After waiting a day for people to calm down, the revolution has noticed a few distinct responses to our actions; people either despise us for the right reasons, admire us for the wrong reasons, or, what we feel is the proper response, feel that we are irrelevant and idiotic. While we would like to explain ourselves, there are more pressing issues at the moment. I have written the administration regarding what I think of how our actions were dealt with and it is their responsibility to address you if they please.
Today we have the opportunity to speak with the administration regarding the issue of chapel scanners; because of the damning response I have had, I feel that my personal actions make it impossible to make open communication, and even underground I have to ask you to be as dispassionate as possible and consider the case as if it had simply come to you of its own volition rather than being forced upon you. So let me address you with a short letter:
Let me ask you some questions; why is it you care so much for upholding the “community” of Houghton College? Consider that you were to die tomorrow, or consider what it would be like if the whole school were sucked into a chasm, actually it’s probably best just to consider what it would be like to leave Houghton tomorrow and not come back.
Does the way you are attached to the “community” seem ridiculous at that point? Do you imagine that your heart would pine for the Houghton “community”? No, you would miss your friends, and you would miss the people; the “community” is an illusion which we create to help us be better people and doesn’t deserve our attention unless it serves its purpose.
Let us consider why it is that we have chapel scanners in the first place; obviously this is because people are not responsible enough to take care of their own spiritual formation; we are easily distracted and generally indifferent to such things as chapel, and even in our current situation it seems to be an overlooked experience. So how can we ask for such a thing considering that it will harm the students’ spiritual formation? Well personally I don’t see how it is that it will hurt students if they have to take accountability for their own spiritual formation; even if they were to fail miserably in their attendance, if there is some noticeable benefit that students get out of chapel, there will be a noticeable difference in the quality of life between those students who attend and those students who opt out. What does this leave us with? If there is a noticeable benefit to attending chapel then won’t the students who have this benefit do whatever they can to help their friends (don’t they have a Christian duty to?) and won’t those students who notice the benefit desire it for themselves? You might say that the benefits are such, and the condition of those students who don’t voluntarily attend is such that they will be unable to see it.
Well, then I should ask what advantage do they have in being forced to go to chapel? Will anyone who is there and unable to see the benefit for themselves be helped by being there? Perhaps it is that when they are forced to be there they will be able to see what they otherwise couldn’t. I ask you then, is chapel so paltry that we can’t see any benefit to the rest of our lives except while we’re there? This would be a horrible thing if it were to be true, but still, forcing the students to be there would not help the situation get better, it would only allow chapel to remain paltry.
I understand that this is an impractical and idealistic proposition this is; with clear benefits to having compulsory attendance, and likely injuries by removing it. Why do I feel this is important? Let me return to the Houghton “community.” Either approach we take regarding this issue we are forced to make a difficult decision; but who are we trying to advantage by requiring chapel? The community or the students? You may say they are the same thing, but just imagine you are going to die very soon (relatively this is true), and tell me you still see them as the same thing; what advantage have we done them now that we’re all dead? I understand that it is difficult to give up a present advantage for an unlikely future possibility; I understand that it is difficult to “die,” but this is what Christianity requires. We ultimately can’t help those students either way, but God can, so let us ask ourselves how we best serve God. Is Christianity such a mediocre thing that it requires compulsion, or is it better to leave it up to volition and take responsibility as individuals to help our friends better themselves (and I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen, but that it doesn’t happen enough), isn’t that a real community? It is not that chapel compulsion destroys Christianity as such, but that it excuses us from taking responsibility in the lives of our friends and fellow persons. I recommend that we give over control and instead take up responsibility. Compulsory chapel attendance treats us as children; obviously children need such a discipline, but when do we grow up?
Much love,
La Revolucion.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
To those who are interested in understanding us
I am sorry if our actions have caused you to misunderstand what we meant by them; the removal (aka Theft) of the chapel scanners was to give people the chance to really experience the thought of what chapel would be like without them. The problem is that nobody cares…about anything, even our most life-transforming chapel services here are forgotten by the same evening. As wonderful as sitting down together to figure out what the ideal community would be, Houghton needs more. The Houghton Administration is already doing a very great deal of planning, and we hope for good to come of this, but the problem is more fundamental. The point of the revolution is that Houghton’s problem is an internal problem within us students; the Houghton administration will never be able to fulfill your desires in an academic institution, and we need to change ourselves rather than to change the school (of course, if we were to change ourselves, we also would have succeeded in changing the school).
President Mullen addressed us earlier this year regarding the Houghton Bubble and made a very excellent point when she said that each person is as free to live in (or out of) the bubble as they choose; my only contention with President Mullen is that she made this point to justify the way Houghton already is. The revolution makes this point to emphasize the need for something beyond what any well planned group effort can provide. The revolution is about people engaging things for themselves, and the only situation where we criticize the administration is when it tries to uphold a false “community” that we’re supposed to have, and thereby, in trying to minimize the internal problems of the students, indirectly enables them to continue in those problems. We here in the revolution believe that our problem is not our deficiencies (whatever they may be), but in how we are relating to them.
Yes, we realize that this is idiotic. We understand the stupidity of the position!
President Mullen addressed us earlier this year regarding the Houghton Bubble and made a very excellent point when she said that each person is as free to live in (or out of) the bubble as they choose; my only contention with President Mullen is that she made this point to justify the way Houghton already is. The revolution makes this point to emphasize the need for something beyond what any well planned group effort can provide. The revolution is about people engaging things for themselves, and the only situation where we criticize the administration is when it tries to uphold a false “community” that we’re supposed to have, and thereby, in trying to minimize the internal problems of the students, indirectly enables them to continue in those problems. We here in the revolution believe that our problem is not our deficiencies (whatever they may be), but in how we are relating to them.
Yes, we realize that this is idiotic. We understand the stupidity of the position!
The Empire Strikes Back (revised for comfort)
-Though the account was accurate, the revolution publishes a retraction regarding the woman removing copies of our paper from the dining hall while making snide comments. Even considering that the person was not named in any way, just because it was only a rhetorical part of the article we have removed it; similar to how the administration removed our papers from the dining hall- but I really just don't get it… I suppose that they prefer us to appear as simply thieves in the eyes of the student body, but I really did not expect them to stoop so low as to prevent people from reading what we have to say.
It has been rather disappointing to see this latest step that Houghton has taken to keep us from explaining ourselves. It’s not even that they really had anything to fear in our paper; our main criticisms were of ourselves. And if they really thought there was something wrong with our statements then why didn’t they address the issue? I keep hearing about how this school is all about dialogue and actually listening to students, but it seems to me that the administration only listens to what they want to hear.
Really though, we’re becoming far too serious with ourselves here; we haven’t even begun yet and were already arguing; not a good start I tell you.
It has been rather disappointing to see this latest step that Houghton has taken to keep us from explaining ourselves. It’s not even that they really had anything to fear in our paper; our main criticisms were of ourselves. And if they really thought there was something wrong with our statements then why didn’t they address the issue? I keep hearing about how this school is all about dialogue and actually listening to students, but it seems to me that the administration only listens to what they want to hear.
Really though, we’re becoming far too serious with ourselves here; we haven’t even begun yet and were already arguing; not a good start I tell you.
A Revolutionary Response
The revolution feels that it must respond to this issue and declare that our intentions were never theft, but simply a protesting reminder to students of how the practices of this school have so permeated our thought process that something which would once have been offensive and shocking is now accepted as Christian culture.
As much as we realize and apologize for the fact that we have been lax in making contact with the administration regarding our purposes, the fact that they have been so sudden and drastic in their measures as that they would send us to prison is a shocking matter (especially considering that they refused to press charges against last year’s notorious Houghton Thief and even tried to keep the New York State Police from prosecuting that “repentant” sinner; I suppose they would let you get away with anything as long as you grovel before them). Well, we won’t grovel before them, but because we never intended to keep the scanners more than a few days anyways (and because we have no wish to visit the Allegany county jail) I make my promise that the scanners will be returned today.
As for the “appropriate channels,” now that we have your attention (students I mean) let us oblige the administration and make use of those channels. I hope we have the self respect, now that the administration is already listening, to do whatever we can to address this issue. We have our first task before us!
Just to clarify our standpoint to those of you with tender consciences (would that all our consciences were so), our purpose was never to undermine the system or try to force a change, but that by bringing about some action, we would be able to change Houghton using the appropriate means. Taking the scanners was not something we entered into lightly, and is still not something that we take lightly, but let it exemplify for you the seriousness with which we view this issue.
At this stage we would like to apologize, not for any inconvenience, but for the fact that we lacked patience to simply be ignored.
As much as we realize and apologize for the fact that we have been lax in making contact with the administration regarding our purposes, the fact that they have been so sudden and drastic in their measures as that they would send us to prison is a shocking matter (especially considering that they refused to press charges against last year’s notorious Houghton Thief and even tried to keep the New York State Police from prosecuting that “repentant” sinner; I suppose they would let you get away with anything as long as you grovel before them). Well, we won’t grovel before them, but because we never intended to keep the scanners more than a few days anyways (and because we have no wish to visit the Allegany county jail) I make my promise that the scanners will be returned today.
As for the “appropriate channels,” now that we have your attention (students I mean) let us oblige the administration and make use of those channels. I hope we have the self respect, now that the administration is already listening, to do whatever we can to address this issue. We have our first task before us!
Just to clarify our standpoint to those of you with tender consciences (would that all our consciences were so), our purpose was never to undermine the system or try to force a change, but that by bringing about some action, we would be able to change Houghton using the appropriate means. Taking the scanners was not something we entered into lightly, and is still not something that we take lightly, but let it exemplify for you the seriousness with which we view this issue.
At this stage we would like to apologize, not for any inconvenience, but for the fact that we lacked patience to simply be ignored.
Theft of Chapel Scanning Equipment-Time Sensitive Email
This message has been approved by the VP for Student Life:
On Friday, September 28, 2007 the electronic scanning equipment that is utilized for chapel attendance records was taken and has since not been returned.
This theft is assumed to be intended as a prank or a friendly protest against required scanning for chapel.
Unfortunately, a theft of equipment with this value and of this magnitude can constitute a felony offense as the equipment is worth between $7500 and $10,000. If the equipment is not returned by 5:00 today, this matter will be turned over to the New York State Police for their investigation and follow through.
Those individuals or the individual involved in this matter are being given until 5:00 pm TODAY, Monday, October 1, 2007 to return the equipment with no penalties and/or questions into the matter. The equipment should be dropped off at the Office of Safety and Security in the Campus Center.
Should you have concerns regarding the process for scanning into chapel and/or the chapel attendance requirements, there are appropriate chanels through which to address these concerns. You may e-mail or stop by to see Dr. John Brittain or Sharra Durham in the Office of Student Life.
Finally, the theft of this equipment may well mean that we are unable to scan for chapel attendance until the equipment is returned. I encourage you to attend chapel regardless of attendance record keeping. Today, we are privileged to have Kristin Wiebe, Director of the Human Trafficking Project at World Hope and we will also take time to dedicate the new pulpit in the chapel.
Thank you for your attention to this e-mail and have a wonderful week.
Sharra Durham
Vice President for Student Life
On Friday, September 28, 2007 the electronic scanning equipment that is utilized for chapel attendance records was taken and has since not been returned.
This theft is assumed to be intended as a prank or a friendly protest against required scanning for chapel.
Unfortunately, a theft of equipment with this value and of this magnitude can constitute a felony offense as the equipment is worth between $7500 and $10,000. If the equipment is not returned by 5:00 today, this matter will be turned over to the New York State Police for their investigation and follow through.
Those individuals or the individual involved in this matter are being given until 5:00 pm TODAY, Monday, October 1, 2007 to return the equipment with no penalties and/or questions into the matter. The equipment should be dropped off at the Office of Safety and Security in the Campus Center.
Should you have concerns regarding the process for scanning into chapel and/or the chapel attendance requirements, there are appropriate chanels through which to address these concerns. You may e-mail or stop by to see Dr. John Brittain or Sharra Durham in the Office of Student Life.
Finally, the theft of this equipment may well mean that we are unable to scan for chapel attendance until the equipment is returned. I encourage you to attend chapel regardless of attendance record keeping. Today, we are privileged to have Kristin Wiebe, Director of the Human Trafficking Project at World Hope and we will also take time to dedicate the new pulpit in the chapel.
Thank you for your attention to this e-mail and have a wonderful week.
Sharra Durham
Vice President for Student Life
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Enter -The Revolution
At some point after Friday’s chapel, someone (me) removed the chapel scanners from the administration’s control. But first, you need to know about the revolution (Known to friends as “La Revolucion”).
After leading depressing lives for a number of years, some of your fellow students decided that time doesn’t really fix things, and that life is too valuable to waste. From our experience with boredom and apathy, we realized that people would need something more than just another voice to confuse them. They would need something much more personal, more active, and preferably more interesting. Viola! The revolution was born.
And now we look to you, as it is for you that we draw our breath and speak these words; here to uphold the good gifts of life beyond all pithy complaints, we labor to support and proclaim again to Houghton the things it has forgotten. For we have too often traded the good things of our faith for earthly comfort. After peeking through the broken doors of our cages, we have cowered in fear at the prospect of leaving them, preferring the familiarity of our own cowardice to freedom.
Now that we have introduced ourselves, I am sure that you are puzzled as to how and what we expect to do. To be honest, we don’t really worry about that; time and the hearts of man hold many things that no person can foresee and we don’t pretend to. However, it is our solemn belief that by simply being who we are before God and refusing to let apathy and cowardice take that away from us, we are able to empower you and to serve you. Viva La Revolucion!
After leading depressing lives for a number of years, some of your fellow students decided that time doesn’t really fix things, and that life is too valuable to waste. From our experience with boredom and apathy, we realized that people would need something more than just another voice to confuse them. They would need something much more personal, more active, and preferably more interesting. Viola! The revolution was born.
And now we look to you, as it is for you that we draw our breath and speak these words; here to uphold the good gifts of life beyond all pithy complaints, we labor to support and proclaim again to Houghton the things it has forgotten. For we have too often traded the good things of our faith for earthly comfort. After peeking through the broken doors of our cages, we have cowered in fear at the prospect of leaving them, preferring the familiarity of our own cowardice to freedom.
Now that we have introduced ourselves, I am sure that you are puzzled as to how and what we expect to do. To be honest, we don’t really worry about that; time and the hearts of man hold many things that no person can foresee and we don’t pretend to. However, it is our solemn belief that by simply being who we are before God and refusing to let apathy and cowardice take that away from us, we are able to empower you and to serve you. Viva La Revolucion!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A Revolutionary Welcome
Welcome my friends and revolutionaries, perhaps this is a new idea to you or perhaps you have been silently waiting for the chance to do something... anything. I don't pretend at anything spectacular and I don't promise results, but the fact that you are here reading this is itself result enough, it is time to take fate into your own hands. So I invite you please, to leave us a note with your sentiments; whether you hate us (not very Christian), love us, don't care for us, or even would like to join us, let us know what you think, because we care.
Considering that I have only just begun, and even yet have not begun exactly, I cannot say where this is all going, but a woman has to start somewhere (not that I'm a woman) and this is where I find myself. Thank you for your attention. As this is coming from the past I have nothing planned and am unsure what to expect; I assume that you are here because you have either heard of some spectacular feat and then saw a poster or because you happened across a paper in the dining hall. Whatever the reason, Viva La Revolucion!
Considering that I have only just begun, and even yet have not begun exactly, I cannot say where this is all going, but a woman has to start somewhere (not that I'm a woman) and this is where I find myself. Thank you for your attention. As this is coming from the past I have nothing planned and am unsure what to expect; I assume that you are here because you have either heard of some spectacular feat and then saw a poster or because you happened across a paper in the dining hall. Whatever the reason, Viva La Revolucion!
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