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“Nobody is forcing you to go to a Christian college.”
My heart is heavy again this week after the Calvin College Board of Trustees, after meeting last weekend, announced Monday that it had rejected the faculty’s request to withdraw its controversial May 2009 memo.
The memo, which surfaced in August, bars faculty and staff from advocating, either in or out of the classroom, for same-sex sexual relationships or marriage. On Monday, Sept. 28, the faculty senate met and passed a proposal, by a 36-4 vote, asking the Board to withdraw the memo.
I was at that faculty senate meeting. So was President Byker. In fact, as president of the college, it’s his job to faithfully represent faculty concerns to the Board. We both heard the arguments. The faculty said the board acted out of ...
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Subsidies misguided
Farming subsidies prevent development I think it would be cool for FailBlog to handle the failures of farm subsidies. More people ought to know how ridiculous they are; our government gives around $25 billion to our farmers every year. If that sounds outlandish, it’s because farm subsidies truly are outlandish.
Their stated purpose is to help poor American farmers deal with crop price fluctuations and to keep American taxpayers fed at a reasonable price. Subsidies would actually be defensible (to Americans) if they did these ...
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In the deluge of news coverage that has ensued since the Board of Trustees’ memo leaked in August, I hope that no one has the impression that the Chimes staff spends its weekends thinking of new spins to take on Memogate. Week after week, coverage continues because the issue is an important one that affects every single member of this community.
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In these first two months as co-editor of the Op/Ed section, I (Joel) have learned a lot. Like that I can accuse the United States of terrorism sans condemnation or directly challenge denominational theology without a single indignant response.
One thing you cannot do, however, is write an article about racism without fear of a major backlash, even if your goal ...
Costs outweigh benefits
Two years of campus life not for everyone
"Living on campus is an integral part of the Calvin College educational experience. The learning that takes place within communities of residents is a catalyst for social, spiritual, moral, and intellectual development." - Calvin Course Catalogue
Calvin ought not to have the current two-year residency requirement. Although this requirement may be made in good faith, there are a number of negative ...
Last week I attended the Calvin Conservative viewing of “Not Evil, Just Wrong,” a movie made to discredit the movement surrounding global warming and the position presented by Al Gore. While watching this movie, I asked myself “what are the goals of a film like this?” I came up with three possible answers: to discredit Al Gore and the majority of ...
It is OK to have left-handed tendencies, but to write with your left hand is a sin. This is what the church tells its LGBT members. The CRC church holds the stance that homosexuality is not a sin but homosexualism (which is not even a word), the practice of homosexuality, is. Many LGBT people equate this to being told that ...
>Article mistaken in understanding of Biblical text
Dear Editor,
I have a few questions and comments for Dusty Jepkema; first, regarding the context of the Leviticus 18:22. Perhaps you are right to criticize that we pick and choose which Levitical laws are still relevant, but it seems you’re doing the same thing. Given the context of this passage within a catalogue ...