Fighting for the right to converse

by Ian Crane

arts and entertainment editor

There were two responses last week to my original article about what defines “Loma appropriate.”

It would be an understatement to say I was extremely disappointed when I read Jennelle Gee’s response. As a response to my desire for students to expand their understanding of the world and never silence each other, such a seemingly narrow understanding of Christianity and the world at large was off-putting.

Gee’s second sentence reads: “I couldn’t wait to meet other people like me, conserva­tive and striving to please the Lord.”

Gee’s article seemed like an attempt to universally describe a radically specific and particular understanding of what it means to be Christian and to attend a Christian university.

Our community is by no means homog­enous; we need to stop pretending it is. We must always leave room for varied under­sandings of what it means to live a Christian life and a moral life.

As an inter-denominational community, it is important we make no assumptions re­garding what Christianity means for fellow classmates and not make statements like, “Homosexuality is a sin and always will be.”

Additionally, Gee’s statement, “the argu­ment for homosexual rights is irrelevant,” and her call to “stop stirring up commotion” is highly problematic.

I am not simply “stirring up commotion” and my fight is not irrelevant. My fight is proven significant by these kinds of state­ments. Until students across the nation stop killing themselves because of statements like this, I will not stop.

I also want to comment on Kyle Zick’s response as well, and say something like we’re on the same team, dude. I, too, am call­ing for “thicker skin” and tolerance.

However, I still stand by my original article; I do not think screaming out of a car in an attempt to silence someone is a conversation. I do not think an intolerant person deserves tolerance. I do think this is homophobic and I do think this is an attack.

Let us always be open to conversation and varied perspectives and not confuse conversation with silencing the other.