College Life

This is a "paper" I wrote in a few afternoons after being at school for a while. Not sure why, but I felt like posting it. Criticisms or comments on writing and content is welcomed.

"Regardless of his religious beliefs, a young person must not be subjected to rules that are made up because of the ... beliefs of a teacher or for the convenience of a school administrator.”

I am a student attending at a Baptist Christian college. I agree with their views on most everything doctrinally, and am very thankful that Maranatha is in existence: for there are very few colleges who stand firm on the King James Version and hold to the Calvinistic view of salvation, just to name a few. However, their Pharisaical approach to the rules and guidelines is most disturbing.

The most interesting part about this though, is that the makers of these rules understand that they having no real backing. The Dean of Students, Mr. Richards, said multiple times during freshman orientation that they did not hold their rules to be morally right. They would not condemn us in our homes if we did not abide by their rules because the rules are without Biblical backing. The only reason they are in place is because the founders of the school put them there. These rules include the following:

Girls must wear nylons before 12:20 on class days.
Guys must wear ties before 12:20 on class days.
Females are not allowed to wear blue jeans, unless they are in their dorm.
Girls are not allowed to wear any type of slacks to class.

What is the point of these? Modesty? If modesty were the issue, all pants on girls would be banned from any activity. Girls would not be allowed to wear pants to a basketball game. Guys always would have to wear ties. But how are ties modest? How are nylons? How are blue jeans worse than black jeans? How are things that before 12:20 are wrong, suddenly become acceptable afterward?

I understand the desire for students to be dressed appropriately for class, the desire for them to look nice. However, wouldn't consistency say that either you require the students to dress up the same amount for all classes or you let them go without nylons or ties as they choose? Why are morning classes more important than afternoon classes? How do these rules make any sense at all?

Is it really necessary to require girls to wear skirts on days when the wind chill is more than 20 degrees below 0? Oh, you have a bus taking them from their dorms to the main campus? Well, that makes it better then. Say again? Students have actually gotten frostbite during the walk from the main campus to their dorms. How does this not scream lunacy? Mostly likely this hasn’t been changed because the students come to school anyway. We agree to abide by these “standards” and are then bound by our word, much to the displeasure of our reasoning faculties.

These rules are not only logically unsound, they are also spiritually blind. This college is supposedly based on the Bible, supposedly run by Christian teachers and staff who wish only the betterment of the spiritual welfare of their students. And though I have personally witnessed an amazing amount of kindness and an eagerness to help from this blessed group of people, they are still holding to these rules which were created much for the same reason the Pharisees created their traditions. They are created to safeguard the keeping of the law.

Eve told the serpent that she and Adam were not even to touch the fruit when God had commanded no such thing. Had Eve only touched the fruit, she would not have died. She created a rule to safeguard the law of God. This should not happen. This does not need to be. God’s law is sufficient, and pure, and holy. By creating excess rules, we are, in effect, declaring His standards to be ineffective. We are mocking the work of the Spirit of God in the hearts of His people.

Should there be standards? Most assuredly, yes! But wouldn’t it be wise to have Biblical backing for such standards? Wouldn’t it be wise not to contradict such standards within your own rules? For a young Christian who does not understand, these rules will be all the more confusing! Why am I allowed to do some things at certain times but not at others? Why is alright for me to ride with a boy to church (as long as there is an odd number of us) without needing special permission but not to Wal-Mart?

Do you see where someone might be confused? Do you see where these rules make no sense? Do you see how there are so many flaws in them? These rules are not hard to get around. No kissing? How many couples do you think have kissed and never been caught? How many have not filled out passes when they were supposed to and were never found out?

These rules do not greatly hinder those who are going to break them anyway. They only succeed in making life more difficult for those who will abide by them in the first place, those who have their own standards for life and their own boundaries.

As the quote at the beginning of this paper states, students should not be under rules that are devised for the sole purpose of the convenience of those running the school. The administrators should not make rules that makes things easier on them if such standards are to the detriment of the rest of the campus body, whether student or teacher. Rather than seeing the hurt of one student, dorm supervisors are only seeing the student whose shoes are too casual for class at that particular hour. Rather than helping the one who is struggling spiritually, they are making sure that all the girls are wearing nylons and the men have ties. These are the outward things that the Pharisees were so careful of. This is the washing of hands before meals and not gathering corn on the Sabbath.

This Pharisaical element of many of the rules in place here at Maranatha, is only harming those who already have their foundation in the Bible, who are already more than willing to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and it is misleading those who do not know better. How easy it is to be like the Galatians and go back to keeping the law! Rather than enable us, should not college be the place where we learn to develop our own standards which we will carry throughout life? Should not the school and teachers be available for advice and Godly counsel, rather than the recitation of the school rules?

College is to be the place where a young adult comes into their own. It is a separation from home and from the rules and confines of it. It should be a breath of the fresh air of freedom and as such should be a time to search the Scripture to see where your personal convictions are. It should not be yet another place where the rules are laid out for you and in strict adherence you remain unprepared for life in the real world, life in an ungodly world; a life where there are no human rules other than those you impose on yourself.

God will not hold the college accountable for me. He will have my parents give account. He will have my pastor give account, but this college has no Scriptural rule over me. This college is not watching for my soul. And as such, this college should in no way assume to have authority over me and other adults who are attending when it comes to matters of spiritual discernment. If you truly believe a student is violating the law of God, then follow the guidelines in the Bible and talk to them about it. If they continue, take it before one or two witnesses and then before the church bring the situation to light, and as God has prescribed in His Word, let that be the system.

School

It's extremely hard to get back into the routine of school after being out of it for a week. A blessed week of relaxation. Yet I find my brain doesn't want to turn back on, it doesn't want to finish up. It's exhausting fighting with yourself for every inch, every sentence, every chord and every minute of practice. Somehow in the fight, I got an 11/10 on a quiz today. Hurray for small victories. Hurray for short-term goals. My goal is Saturday. By that time, I will hopefully have my research paper completed and my two of my other projects done. It's a lot of work when you don't want to do anything. It's a lot anyway. If I can do it, next week will be so much nicer.

I've been tired since Sunday morning. I've been sleeping well. I'm not sick. But I've been tired since Sunday morning. I've been exercising. Eating healthier. I feel so exhausted. All day. My eye was twitching today. It's done that sporadically since a while ago when I got extremely stressed. It twitched for two or three days.

I've been trying to be friendlier, to not sit alone. To not wear black all the time. Black is a good color though. :P But still. I wore white and blue today. I smiled and said "hi" to random people that I passed. There was a guy one day who was like, "HI!" randomly. We'd met once or twice, not really said anything to each other. I giggled and said, "hi" back. It was nice. I like people like that. Sonny Snyder was like that. Mike V. is like that. . . Nice people.

I thought the library closed at nine. But it's nine now and no one has told us to leave. Maybe it closes at half past.

My back hurts. I was stretching and I think I did something bad to it. . . . Woot.

I need to go read some Psalms. . . I've been trying to memorize 61. I think I had half of it. It's only eight verses. Should work on it tonight. And study a little for my quiz tomorrow. Didn't do as well on the last test as I wanted to. . . Hmm. I wonder if I can meet with the teacher to look it over tomorrow. I'm curious.

I miss people. I miss hugs. I miss laughing. For no reason about something that really wasn't that funny. I miss home.

Life is.

It is Sunday, the second of March. February has come and gone. Do you realize what this means? Five days till Spring Break. :D FIVE! That's it. Just five and then I will be home! One more week of classes, but wait! Tuesday classes are cancelled! Not that Tuesday is usually rough, but every little bit helps. :) Four more class days. Four. Aaaah. . . . Tis a kindly thought.

Being March also means Spring and with the weather we've had the past few days, it sure feels like it. It's warm out. I almost wrote "balmy", but then this dialogue of what "balmy" means went through my head. . . . I have you to blame for that, Mike. :P (Also that in two days I reread everything that I have that you've written. =D) But I've digressed.

Six hours yesterday of working on wedding invitations. . . I'm not going to do that for mine. . . . It was nice spending time with Dave and Kaylynn though. Karlene is kind of easy to mock sometimes. . . I never know if I should or not. I feel kind of bad if I do, 'cause I don't know how sensitive she is, but I feel bad if I don't because getting mocked is part of being accpeted in a group. At least in our family. Hah. :)

I miss the Mikes. . . . I miss everybody, but I miss Mike. Either one and both.

I should be working on my research paper, but I'm not. . . I'm writing a blog, because technically, I'm ahead. Even though, I'm going to be behind come Monday afternoon. Confusing, eh? Yeah, I don't know if I'm going to be able to write six pages on something I really couldn't care less about. . . . But we shall see.

Oh, yes, I was talking about weddings. So, I'm pretty sure my colors are going to be black, white and dark green. Or many shades of green, perhaps. We'll see. I like green. I considered blue, but I don't like green and blue, and I've had blue for too long. I'm babbling. My apologies.

I love the Library on Sunday afternoons. It's dead. :) I sat alone in SS this morning, semi-alone in church and alone for lunch. It really didn't bother me at all today. :) In fact, it was better than sitting with a bunch of girls. . . Lots better. . . Hehe.

I've started saying "out" and "about" and that kind of "ou" sound like Canadians. Comes from hanging out with Krystle. Hehe. She's cool. Her sister is here for a week. Oh, that reminds me of Nate. Nate is an army guy. Pretty nice, kinda funny, big flirt. It was announced on, I believe Thursday, that his dad was in critical condition in the hospital. I don't know him that well, but I was crying anyway. And all Thursday and Friday, I prayed for him and his family. We still haven't heard anything more about it. Krystle and he are really good friends and last I talked to her, she didn't know anything either. Anyway.

There's this guy that I saw for the first time last Sunday, and I could swear I know him from somewhere and I cannot for the life of me figure it out. Since then, I've seen him in chapel and church and the "Dining Commons." He kinda looks like Dracula without the vampirical teeth. His hair is dark and cut that way and he's pretty pale. . . Anyway. It's bothersome. I probably don't know him. He just looks really familiar. . . .

Five days. :)

Congratulations to Isaac and Tera! :) Happy Birthday, Sophia!