board and asked if Metz would provide accommodations for them over Lent. Though the Metz employee mentioned above has brought this up with Metz themself and claims that they seem open to the change, I also brought up the issue at the Student Council meeting on Monday, and they assured me that they will bring the situation up with Metz as well. However, I was also told not to expect a change from Metz. While I hope that is not the case, I would not be surprised if nothing were to change, though I am immensely thankful that the student council was willing to bring this up to support members of the student body. 

If there is fish served today, then that will be a welcome surprise, even though this is a day of exemption from the season for Catholics because of the Feast of Saint Patrick. If that is the case, then I am very happy to have seen it occur two weeks in a row, but I hope that this can be applied throughout all of Lent in the future so that students can more easily live out their faith traditions on campus. ★

Categories
Opinions

Hustle Culture has No Place Here

By Abigail Weeks

As I wrote this during our spring break that happens during the winter—Why don’t we call it winter break?—I found myself struggling to rest. I’ve worked tirelessly for my entire undergrad career, and now I face my last semester and I have yet again overloaded my schedule. Factoring in extracurriculars and accelerated half-semester classes, the workload comes to around an ill-advised 20 credits. And for what? I have plenty of reasons with which I won’t bore you. I could’ve taken the easy route, as I only needed six credits toward my major to graduate. Yet, like so many others, I must hold captive any spare time in my schedule and fill it with something “productive”.  

Why do so many of us as young adults feel the need to push and shove until we’re all burnt out, drowning in our school work? When was the last time you were able to truly rest outside of a scheduled academic break? Of course, there are things required of us to accomplish for our academic careers, but I’m mostly talking about extracurriculars.

As students living in a hustle culture, many of us have felt the need to always keep busy. I personally have never made it a priority to rest. I’ve been working every summer since I was 16, and I have always found a way to do more work over academic breaks. Until coming to Houghton, I didn’t think Christians really honored the Sabbath. It was never something instilled in me to do growing up, despite coming from a Christian background. So if this thing that I’m supposed to do—that we are all supposed to do—as Christians is in the Bible, why is it so hard?

Here’s a quick answer: we have let culture influence what is Good and Holy. The Sabbath day is a gift to us to restore, recollect, and reflect. It allows us to quiet our hearts and rest in God. Why do we ignore it? Furthermore, why is it so hard for us to take a few hours to rest, let alone an entire day? 

I think there is something inside of us that is afraid of being lazy. It measures our self-worth in the number of things we accomplish and the amount of times we tell people we are “too busy”. After all, we are told to do whatever we do with all our hearts, right? If I’m not being productive in some capacity, I’m automatically lazy, which to me feels much greater a sin than not resting at all. Oh, what a great lie this is. Overworking myself to the point of burnout doesn’t make me special. It doesn’t make me better than my neighbor. It doesn’t set me apart, and by not honoring a time to slow down, I end up dishonoring my Creator.

In a way, this drive to overbook ourselves has a tendency to lead us to ignore the people right in front of us and divert our attention inward. How many times have you not checked in with someone because you’re running late or because you’re thinking about how much time a 30-second interaction will eat up the little space you have left in your schedule? I know I am guilty of this. Perhaps the funniest thing about this is that all of this self-serving yet harmful behavior occurs in a Christian environment that is supposed to go against the grain of secular culture. So, what then is Christian about an environment that leaves us unrested and utterly burnt out? Should we blame the “system” and play the victim for our inability to rest? I think not. We have the ability to evaluate where we stand in our lives. It may come as a shock to the overachievers out there, but we are allowed to say no to things and still love God with all of our minds and hearts and beings, and love others, too. Loving others does not mean saying yes to every opportunity. Serving others becomes an impossible task if we are consumed by our own to-do lists.

The Bible’s teaching that we must boast in Christ alone and not in our works is a pretty stark contrast to academia’s view that without our work, we are nothing. We must learn to look to God for our source of meaning, not our lengthy to-do lists and activities. When we learn where our true value comes from, it will be so much easier for us to separate ourselves from the hustle of our lives. If you truly feel called to an opportunity, we have a faithful God that can see you through, but if saying yes to a good opportunity jeopardizes your well-being, it isn’t really good, is it? Saying no to someone or something does not make you sinful; it is saying no to God that does.

Next time you find yourself with some space in your schedule, consider honoring God through resting so you can have more strength to serve God and serve His kingdom. ★

Categories
Opinions

Stockholm Syndrome in Sharm El-Sheik: Searching for Hope at a UN Climate Conference

By Issac Mann

Everyone in the conference center at COP27 (the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference) was looking for something. Some were looking for new partners or to expand their networks, while others were looking for investment opportunities or policy commitments. But I was looking for something less concrete: hope. 

My search was shared by many in my group as well. I traveled to Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, with the Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP), a non-denominational group committed to teaching Christians to be better climate advocates. This organization brought together Christians of all ages from around the world, and many of the young people in the group shared a common struggle with climate anxiety. It was the fear of what the future would hold if no action was taken against climate change that motivated us, myself included, to come to this conference. For others in the group, anxiety had already passed into grief. Family members lost to flooding, communities lost to wildfire, or livelihoods lost to financial burden were the driving factors behind their activism. We sought hope of some kind, proof that God was working in the midst of the chaos around us. And so, our anxious and mourning souls went into the massive conference center, longing for a reason to hold onto hope. 

My first activity at COP27 was to listen to the opening speeches. I sat giddy with excitement in a large overflow room filled with others not granted in-person access to the main event. We watched on big screens as prominent world leaders gave their opening remarks. Given the overwhelming scope of climate change, I had gone into the conference expecting to find hope in these largest and most powerful bodies, so I listened intently to what they had to say. If the world’s governments couldn’t solve climate change, who could? I thought. But as I listened, my excitement and hope plummeted. I realized that I had developed a strange sort of climate Stockholm Syndrome. 

Stockholm Syndrome is a condition that some people fall into during hostage scenarios. In a distorted understanding of their situation, the captives start to develop a bond and sympathize with their captors. And I had fallen into this state of mind. The climate is being held captive by private economic interests and political systems that value profit and growth more than the well-being of those held dear by God. And yet, I had placed my hope in these very systems. I thought they were well-intentioned, that if we had the right people in power, saying the right things, meaningful change would come. It was with this twisted hope that I sat in that room. 

As world leader after world leader rambled on about “unity,” “urgency,” and “taking action,” I became increasingly disillusioned. My skewed view of where hope would be found was made obvious to me as I realized I was being told how important reducing carbon emissions was by oil barons. I was listening to military dictators tell me how much they cared about justice. Even those from my own country, the United States, bragged about our new partnerships with billionaires and private corporations (the leading contributors to carbon emissions) to fund new environmental programs. It was these systems and leaders that I was sympathetic to, that I looked to for salvation, and yet they were the very ones holding our planet and future for ransom. 

I spent those first few days discouraged. I realized my hope had been misplaced and tried to dismantle my climate Stockholm Syndrome, but I didn’t know where else to turn for hope. I asked myself again, ‘If the world’s governments couldn’t solve climate change, who could?’

I did eventually find hope at COP27, just not where I had thought I would. In hindsight, I should have expected it. Our hope is in God, that much should be obvious to Christians, but where God would be found was what I needed to answer. God has never been revealed in the most powerful among us, in the wealthiest or most privileged. God did not appear to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 in the strong wind, or the fiery earthquake, but rather in the gentle whisper. God did not come to Earth in the form of a Caesar or military leader, but rather as a carpenter from Nazareth. So, I should’ve expected that God would not be revealed to me in Egyptian President Sisi, or in Joe Biden. 

Every morning, my CCOP group started the day with breakfast and a devotional. Together, we would rejoice the successes and commiserate the frustrations of the previous day. At every panel discussion or lecture I attended, I sat shoulder to shoulder with others who cared for the right reasons, who cared enough to travel to the middle of the Egyptian desert, who cared enough to listen and learn in any way possible. Conversations were had, connections were made, and I realized that I was surrounded by thousands of regular people who cared deeply about the protection of our planet and its inhabitants. It was in these people that I found God, that I found the hope I was looking for.

It’s clear that we need to overcome our reliance and trust in those systems that are holding our planet and future hostage. To make it through the changing of our climate, we need serious systemic change. But what COP27 taught me is that this change will never come from the top down.  Our hope will not be found in the economic powers and world leaders that preside. Our hope is where God is, with the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the mourning, the anxious, the masses who are calling out for a more just world. We are each other’s hope, and only together will we be able to accomplish the change we need. ★

Categories
Opinions

The Need for a Student Constitution

By Joey Schunemann

There is a disconnect at Houghton. At a school where student-faculty relationships are built strong by invested professors and eager students, the lack of institutional communication to students regarding campus life changes sticks out like a sore thumb. When university-wide changes are made that affect student life, something that has little impact on incoming students but all the difference in the world to Houghton’s student body, it often feels like the last people to get consulted on those changes are the enrolled on-campus students. 

I want to clarify right out of the gates that this is not a targeted piece meant to call out or accuse any faculty members of wrong behavior or even to prophesy some unstoppable decline of Houghton culture—quite the opposite. I see a sickness developing at a school built on community. It is a slow infection that, if left to fester, seriously endangers the living body of Houghton.

There is a certain wonder to pleasant surprises. If I wanted to be generous, I would say maybe it is the pursuit of that same wonder that inspires campus-wide decisions to be made so frequently without the pre-informing of current students. It’s time to acknowledge that it does not have that effect. When the Highlander Shop announces they are going to be accepting flex dollars from here on out, that’s a pleasant surprise, one that isn’t dangerous to keep quiet and was almost surely run by a student test panel anyway. Contrast that with the announcement not that the culturally iconic Houghton rock will be moved, but that it already has been moved. This does not bring wonder to a fictional student body that is happy to embrace a new season brought to us by a surprise change of environment. Instead, it leaves us, the tangible student body, feeling unvalued. The effect of making changes to student life without any student input, like the constantly complicated ice cream situation and the furniture change in Gillette, perpetuates the fear that Houghton as an institution puts its current students at the bottom of the priority list. This fear, whether true or untrue, is constantly validated by decisions made without the consent or informing of current students, decisions that seem to prioritize student intake over retention and the donations of old passionate alumni over the creation of new passionate alumni.

It is this lack of transparent trust and feeling of powerless discontent that is creating a generation of Houghton students who define their experience as “what hasn’t Houghton done to hurt me” instead of focusing on the loving student-faculty relationships and quality of coursework. Following the wake of COVID, it’s a wonder we can survive this second hard blow at Houghton culture in a few short years, and the only visible solution is an open-handed abandonment of institutional secrecy and an acceptance of public responsibility. We need a Student Constitution.

We need a document that stands alongside our moral community covenant, which by itself does not fully embody our Christian calling as an institution. We need a Constitution. We need an agreement between staff and students that requires open and honest communication so that in addition to being a community based on a common moral goal, we are held together far better by a bond of trust and open understanding. If the institution does not give students the chance to know what we are losing before it is gone, then self-sacrifice never comes into the equation and our Christian call crumbles into a stratified hierarchy of the knows and the not knows. 

Despite this feeling of being tossed around and underappreciated by the Houghton institution, we cannot help but love this community and the people that fill it because of the mutual love we strive towards in our individual lives. This love only strengthens our fear that one day this thing that we have begrudgingly grown so fond of might disappear, and we have no idea how to refute that fear. When programs disappear, faculty shuffle around, and tuition seems only to go down and down, students are afraid that ultimately our Houghton is in danger, and that fear is validated by secretive changes and opaque policy. It’s time for Houghton to open up, and for the vague spirit of “the institution” to ask the culture that is being unwillingly changed if it’s ready for the next turn before it’s too late.★