Tag: michael jordan

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Campus News

Student Lecture Promotes Unity With LGBTQ Community

Micah Cronin ’17 approached the front of the recital hall stage prepared with a tongue-in-cheek self-introduction: “Many of you know me as Mary Cronin, and so you might be a little bit confused right now. It’s okay; I have not been replaced by my evil twin.”

On April 5, Cronin and Dean of the Chapel, Michael Jordan, hosted a forum entitled “Baptized into One Body: LBGTQ-Affirming Christians at Houghton College,” which aimed to spark dialogue and compassionate listening on LBGTQ, specifically transgender issues. For the first half of the forum, Cronin shared personal thoughts, convictions, and experiences with members of the college community. The evening then moved to a question and answer session where Jordan and Cronin interviewed each other using anonymous audience-submitted questions.

Cronin was raised female, but identifies as male, choosing to go by Micah and use male pronouns. Jordan chose to honor this decision despite disagreeing with it.

“I’ve agreed to call Micah by his chosen name tonight, rather than by Mary, and to use masculine pronouns when talking about him,” said Jordan. “My reasons for this are at once rather complex and at the same time very simple, because he asked me to.” Jordan explained he felt “to insist on calling Micah ‘Mary’ tonight would be like taking all my interactions with Micah and using every one of those to remind him that I disagree with him, and that’s a really hard way to build a relationship with someone.”

Cronin, who believes that the church should embrace LGBTQ-affirming Christians, cited a Pew Research Center report which found an increasing number of LBGTQ people are joining the church even as church membership decreases in the overall American population. Cronin expressed frustration with “rhetoric regarding how ‘the church’ should respond to the LBGTQ community,” insisting that this fails to grapple with the reality of the situation.

“Queer people are the church,” said Cronin. “I’ll say it again, queer people are the church.”

Cronin addressed ways in which traditional Christians can, intentionally or unintentionally, marginalize people who fall outside the heterosexual and cisgender circle. Cronin focused on a refusal to acknowledge both the complexity of the LBGTQ community and the complexity of the human beings within that community. According to Cronin, traditionalists who use outdated or inaccurately-narrow labels like “homosexual” or “same-sex attracted” to refer to the LBGTQ community send an implicitly demeaning message: “Our complexity does not matter. Our personhood does not matter. We do not matter.”

Likewise, said Cronin, reducing LBGTQ people to their sexual behavior fails to acknowledge them as human beings, “The conversation around queer people is so saturated with discussion of sex acts that it has long since passed the point of objectification.”

Colleen Shannon ’17, who attended the forum, said she appreciated “the respectful discussion, but also the direct conversation.” She said it is possible to err too far on the side of respect, to the point of ignoring an issue entirely.

Referencing an anonymous question which had referenced Cronin’s “trans-ness” (which

had prompted a joke from Cronin about the “Trans-Ness Monster”), Shannon commented on the importance of demystifying nontraditional perspectives on sexuality and gender. She said, “It’s not some mythical creature up in Scotland; this is a reality in culture, in American culture and in Christian culture and in world culture.”

Jordan said, “I think part of the message of Jesus is that we understand things about God better in relationship with other people.” Jordan said he hoped the forum and discussions like it would give students practical, relational experience that would prepare them for future interactions with people who hold differing beliefs on sexuality.

Cronin counseled traditionalists and progressives to “remember that first and foremost, anybody who has been baptized in the name of Christ and trusts in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as their hope and their salvation is a part of Christ’s body.” She continued, “ That extends to LBGTQ people, that extends to conservative people, that extends to anybody who we find inconvenient. And if we remember that, then we will actually be able to be brothers and sisters in Christ.”

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News

Dean Jordan Runs in NYC Marathon

Michael Jordan, dean of the chapel, ran in the record breaking New York City Marathon this past Sunday. He finished in 3541st place out of over fifty thousand runners, with a time of three hours, 26 minutes, and 45 seconds. According to a Runner’s World article, published Monday, this was the largest marathon in history with a total count of 50,564 finishers.

maragreeneJordan stayed on Staten Island, the starting location, about a quarter mile away from the starting line. He said most participants stay in Manhattan and have to take the subway and ferry over, which takes hours. Instead he said he, “rolled out of bed, walked down the street to get a bagel and a cup of coffee and then walked over and ran the race.”

According to Jordan, for him some of the most rewarding aspects of running the marathon was being in a big city, the feeling of accomplishment, and being happy with his time. Distinguished by his poncho, given to him at the finish, he said it seemed the whole city seemed to be asking him excitedly, “Did you run the marathon?!” He was even offered warmer clothes by person on the street, to which he declined. New York City, which he added for having a reputation for being grouchy, he said was really nice and called it “the friendliest city in the world” that day.

There were many international runners in the marathon according to Jordan. He said there were people waving flags from around the world along the course. Wilson Kipsang, and Mary Keitany, both Kenyans, won this year’s mens and womens marathon .

Jordan decided to enter the lottery system for running in the marathon four years ago. His then colleague, Ginny Routhe, former sustainability coordinator at Houghton College, entered at the same time. She also ran in the marathon Sunday.

This was the ninth marathon Jordan ran. The eight other marathons in Buffalo, Letchworth State Park,  Niagara Falls, Rehoboth Beach, and the New Jersey Shore. He said though he is a much more introverted runner, given the chance he would run the NYC marathon again.

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Opinions

Yik Yak: Why I Keep It

“You know what Twitter needs? Less accountability. That will improve things.” This posted on Yik Yak by an anonymous poster using the pseudonym “Dean Michael Jordan.”

These days, social networks seem to be springing out of the digital woodwork. Every web developer and app designer is trying to find the niche that is as-yet untouched. Some new social networks stick around well. Others do not. Eventually, most fade in popularity, becoming replaced with others that do the same thing, only better.

michaelYik Yak is an app that has, so far, stuck around. For those unfamiliar with the name, allow me to explain. Yik Yak is a smartphone application that allows its users to post a short amount of text (200 characters or less), much like many other social networks. The main difference between Yik Yak and similar networks is its addition of anonymity. Those who post (“yak”) to the app are completely anonymous, their words being presented without credit given to anyone. If a user so chooses, they can adopt a pseudonym to post under. However, anyone can adopt each other’s pseudonyms or change names at any time, and so no true identity is revealed.

Without any sort of identification, Yik Yak needs another way to connect its users. It chooses proximity. Users see posts from people who are using the app nearby. Readers can then vote yaks up or down, helping them reach a status of popularity, or deleting them from the feed with an overwhelming negative vote. It is also possible to reply to yaks, and to have a conversation in this way. The result for those of us who live in Houghton is a feed of thoughts, feelings, jokes, and complaints written and tailored by Houghton students, for Houghton students. And sorry for this disillusionment, but if you look through our feed, you might not like what you find.

When a given semester ends, students are afforded the opportunity to give anonymous feedback about their professors. I know I am not the only one who takes this opportunity to let out the feelings, good and bad, that I keep to myself throughout the semester. Yik Yak is a lot like these reviews. The danger comes from the pressure to write popular yaks. The Houghton feed brings up many more negative comments than I hear around campus, simply because – let’s face it – we can all agree on what we dislike about Houghton. You’ve heard it all before: the food is bad, college is hard, sleep is rare, and… people break the community covenant?

MichaelCarpenterYes, it’s true, and it’s upsetting. We have a “dark side.” I have seen posts on Yik Yak about things ranging from sexual frustration (no!), to seeking someone who will sell drugs (never!), to a recent, “Houghton, what is your favorite beer?” These are sad and, for some, shocking expressions of a group of college students who, hello, came to a Christian college. Where did they learn this evil, and why are they here?

Well, at least “they” are honest about it. That might seem like a small comfort, but I mean it. These things are real, and actually happen on a regular basis. If we never talk about, for example, sex, drugs, alcohol, or how and why we are hurting, there can never be solutions to these issues. Yik Yak has created a safe space to express it all honestly. Now, let’s not confuse honesty with accuracy or authenticity. Yik Yak is NOT a perfect representation of who we are. It’s biased toward those who use smartphones, desire a place for anonymous communication, and aren’t overly frustrated with what they read. But it is entirely made up of Houghton residents. No one else is posting in the Houghton feed. They can’t.

So, then, what is the best response? Well, I’m going to keep my Yik Yak. I keep it because I don’t need to hide from mere words, especially words that give me a greater understanding of those around me, and how to love them. And I know that I am salt and light (for the Bible tells me so), so I’m going to act like it. Our feed could always use a bit more positivity and a bit more love. Of course, Yik Yak is not my mission field, and needn’t be yours, either. Most Houghton students are Christian already, and Yik Yak does not allow enough personal connection to evangelize. But I won’t be posting anything that I wouldn’t be proud to own up to. You shouldn’t either.

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Opinions

Faith, Justice and Hope

During one of the CLEW services, Dr. Marvin McMickle referenced a gospel song sung in many African-American churches: “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me; the world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away.” I thought back to a seminary friend, who used to sing it, an African-American friend who invited me into his church, his neighborhood and his life. In my ignorance, I thought of his neighborhood as impoverished, disadvantaged and frankly, “bad,” a neighborhood that I, on my better days, might help to save.

MikeJordanLittle did I know, that neighborhood, and that friend and that church, would help to save me.  When my friend took me to his church in his “bad” neighborhood, I met the warmest, most hospitable Christians I had ever known. I met people who had less than I had, but shared more; people who society had pushed to the margins, but who welcomed me into the center; people who had known more suffering than I, but had more joy.

That experience recalibrated my spiritual life. I had to wrestle with the obvious fact that I had, in the end, very little to offer these fine Christians. I had more money and possessions, certainly; and yet, in the presence of these good people I realized that these were more liabilities than assets to the spiritual life. My friend’s church exemplified the fruit of the Spirit in a way that I did not. I was stuck in an anxious pattern, unable to discern God’s gifts in my life, and they knew genuine and obvious joy.  While I frittered and worried about finding God’s call on my life, they lived with bold confidence that they were God’s people for this time and place. While I gritted my teeth and tried doggedly to save the world (to embarrassingly little effect), they were joyfully operating as the hands and feet of Christ in their community.

MJThis reality makes me especially excited for this year’s Faith and Justice Symposium, with the theme “Stories of Hope.” We sometimes imagine that people who have been through war and armed conflict are incapable of hope. Places like Somalia, the Ukraine, Iraq, the Sudan (and other nations like Rwanda and Ethiopia before them) become bywords, shortcuts we use to approximate otherwise unimaginable suffering. “There can be no hope there,” we say, “unless those of us who follow Jesus bring hope to the hopeless,” and in so saying we honor not Jesus but ourselves.

Yet, of course, the reality is different, and far more joyful: God is already at work in all of these places. There is already hope there because God is there. And it is not merely a bud that one day might flourish, but often amid the poor and war-torn there is a more genuine, a more lasting hope; because it is a hope that quite obviously does not depend on everything being just right, or on the absence of war, or the presence of physical peace, or on stable government or riches. It depends only on God to give it: after all, the world doesn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away. That kind of hope was in short supply in my life before I met my friend. I had a fairly hopeful approach to life, but was always worried about something going wrong, or running afoul of God’s will. In the end, I guess I hadn’t known what it meant to truly hope, to hope without the nagging fear that something could go wrong and, in the process, take my hope and happiness away.

Usually, events like this symposium challenge us to get involved and work for justice.  And ultimately, I hope you do that. But before you sign up to help, before you run off to bring Jesus’ light to a dark world, listen to these stories of hope; hear that God is already there, amid all of His children caught in war and conflict, bringing hope to the oppressed. And above all, I pray that you allow yourself to learn from these stories of hope, to learn what real hope is, a hope that might just be sturdier than whatever you call hope today: because the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.

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News

New VOCA Office Opens in Campus Center

A noticeable new edition to the Van Dyke Lounge, is the Fleming-Farver Vocational Opportunities and Career Advising (VOCA office). The office was made possible by a generous donation by Thomas, Ph.D. ’64 and Phyllis (Fleming ‘65) Farver. The VOCA office, lead by Director Kim Pool and Coordinator Brian Reitnour, including other staff such as Administrative Assistant, Cindy Hannigan, Vocational Specialist Rebecca Rowley, Dean Jordan, along with multiple VOCA counselors, offers services that were previously offered in the Career Services Office.

VOCAVOCA will support academic departments and advisors, as well as help students find internship opportunities and connect with Houghton alumni for potential career opportunities through the use of a service called Houghton Connects. According to Pool, the VOCA office hopes to streamline career resources for Houghton students as well as “significantly increase the number of internships and jobs in our online database, specifically in Buffalo and New York City. We also hope to launch an online system that will house internships and streamline the process for registering and receiving approval for an academic internship.” Although, she said, “academic content and approval of academic credit are under the jurisdiction of the Academic Records Office, academic departments, and faculty.

Reitnour stated, “We also hope to talk with students about the broader concept of vocation and God’s calling, which spans beyond one’s occupation to include civic responsibility, relationships with friends and family, church participation and extra curricular activities.” Reitnour also said, “Discovering one’s vocation is more than just searching within to identify unique interests and attributes. It also involves taking a deep look at the world’s needs. We hope to connect students with opportunities to use their skills to serve the needs of the world.”

“The previous location [of Career Services] was tucked away and too small to effectively reach out to 1,000 students. The new location is highly visible and accessible, not only to current students but also prospective students and parents,” Hannigan said. “Its visibility during campus tours communicates Houghton’s commitment and institutional priority to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to be prepared for life after college.” She said that the rest of the Van Dyk lounge will be receiving new furniture in the next few weeks to compliment the VOCA décor.

VOCA offers services to all Houghton students, not just upperclassman. Pool said, “First years and sophomores will definitely benefit from talking with a VOCA counselor early about choosing a major and career options.” In addition to this, students can take advantage of the career assessment tests available at VOCA, as well as Houghton Connects and workshops. Upcoming workshop topics include subjects such as networking, resumes and cover letters, and interviewing skills. A student can even request to do a mock interview with a VOCA counselor.

The new location has already seen in increase in student activity. Students can make appointments in person as well as online, at http://www.houghton.edu/students/voca/. Pool said, “Whatever your class year, we encourage you to make an appointment today to talk with a VOCA counselor who can assess where you are in the four year plan and make sure you are headed in the right direction.”

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News

Conversations About Race Continue

In response to the “Shades of Black” incident that took place in February, and in order to further campuswide education on the topic of race, Student Life and Spiritual Life will be hosting several dinner discussion panels before the end of the semester to continue the conversation on race at Houghton. According to Rob Pool,vice president of student life, the intent behind the events is for students to come to a fuller understanding of “where people are coming from individually” in order to help “shape a better community picture” on Houghton’s campus.

Screen Shot 2014-03-01 at 12.06.30 PMMike Jordan, dean of the chapel, stated that while it would be difficult to coordinate too many events before the end of the semester, “we’d like events to continue into the fall.” Jordan also said that he was “working hard to bring in speakers to chapel next year who will be able to speak to the realities that divide white Christians and Christians of color.”

According to the Community Covenant, which all students sign, the Houghton community pledges to “seek to be a community of inclusion… [and] joyfully celebrate one another, rejoicing in our uniqueness, diversity, environment, heritage and calling.” The Covenant also condemns “discrimination and prejudice (whether of race, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic class).”

After the Shades of Black display, which showcased the stories of African and African-American students of varied backgrounds, was vandalized in February, Student Life took action to identify the person responsible—an alum of Houghton. That evening, Greg Bish, Director of Student Programs, gathered students who had been involved in planning and who were featured in the display for a discussion. One of the key pieces of information that emerged from this dialogue, according to Pool, was that “those who were victimized should not be the ones tapped to help solve or address it” but that “it really needed to be an institutional response.” The diversity events that will be occurring are a direct response to those prior events/

Pool stated that while it is “the student’s responsibility to learn, to grow, to discuss, to grow and to change,” the college has “a major role” in planning events and providing resources and forums at which education on race-related topics can occur. Jordan echoed that concern, stating that while the college is seeking to be “very open to student input, especially the input of students of color,” the college is simultaneously trying to avoid making students feel “if anything’s going to get done, they have to do it”. Spiritual Life’s role in this process should extremely important as well, because “Making room for each other, listening to each other, not jumping to conclusions, finding ways to live peaceably together–these are essential [Gospel] things”, Jordan said.

The defacing of the Shades of Black was described by Pool as “eye-opening” to a “lack of understanding among some of our students,” as the person responsible was an “an outgrowth of the experience here in this community” while other students responded with “gross ignorance” to the fact of the privilege white students experience.

Jordan stated that one of the important things he learned was “how very important it is to mourn with those who mourn.” Jordan also said that that when someone has been deeply hurt “the Gospel doesn’t call us to defend ourselves, nor to lecture the person about why their pain is illegitimate.” As a Christian liberal arts college, it is important that we have continue to explore “each other’s stories about what the Gospel does for us; and students from a dominant white culture need to listen attentively to the stories of non-white Christians even when it’s a bit jarring to them,” Jordan said.

For those not personally affected by the incident but who condemned it and the attitudes who produced it, Pool recommended continuing to speak out in support of their fellow students who were hurt. He commended those who responded with “with genuine, visible expressions of support” for their fellow students and friends after the defacing of the Shades of Black display. Jordan called for bravery on the part of white students who may have been “reluctant or unwilling to see if they actually had something to learn from the experience,” saying that the Houghton community needs to have “the humility to listen to others’ pain and examine our own hearts.”

According to Pool, the freshman class this year has the highest percentage of racially diverse students in Houghton’s history; at present, the incoming first year class for the fall is set to surpass that record.

 

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Stories In Focus

GCF to Put on Faculty and Staff Talent Show

On Friday, March 28th in the Recital Hall, Global Christian Fellowship will be hosting a Faculty and Staff Talent Show. Designed as a fundraiser for GCF missions, the talent show will feature varied acts from multiple disciplines in an effort to raise money for GCF-sponsored mission trips this upcoming summer. Free chai will be provided and there will be baked goods available for purchase, courtesy of the women’s basketball team.

unnamed (21)The event will be emceed by Paul Shea, adjunct professor of missions, who according to Bobby Mauger, GCF’s fundraiser and the driving force behind the show, is “going to open up with something wild” that will set the tone for the rest of the night. Although the show will feature a number of differing acts, including Ben Hegeman, adjunct professor of intercultural studies, performing impersonations of other professors, Mauger said that the primary emphasis of the show will be musical. “It’s a mix of some mostly serious musical talent and then some seriously funny musical talent.” Among those mentioned were a Mo-town group headlined by Michael Lastoria, director of counseling services, and a humorous opera selection sung by Amanda Cox, instructor of voice. Mauger was particularly laudatory of the musical styling of Steve Dunmire, Houghton’s director of church relations. “I think if people don’t know who he is, they’re going to want to know who he is after they hear him sing,” he comments.

The Faculty and Staff Talent Show has been in development for GCF as a fundraiser for quite some time, having false-started with the project last year after hearing of a similar event that Houghton alum Julian Cook was putting together. It was nearly cancelled this semester with the announcement of the campus-wide talent show, Houghton’s Got Talent, but when the event was called off, it made room for GCF to create their own.

All of this is borne out of an effort to get students to interact with missions and create awareness for some of the projects that GCF are involved in. “I’ve had a bunch of conversations with students around campus that are interested in doing missions,” said Houghton junior Olivia Neveu, GCF’s prayer coordinator. “How can we put ourselves out there more so that people are aware of it, so that people who are interested can get involved?”

In the past, GCF has raised money by selling chai during homecoming and selling t-shirts, but now, they are going for something bigger. “It started off by imagining what event would really just create a buzz,” said Mauger. “I’m hoping that it will catch on and be done more.”

With the creation of this event, the GCF cabinet decided that a more personal approach would be required. Together they decided which faculty they wanted to be a part of it and then distributed them among their cabinet members to approach them. Paul Young, professor of psychology, who will be singing at the event with his family, said that there was not an audition process, but that he received a personal invitation from Cindy Austin, admission counselor. Proceeds from ticket sales and the bake-sale will be placed in GCF’s mission fund and distributed primarily among Houghton sports teams and individuals doing internships with One Mission Society.

Tickets for the talent show are available for pre-sale for $3 and will be $5 at the door.

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News

Student Schedule Changes Approved for Next Fall Semester

After several semesters of tentative planning and re-planning, a new schedule was approved for next fall semester. The new schedule, which moves chapel start time from 11:30 am to 11:05 am, is hoped to provide students with more time to eat lunch before afternoon classes. It also sets the earliest class time at 7:55 am instead of 7:45 am and eliminates five-minute breaks between classes, making sure most students have ten minutes to get from one class to another.

Luckey_2Reasons for changing 7:45 start times to 7:55 were complaints about its earliness, while five minute intervals between classes were found to be insufficient for students, especially those walking from one end of campus to the other and those with physical ailments. According to Marge Avery, Director of Academic Records, “There was a proposal to do that to try to squeeze more time slots for classes in and still get things done in the time they thought it could get done in. Enough people said that doesn’t work very well because not all the other classes get out on time.”

The final schedule had to pass through multiple organizations on campus before reaching a general consensus required for final approval. Student government, Academic Council, faculty, Student Life, Sodexo, Dr. Jordan, the admissions office, the dean’s office, and the athletics department all provided input and approved of the final product.

“I know a number of people liked having chapel back at 11:00,” said Avery. “I think that will help. I think this will help with science labs and … one of the main things is that it gives students more time to eat lunch.”

 

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Opinions

L.I.F.E. Club Panel Disappoints

I was horrified when I first received the L.I.F.E. club email stating in big bold letters “Abortion: A Modern Day Holocaust?” that was accompanied by the feet of what appeared to be an infant.  I was horrified not because of my views on abortion, but because of the way the e-mail presented the event. The email claimed to be a panel “discussion” yet the way information was presented did not suggest any “discussion” would occur.  Instead the email suggested that one viewpoint would automatically dominate the event. In addition to my horror, we must realize that even in this small community; there are most likely people who have experienced the effects of abortion to one degree or another. Therefore I do not feel that we should abruptly equate our fellow sisters and brothers to Nazis. Regardless of the impressions I received from the email, I decided to attend, hoping that researched opinions and detailed thought would be respectfully presented.

allysonSadly my hope was, for the most part, in vain–the panel quickly veered in one direction and rarely slowed down to think about other avenues of opinion.  However, though the conversation repeatedly traveled in one direction, I as well as fellow students, were very thankful to have Dean Jordan present. He continually inserted thought-provoking responses that were honest; reminding the students that there are not easily deduced answers when it comes to society’s issue of abortion. However, this was not as true of the other two speakers.

The male guest speaker was a Bible-thumper, who continually repeated kitschy catchy phrases such as, “We have the World View, and then we have the Word View” or “God is Scripture and Scripture is God.” I assure you, Scripture is not cut and dry. Issues dealing with morality are rarely-if ever- black and white. Yes John 1 does say, “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” but the Bible speaks in metaphor. As one student at the panel pointed out, there are thousands of denominations within the Protestant Church alone: clearly believers do not commonly agree on many issues regarding the hermeneutics of scripture. In relation to this, Dean Jordan again pointed us to the important realization that the Bible never addresses abortion, but instead discusses the value of life as a theme prevalent within the Bible. We should approach abortion as intellectuals who can support opinions within secular communities, not just as believers who speak up in our small, faith-based town.

The female guest speaker reverted to a repeated tactic of statistical references throughout the discussion, and at one point admitted to looking up facts online recently to ensure she would have information to bring to the panel.  Statistics work for initial effect, but we have heard them before and we will hear them again. When bombarded with statistics, one does not often come away with new thoughts to dwell on, but rather one comes away with a jumble of disorienting facts that are hard to process. Also this guest speaker was a Catholic and I, like other students, expected the discussion to at least briefly deal with the differences between Catholic and Protestant viewpoints on contraception, but this was never formally addressed. Instead, references were made to the differing thoughts, but time was not devoted to discussing this rift within the Church.

Lastly, the discussion was not clearly focused from the beginning. I expected the first question to be a starting point that dealt with the definition of when life truly starts. This question was only addressed at the end, when a student asked for individualized definitions from each panelist.

Overall I was disappointed. The issue of abortion is regarded as a very heated discussion both inside the church and within the secular world. Students should experience a discussion that holds differing opinions respectfully presented in a way that stimulates an individual’s thought instead of staunching it. Students who are not encouraged to carefully think about issues will not be ready to confidently present his/her own thoughts when given the chance later in life.

Next time the L.I.F.E Club creates a panel discussion, I suggest they bring in a pro-choice opinion–there are academics in our community who hold this view. I also propose they find more readily equipped panelists to argue each side.  This campus also holds people who have devoted time and energy into Pro-Life viewpoints through continual research from both a Christian perspective and a secular perspective.  Once again, I was extremely glad that Dean Jordan had a voice in this discussion, but I wish the panel had been better prepared and more diverse.

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News

New Chapel Time Proposed for 2014-2015 School Year

TheInfamousMonday_chapel

The infamous Monday-Wednesday-Friday lunch rush after chapel may become a thing of the past next fall semester. After alterations from former Student Government Association presidents Garrett Fitzsimmons and Joel Ernst as well as two scrapped plans for a new schedule for next year, a third plan is up for approval by SGA and Academic Council.

Previous chapel times were early enough to evade the long lines in the dining hall immediately after chapel. According to Margery Avery, director of academic records, “Back when chapel was at 11:05, students either went to class after chapel or they went to lunch. Normally 65% of them went to class after chapel. And, lunch wasn’t open from 7:00 to 7:00, so there was just a certain amount of time. So, if 65% of people walked out of chapel and went to class, then you still had a number of students who could go to lunch. Students ate in shifts.” This pattern continued even after a time change to 10:15.

The current starting time of 11:30 was originally changed to fit in science labs or three non-lab classes prior to chapel and provide enough room to schedule four-hour credit courses afterward. However, for many students with multiple afternoon classes scheduled, the only window for them to eat lunch was between the 12:10 ending time for chapel and the 12:45 time for their first afternoon class. Avery states that the time period “was never intended to be lunch. The theory was they would go to class or they would go to lunch. They wouldn’t wind up doing both. But, the students tried to do both.”

A version C of next year’s campus schedule has chapel set from 11:00 to 11:40. However, Avery stresses that there is no guarantee this will be the official schedule for the 2014-2015. For now, the schedule is to be proposed to SGA for input from the student body.