Category: Opinions

“Lately, God has been revealing to me that we are just not right for each other. I think we should break up”. This seems to be a recurring theme in multiple conversations I have overheard in the past couple of years, as many of my well-meaning—but grossly mislead friends—uttered these words to justify putting an end to their relationships abruptly. Each time I heard those words been spoken, it fanned into flame a skirmish within me on whether or not I should write the following words.

So here it goes:

Dating practices differ drastically from one culture to another, as does the definition of the word ‘dating’. I became increasingly aware of this as I made the transition from my home in Sri Lanka to Western New York. Back home, for most people, dating simply means one is in an ‘exclusive relationship’ with another person; you are either formally dating or you’re not. Here in America, terminology tends to be more nuanced—which is a nice way of saying it’s confusing. For this article, when I say ‘dating’ or ‘relationship,’ I am referring to an exclusive commitment between two people. While the behavioral patterns surrounding dating changes and evolves over time, I feel the purpose of dating is still at its core, the same: finding someone to spend the rest of one’s life with.

Prayer should be of the highest importance in the daily life of those who claim to be Christians, especially when it comes to important decisions such as dating and marriage. Yet many well-meaning (sometimes) Christians are misusing God’s name when they attribute the reason for the break-up to be divine inspiration. As I see it, one of the biggest problems in telling someone “God told me to break up with you,” is that it calls into question that person’s character, worth and spiritual standing. It’s easy to tell someone that “God said so,” but the underscored implication the other person hears is: “God doesn’t feel that you are good enough for me.” I just don’t think that this is fair or, theologically accurate. Claiming that God divinely inspired one’s decision to end a relationship sends the other into a frenzy of self-doubt where they question what about their lives is so terrible that God himself would decide to intervene in this situation.

Surely God is not the author of convenient break-ups.

The Bible doesn’t really have any examples of dating, because most modern courting methods didn’t exist during biblical times. However, what the Bible is clear about, is love. As Christians, we are to love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34); honor one another (Rom. 12:10); and not become unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). Christ-like love doesn’t fall through suddenly. It doesn’t give-up when difficulties present themselves. Adversity is rather an opportunity for God to reveal himself in and through a relationship that chooses to persevere. If one is going to break-up purely based on ‘spiritual reasons’, one must ask themselves the question: did I seek God’s will when I was contemplating asking this person out? Was God present in making the decisions that led to this break-up? In other words, if God had nothing to do with the origins of a relationship, then God should not be credited with its end. The will of God is not, and should not, be an afterthought for Christians, especially in dating. For most Christians, marriage is considered to be the most intimate of human relationships and a sacred act instituted by God himself. If Christians believed this to be true, then dating—which is meant to lead toward marriage—should also be considered as a sacred act.

Scripture may not specifically address dating, but very clearly teaches that the Christian life is to be marked by prayer and supplication (Phil. 4:6; 1 Thes. 5:17; Matt. 26:41). Regardless of circumstances, prayer is intended to be at the beginning, middle, and end of any important decision a Christian is faced with. If prayer came first, a lot of bad decisions (and bad break-ups) could be avoided. One cannot expect to model well a Christ honoring relationship if one does not first have a relationship with God, saturated in prayer.

Let me be clear, I am not implying that by praying about a relationship, everyone will get it right, all the time. Prayer is by no means a technique that ensures romantic success. I am not saying that there aren’t perfectly justifiably reasons for one to end a relationship for moral reasons inspired by Biblical teachings. One is justified in ending a relationship because one doesn’t have feelings toward the other; or because one doesn’t see a future together; or because it’s just not a good time for a relationship. Certainly, there are a myriad of reasons for a relationship to fall through. Figure out what the real reason is, and be honest with your significant other. Surely, you owe them that much. What must stop, is falsely quoting God as though the break-up was divinely inspired, when God was never involved in the process in the first place. Doing so has turned “God said so” into a cliché utilized by Christians who are too afraid to admit their shortcomings, while simultaneously making the God of the universe a tool in our belts to avoid transparency with another human being. Humans are flawed. We make mistakes—especially in relationships. Its ok to make mistakes! God should not be blamed for one’s own realization that one is incompatible with another person. It is wrong to usurp the name of God, and use it as a ‘spiritual trump-card’ because one doesn’t have the courage to say “Hey, it’s not working out.” For Christians, the point of dating, should be to learn if two people are compatible for marriage. If the answer is no, then the solution is simple (though the process can certainly be painful). Seek to value the other person over your own personal level of comfort, but most of all, honor God by seeking His face daily, and treating people with the love which is modeled for us in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

How many of you were eager to go away for college? If you fit the generic college freshman description, as I did, you must have been very excited to go to Houghton. However, according to student tradition, you either will or will soon discover that the excitement drains away. For me, it happened when I realized that the vague “Subway” mark on Google maps did not mean that it was a train station there, when Houghton became a desolate, frozen wasteland for approximately 8 out of 12 months of the year, and, when I learned that at some point I had to take a language credit in order to fulfill my general education requirements.

To put it in today’s cultural terms: I was shook. I thought that I had finished putting in my time during high school, but apparently, I was wrong. Sure, I thought that learning a language was cool, but I also thought that about learning how to skateboard and weave baskets. It was something that appealed to me, but I didn’t have the “time” to spend learning it. I feel like this is the case with a good deal of American students and if you don’t believe me, walk around the quad and ask students how many languages they speak. Then ask them how proficiently they speak those languages. I rest my case. I took Spanish in my sophomore year, managed to make it out alive, and left with much less Spanish than I should have for the amount of time that I spent on classwork. But even though I didn’t thoroughly learn Spanish, I instead learned that there was more to learning a language than memorizing a stack of flashcards. What actually impacted me in that class was not the course itself, but rather my professor and the compassion that he had for the Spanish speaking nations of the world. To know a language is to love a people and vice versa.

The act of learning a language, in itself, is an act of love. Now as I explained before, I wasn’t taking Spanish because I wanted to; it was a requirement that I was fulfilling. But that is exactly why I didn’t learn anything. I thought Spanish was cool, yet I didn’t have the mindset to learn it, because I was too focused on completing my G.E. requirement. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to turn this into an argument on whether taking a language should optional or not in a collegiate setting. That is another argument for another day. However, what I am saying is to learn a language, and retain it, you need to have a certain capacity of love involved. Sure, you can learn a language without having this as a driving factor, but what would you gain from that? You can speak the language, but if you don’t love it, you won’t understand it or the people that speak it.

Language is a gift that opens up our minds to viewing our own perspectives as well as those who speak the language being learned. When you open yourself up to loving a language, you open yourself to love the language’s people; you bring yourself to a new level of intentionality and purposeful relationship. There really is no right or wrong way to go about learning a language. Have you always had a language you wanted to learn but never did? Then why not start there? It’s not an easy journey, but it is a rewarding one. What if you want to learn a language, yet you don’t have enough “time?” To be honest, I know that people will make time for what they hold to be important. If right now you could care less about languages, then I don’t expect this article to radically change you into becoming a die-hard linguist. Yet open yourself to the possibility of fellowship that you can experience with others when you share the language of love.

Shannon is a senior majoring in English with a concentration in writing.

Of all twenty films MARVEL Studios has released over the past ten years, the Guardians of the Galaxy films are two of my favorites. The 2014 original was a dark horse (who would’ve thought a trigger-happy anthropomorphic raccoon and a talking humanoid tree from space would be box office gold?), and both films have been funny, unexpectedly heartfelt, and wonderfully quirky.

The success of this franchise can be largely attributed to director James Gunn, who took this obscure band of misfit c-list characters and thrust them into the spotlight. Almost overnight the Guardians became a pop-culture sensation. It’s the kind of success upon which MARVEL Studios has built their brand, and the franchise (under Gunn’s direction) was poised to take a position of even more prominence after the fourth Avengers film.

That is, until something even more unexpected happened.

On July 20th, 2018 my phone’s newsfeed was overwhelmed by a flood of articles with titles to the effect of “James Gunn Fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by Disney.” Confused, I opened the first article and began to read. In short, Gunn was fired after a series of old tweets from 2008 to 2011 resurfaced online. These tweets were full of dark, shocking attempts at humor from a time in Gunn’s career where he viewed himself as a provocateur, joking about taboo subjects specifically to provoke a reaction. I’ve read the tweets, and while I won’t go into detail the content is truly disgusting: a kind of shock humor that appeals only to a small, niche audience.

That said, Gunn made these comments ten years ago. Since then he has addressed them several times and affirmed that he has moved past that stage in his comedy and in his life. And yet, Disney fired him, declaring that “the offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values”—never mind that they hired him in 2012, just a few years after the tweets in question were published.

As an aspiring filmmaker and writer, I found Gunn’s firing distressing. It sets a terrifying precedent: if Gunn can be fired for tweets made 10 years ago—which he has since apologized for and moved past—what happens when the next generation of aspiring filmmakers are shot down because they said something immature and offensive on Instagram while in High School or College? Is it now acceptable to fire someone within twenty-four hours of a similar discovery, without a proper investigation, or even time for the dust to settle? Can and should a creator be fired over something unrelated to a project they are working on? It’s still too early to know for sure, but Disney’s decision to sever ties with Gunn has set us on a concerning trajectory for the future of the film industry.

There is a bitter irony to this. At its core, Guardians of the Galaxy is a story of redemption and growth. Yet its director was fired for actions he took ten years ago, before he was even in talks to direct the first film. It’s a response that undermines the central tenant of the franchise: that we can be better than we were before. But you need an opportunity to be better, an opportunity that James Gunn was making the most of before it was pulled out from under him.

Caleb is a sophomore majoring in writing and communication.

It’s no secret that we, as Houghton College students, love our ice cream. In fact, we have good reason to be proud of our ice cream eating reputation. According to our dining services, Houghton College consumes roughly 3,000 gallons of ice cream per year. Moreover, Houghton students have concocted novel ways to enjoy ice cream in a broader range of contexts than just a traditional cone or dish. In the dining hall, I have marveled at the ingenuity of students as they enjoy hand-churned milkshakes, banana splits, orange soda floats, and ice cream melting over waffles fresh from the iron.

With our dedication to cultivating the art of ice cream consumption, a question naturally arises: why not create a unique Houghton ice cream flavor? After all, the dining hall serves flavors dedicated to other schools, such as ’Cuse 44 after Syracuse University and Tiger Tracks for R.I.T. If any college deserves an ice cream flavor in its honor, Houghton College does.

Obviously, the question now becomes what ice cream flavor would best represent Houghton? We could have blackberry lemon to show off our school colors. Or we might want to support athletics with some Luckey Lion Licorice. Perhaps we should embrace the wintry weather that blankets campus for most of the academic calendar with a Highlander Hot Chocolate flavored ice cream. What about SPOT ice cream (Salted Peanut Oreo Taffy)? We could pay tribute to our Scottish heritage with Banana Brownie Bagpipe Brigade. Instead, we could remember our theological roots with John Wesley’s Purified Vanilla or observe the Statement of Community Responsibilities with a grape-flavored Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Wine! If we are feeling especially audacious, we might even try to image a flavor called Shen Bloc Shock (or maybe we had better not. . . .)

Needless to say, there are endless possibilities for a Houghton College ice cream flavor. But who gets to decide which flavor best represents Houghton? Like any good diplomatic decision, we clearly would need to form a committee to narrow down the options to the best contenders. Of course, we would then need to hold a vote in order to give all students, faculty, staff, and alumni an equal opportunity to influence such a historic decision.

However, maybe a single ice cream flavor cannot possibly encapsulate all of the spirit and creativity of Houghton College. Maybe the best way to approach a Houghton ice cream flavor is to have a Flavor of the Year. A new flavor could be unveiled each year at homecoming. Alternatively, we could make the ice cream choosing process a senior privilege. Only students planning to graduate during that particular academic year would get to submit a flavor idea and vote for the annual winner. The flavor could be revealed at graduation and could be served during the following school year as a sort of class gift or continuing legacy of the recent graduates until the next graduation flavor is disclosed. (Or perhaps this is a foolish system as it might tempt graduates to play mischievous tricks on underclassmen by leaving them with flavors such as a medicinal Houghton Plague Antidote or Letchworth Liver and Leek.)

Regardless of the logistics for deciding on a flavor, Houghton College undoubtedly needs its own ice cream. Perhaps this pressing issue can make an appearance on the agenda for the next meeting of the Sixth Executive Council. With all the ice cream connoisseurs nurtured by this school, it is simply inconceivable that we do not have an ice cream flavor of our own.

Abigail is a senior majoring in writing and art.

My sophomore year of college, I discovered SNL.

I saw my first skit sitting cross-legged in a Lambein double, at the ripe old age of nineteen. Many die-hard fans will probably be shocked by this, but I grew up without YouTube and still don’t spend much time there (which is not to say I’m without vices. I just don’t count cat videos among them). Every once in a while, however, I indulge.  Especially when I’m upset about politics. Like eating mashed potatoes after a bad day, there is nothing that makes me feel better about our government than watching someone impersonate our government.

My junior year of college, I stopped watching SNL.

Not because it wasn’t funny anymore, or because the humor got too raunchy. I stopped watching SNL because one day I realized that it had – unconsciously – become a source of political information. It was an innocuous enough affair. My dad and I spend much of our time together arguing politics; we both love it. And one moment, in the heat of a fierce debate (which I was absolutely winning) he asked “where did you hear that?” The image of Leslie Jones floated through my mind, and I realized I had just used the premise of an SNL skit to back up a political position. I’m a journalist. It was a moment of deep shame.

My senior year of college, I’ve become the editor of an Opinions section.

SNL isn’t fact. It is based on facts, but it does not contain sources or quotes or peer review. It’s opinions. It’s humor. It’s people taking real life events and examining them, drawing inspiration from the world to make an audience think. Fundamentally, this is also what a good opinions piece does. Traditionally, Opinions Editors have started the year by talking about the purpose of this section. Why do we have an Opinions section? What does it do for us that the Features or the News section cannot? What – as a reader – do you need to know about the articles you will find here?

To start, I want to define an “opinions piece” or “op ed” (opinion editorial). It is a newspaper article that presents a subjective argument about a chosen topic. This is slightly different than an editorial, which presents a subjective argument about a chosen topic from the perspective of the newspaper. And it is very different than a News or Features piece, which does not present an argument at all but merely facts. So for example, say I wish to write an article about how Metz is now stocking papaya in the salad bar. If this article was a Feature or News story, I would only write about things that can be proven: what inspired our cafeteria to take this action, when the papaya might start appearing, if it will go to the left of the cantaloupe or the right, etc. If I were to write a straight editorial on this same issue, I would present the opinion of the STAR staff. Melissa, Kayla, Michael and I would have a vigorous debate about papayas v. pineapples, and create an argument that lines up with the pre-determined voice and character of the STAR. I would then write this argument into an article and publish it anonymously, because it represents the opinion of the paper as a whole. If I were to write and op ed or opinions piece, however, I would write my own thoughts on the papaya issue (for the record, I endorse all exotic fruit options), and publish it under my name.

In the Houghton STAR, we do not have straight editorials. This is because the newspaper does not have a pre-determined voice or character to generate them. Rather, the STAR exists to represent students: their news and their opinions. Our constitution states “The mission of the Houghton Star is to preserve and promote the values of dialogue, transparency, and integrity that have characterized Houghton College since its inception. This will be done by serving as a medium for the expression of student thought.” The STAR fulfills this mission through editorials – through publishing the opinions of students for students. There is no political party line or “Houghton propaganda” that characterizes this section. It is rather characterized by the people who chose to write for it.

So back to the question of what might be in an Opinions Section and why we need such a section at all. I cannot promise that everything you read here will be provable or objective. That’s not what an opinions article is designed to do. It will not contain the sort of information you can quote to your father in a political argument. What it will contain is perspectives – ways of looking at the world that will challenge and enrich your own. We need this. We need to hear the opinions of our fellow students, and we need to learn to both express our thoughts and respect those of others. This is not possible until we recognize the difference between Opinions and other sections, just as we must recognize the difference between an SNL skit and a press release. Only when we understand the both the limitations and unique strengths of the medium will we be able to fully take advantage of the humor, insight, and ideas that are shared within it.

Anna is a senior majoring in writing.

This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Italy and Greece on a trip which included cenotaphs claiming the bones of my favorite poets and theologians, icons and artworks which animated the passion of the saints.  I entered the tomb of Peter and walked where Paul walked in Acts 17, proclaiming to the philosophers that the God they had been searching for had in fact come to rescue. Museums burst with history, and churches exploded with light and the presence of God.  Yet, among all of this, nothing compared to the religious experience I had at a building which I think we often consider secular: the Roman Coliseum.

Once the jewel of Rome, people gathered there for cheap food and violent spectacle with the sick slogan of “Bread and circuses.” Now the Coliseum stands, weathered and tired, the carcass of a magnificent beast which once consumed human flesh in droves.  A plain cross stands on one side of the arena, overlooking the desolate pit – a reminder of Christ’s triumph over sin and death. In John’s Apocalypse we hear the martyrs crying in heaven, “Sovereign Lord, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?”  But, at least here, Babylon has been cast down, to the rejoicing of the prophets and saints. Whether many Christians were martyred at the Coliseum, we don’t know. Cursory research tells me that before the 17th century it was rarely regarded as holy.  This is however the site where Ignatius of Antioch, a student of John, was fed to lions while praying that his sacrifice make him “God’s wheat ground by the teeth of beasts, that [he] may be the pure bread of Christ.”  History also tells of a monk named Telemachus who abhorred the violence committed in Rome and burst into the arena to protest. The discontented mob had him stoned, but his death moved Emperor Honorius to put an end to the slaughter.  As perfect love, Christ says, “This is my body, given up for you, in all that he does.” The martyr, as faithful disciple, repeats this unto death.

“Martyr” comes from the Greek word for “witness.” Christianity is a martyr’s religion.  It is about giving up out lives to Christ, just as the Son gives himself to the Father and the Father to the Son.  All of the saints are martyrs, even the ones who are not burnt at the stake. This, I think, is the reason behind our fascination with faith journeys.  A good testimony witnesses The Gospel more powerfully than the most beautiful church window. I think that we sometimes take the wrong lesson from the martyrs, developing a persecution (or martyr) complex.  We know a lot about expecting God to vindicate our arguments, choices, and identities when our enemies won’t. But on the flipside, there is much to learn about how to be a martyr, dying to ourselves and our own desires.  We are still sinners and sin has consequences. Its greatest effect is a fractured relationship with God and neighbor, where we do not give ourselves fully to him or each other. Martyrs were the first saints revered in the early church.  Where the rest of us had to live out our lives in conformity with Christ as a perpetual sacrifice being perfected by continuing growth in virtue, a martyr, by proclaiming the Gospel up until the moment of her death, could at once present her whole self as an offering to the Father.  Morbid? Certainly, but when we remember that our foe is death and the power of hell, we must be ready to face it. Paul writes of purification coming “as through a fire,” and Jesus qualifies that his followers must “take up their cross daily and follow me.”

All of this, by the way, is the secret to Catholic devotion to Mary.  She is the greatest of the martyrs, even though she was never slain. When the angel came to her, she did not protest as so many others had.  Rather she responded, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be unto me according to your word.” That is, here Christ, take my my will, my body, and my life.  They are yours. Come, be made manifest in me and through me into the world.

Daniel is a senior Majoring in English

As ordinary people living our lives in 2018, I think that all too often we let ourselves slip into a nasty habit of dwelling in garbage. For as much as there is to complain about (and, trust me, I recognize that it’s difficult to navigate Facebook for more than two seconds without wanting to bang your head against a wall) there is just as much good we could instead focus on. And that’s what our energy should be directed towards.

Near the start of 2018, I was convicted that we shouldn’t waste our energy on things we cannot control. Unless you and you alone are responsible for something that goes wrong, don’t waste valuable time focusing on the issue. Did someone cut in line in the dining hall? Is it unbearably warm and humid outside? Cell phone not running as fast as it used to? None of that is actually your fault. To live a better life we must let go of these everyday (more or less) annoyances and intentionally choosing to focus on the good.

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should stop caring about everything bad that happens. “I failed that test because I didn’t study? Who cares? Yay!” No. The glory of not wasting emotional energy on all the stuff you can’t control is that now there’s an abundance of energy to take care of what is truly valuable and worthwhile. A big part of this mindset is grounded in self-care and allowing there to be time and energy to step away from others and take genuine care for yourself. This isn’t a matter of being willfully ignorant to the problems in the world, large or small, but an effort of choosing to take a stand against letting it all affect you personally.

If nothing else, day-to-day life feels a lot better and brighter when hope is on the mind instead of misery. I’ve found that all the small problems I face tend to make my outlook cloudy and skewed. Choosing to have hope reveals all of life’s small treasures that too often go missed. And hope is just as contagious as despair; in a world of conflict and hatred, now is the time that we need hope the most. We need to show love and be loved, and we can’t do that when we complain about how hot it is outside or how much we hate Mondays. We’re wasting our energy when we should be putting it toward loving one another.

This is a message for the first year student who is struggle to adjust to college life; for the senior too terrified to think past graduation, for staff, faculty, and parents back home. For everyone, really. Dwell on the good, and don’t waste energy on the bad. It takes effort and definitely won’t come easy, but think of how better the world could be if we all lived a little bit more positively.

Jared is a junior majoring in Communication.