It looks like a nice little newspaper. I don't know that much about LU, having never actually been there. I hear quite a bit about it, however, since a lot of my colleagues send their kids there. I got to know the editor, Charley, a couple years ago when he lived with our family for a summer. (p.s. to Charley--I think you are wise to skip the barcode tatoo. If you wait until you start to go bald, you can have comb-over that looks like a barcode:-)
I hear complaints about LU sometimes, usually about meals. I don't know whether to consider them seriously or just assume they come from typical college kids who miss mom's cooking. I mean, I sent my three kids to other Christian colleges, and they complained the same way.
Sometimes I've heard complaints from LU students about chapel. I assume chapel attendance is required, otherwise they wouldn't be complaining about it. Maybe LU should consider making these changes to chapel, and see if things improve:
- Chapel is voluntary, not required.
- Chapel speakers and musicians are of high quality.
- Chapel is when campus announcements are made.
- The library, post office, and snack bar are all closed during chapel hour so staff can attend chapel.
Hmm, maybe I should ask the YellowJacket editor if I can write a guest editorial for the next issue.
6 comments:
As a former LU student I'll make a few comments.
Cafeteria food does seem to be complained about at most colleges. The main complaint I had was that they went through periods were they didn't have much variety (after a few years it really got old - many people got tired of it before I did). Also, I don't think they were managed very well. They didn't always open on time and they seemed to have trouble reordering items before they ran out of it.
Students were required to attend 38 of around 45 chapels, also there were normally were other opportunities available for chapel credit. Chapel credits could also be made up by "listening to" a chapel on tape or mp3 and writing a 3/4 page summary of it. I did this alot since I didn't like most of the chapels. The library, etc. were closed during chapel. I am against forced chapel attendance on principal - and feel that LU had it because it was the easiest way to prove that the were a "real Christian university."
- Eeyore
Eeyore, do you think LU isn't a "real Christian university"? Is it more like Baylor about which I heard it said, "If you come to Baylor expecting a Christian university you'll be disappointed. If you come to Baylor expecting a secular univesity, you'll be pleasantly surprised."
LU is as "Christian" of a university as there is.
- Eeyore
LU is probably the most wholeheartedly Christian school I've ever stepped foot on. I was impressed from day one at the genuine commitment so many students and faculty had to bettering their relationship with Christ. There are plenty of exceptions and plenty of faults at LU, but it is a human institution.
You have good suggestions about chapel. I think chapel would have been fine if they had it less often (thus, lowering the magic number of 38) and had better speakers. Having less chapels would let them find better quality speakers and not have to fill so many of the chapels with boringness.
Charley has been doing an AMAZING job at the newsletter this year...and Justin (the layout guy) did a fantastic new layout. The content is 10x better and the layout is slicker than ever. I was completely impressed.
Wow, shroud, the president isn't the only one who likes your new and improved newspaper! And you've got some ideas for an editorial about a new and improved chapel policy. But if you wrote that, maybe the president wouldn't like you so much :whoops:
Actually, we have just recently been discussing a feature on different options for chapel. The question of mandatory chapels has been addressed in the newspaper before, but I don't think it's been done right yet--it's a very difficult topic to fully cover. We're hoping to get a team of perhaps three writers and do a sprawling feature on just that topic sometime soon.
shroud
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