Opinion > December 6, 2007

Chatting at Lovefeast mars festive atmosphere

The Lovefeast in Wait Chapel (Dec. 2) is a lovely university tradition anticipated by many each December. It offers a welcome respite from end-of-semester stress and highlights what, in my opinion, are the hallmarks of the holiday season. Many campus groups come together to make this magical evening a success – with input from everyone from the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, which assembles the beautiful luminaries along the Quad; to the staff of the university stores, who provide the food and drink enjoyed during the service; to the many musical groups who share their time and talent with the congregation.

All of this makes for a wonderful evening that I’m truly thankful to participate in. However, a damper was put on my experience, and surely the experiences of others, by the regrettable behavior of some of those in attendance. Now, I’m hardly what one would call a traditionalist in my religious views. In fact, I would consider myself fairly relaxed in my faith and spirituality. But traditionalist or not, the incessant talking that took place during the service was simply uncalled for.

I don’t mean casual comments made quietly to one’s companions; I’m referring to complete conversations being held during reflections and pieces of music, where there was almost no effort made to lower one’s voice. Whether or not you consider yourself devoutly religious, such behavior is just rude. A great many people put a lot of work into making the evening a success, and the least we can do as attendees is keep quiet long enough to appreciate the service in its entirety.

Put simply, it’s unfortunate that the night was anything but silent.

Mariclaire Hicks

Sophomore

Reynolda Village could be Wake’s Franklin Street

When I visited Chapel Hill as a confused high school senior, I was turned off by the school. The campus was huge, I saw 200-person classes and that pale shade of light blue made my stomach uneasy. The one thing I loved about Chapel Hill, however, was Franklin Street. I spent the majority of the day on Franklin Street eating and shopping. I even partied there that night. It seemed like the perfect place for the whole college community to come together when they weren’t in class or at a basketball game.

When I visited Wake Forest, I loved the gorgeous small campus, I wanted to be part of the small classes and I looked really good in old gold and black. When I ate dinner at the Village Tavern that evening, I assumed Reynolda Village was Franklin Street’s equivalent, only it was smaller and classier, perfect for Wake Forest.

However, as a sophomore, I can honestly state I’ve never been to Reynolda Village except for the occasional dinners with my parents at the Village Tavern, never on my own. Reynolda Village, despite its proximity to campus, remains largely underutilized. There are a plethora of reasons for the university to make Reynolda Village more accessible to the campus community. It could provide a safe place for students to party, decreasing drunk driving and the ever-so-dangerous freshman activity of walking back from off-campus parties. It could provide Wake a much-needed place for the community to come together outside of class and sporting events. The only place I feel like I can meet new people is in the Pit or in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library. That is pretty sad. Reynolda Village could even help Wake draw students to the school.

When I’m an alumnus, I want to come back and spend time at a place where I can feel like part of the Wake Forest community. Reynolda Village is the perfect place to offer that sense of the community. It’s definitely better than the Pit.

Randy Paris

Sophomore

Columnist misrepresents humanism

In sophomore Matt Brumit’s column on humanism (“Humanism espouses unrealistic view of mankind, Nov. 29), the author grossly misinterprets what Humanism philosophically stands for, then uses this misinterpretation as a straw man to trivialize and discredit secularism and atheism. After committing this fallacy and erroneously dismissing Humanism, Brumit then attempts to smuggle in a number of pseudo-rational justifications for belief in God, a belief which only faith can “support.”

Random House dictionary defines Humanism as an ideology which emphasizes “reason, scientific inquiry and human fulfillment in the natural world.”

Contrary to Brumit’s misunderstood claim that Humanists believe in the “ultimate good of humanity” and the even more fantastic claim that this turns out to mean that “every human ... is a god,” Humanism holds that human beings are born tabula rasa, i.e. neither good nor evil. It proclaims that human beings are natural, rational creatures who have the potential to be either good or evil depending on the choices they make.

When properly understood, this means that “good” and “evil” are moral terms that identify a certain class actions and their relationship to man, viz., whether actions that are open to human choice, are either life promoting, or life destroying. What is ironic about Brumit’s article is that contrary to “Hitler, Stalin and Mao destroy[ing] modern secular humanism…,” the existence of these evil dictators actually destroys the traditional Christian conception of God. It does this by giving a clear example of evil existing in a world over which an omniscient, omnipotent and omni-benevolent God is supposed to preside. This argument, termed “the problem of evil,” explains logically why evil cannot exist in a world where God is both powerful enough and willing to stop evil. Yet, evil exists ... The only proper antidote to evil such as Nazism, Communism or Fundamentalist Terrorism (which Brumit does not address, presumably because he leaves it in God’s hands) is to embrace Humanistic ideas, particularly Reason. Doing this will ensure that individuals and governments communicate rationally and interact peacefully. It is no accident that ideas of the Enlightenment, which championed Reason, gave birth to the United States, the freest, most prosperous nation in history.

A commitment to Reason will ensure that faith keeps its rightful place, which is, as source of personal, spiritual enjoyment, not as a means of cognition. For, when faith is erroneously hailed as a means of cognition, as knowledge, reason ends and a gun begins.

This is true because while for those who share faith in something, justification for their beliefs need not be given, but for those who do not share the same faith, no rational justification is possible.

Derrick Nantz

Graduate student in counseling

Editorial did not do student health care justice

I was disappointed with the Editorial Board’s misrepresentation of the Student Health Care Initiative’s (SHCI) idea to add health insurance onto the tuition statement. The Old Gold & Black stated that it opposed the SHCI’s plan because it increases tuition. However, this is a complete misunderstanding of the SHCI’s proposal.

As senior Robyn Showers’ article “Students propose new health plan” (Nov. 29) explains, “the added charge would be removed once a student provides proof of insurance, which would be as simple as a copy of the student’s insurance card.” Health insurance would be a separate charge, independent of tuition, that appears on one statement.

The extra cost would affect no one except those who need the insurance plan offered by the university; there would not be an increase in tuition for the majority of students who already have health insurance.

In the eyes of the SCHI, our plan can only benefit the campus. Adding health insurance to the tuition guarantees every student health insurance and makes it much easier for those who need help financially to receive it from the administration.

It is very important that the Editorial Board correct their mistake because their misrepresentation could impact the opinion of the student body. The support of fellow students is vital to the SHCI and our mission to ensure equal access to health care for all students. With the solidarity of the campus, the administration will be compelled to respond with swifter action.

Dylan Breese, Dalton Hoffine, Alex Lamballe, Marisa Menezes, Kris Pamulapati and Sara Smith

Members of the Student Health Care Initiative