The controversy over the recent article “30 Grams or less: students get school in state pot law” spawned an array of arguments among the student body, who seemed collectively outraged that The Sojourn would run this story. I disagree with the notion that this article was inappropriate and unwarranted.

The Sojourn staff has a real-world duty, as journalists, to present the news to the student body, no matter how sensitive the subject may be. The only issue with their work arises from students and faculty who would rather ignore the dark underbelly of the university, saving face all the while.

Several student comments on the online article focused on the idea that The Sojourn should show Christ’s love to those pot-smoking boys by leaving the story unrepresented via the professional outlet of the student newspaper. This notion is absurd at best.

If you, student or faculty, can remove yourself from the supposition that the university should have the ability to eliminate the responsibility of any student criminal to face the inconvenient consequences of illegal activity, then you might understand what a ludicrous idea it is to forgive and forget in this situation.

The boys involved in this story have gotten exponentially better treatment than any ordinary street criminal would have. In a true-to-the-law scenario, these boys would have had their mug shots plastered all over The Chronicle-Tribune, faced jail time, fines, probation, a court case and they may have even lost their jobs. But should the power of Christ’s love compel you to allow people to disregard these consequences thus empowering a false sense of real responsibility and giving greater momentum to their perpetual adolescence?

The very act of allowing these boys to bypass the real consequences of a real crime, brought on by their own foolishness, can breed subconscious ideas that they may never have to face the tumultuous aftermath of irresponsible choices. And that is a greater disservice to these boys than forcing them to face their choices with a chance to understand just how asinine their actions were.

I could only hope that the university would want to prepare the students for a life after college that most definitely and generously distributes responsibilities with serious consequences. If this isn’t the case, I’m going to assume the university better suited for day care than intellectual development.

by: Olivia Hobbs (jr)

I see a student in the financial aid office, clenching her sweaty palms, mumbling prayers under her breath, waiting for her adviser to come and tell her, “sorry, but your loan was denied.” I see another student in the business office, writing that three figure check out ever so slowly, picturing every penny getting sucked out off his bank account tomorrow. I know many students live off Ramon noodles, peanut butter and Baldwin. I know that the thought of going into the book store on campus brings shivers to their spines because it is the place where they’ve sunk hundreds of dollars buying textbooks they will never open after that class. I feel their pain because I walk among them. I was in the next chair over from that girl in financial aid, wiping my palms on my pant legs. I was behind him in line in the business office, contemplating the repercussions of just dropping out of school. I hate Ramon noodles, but I still shovel them down my throat. And I go to Amazon before I ever come close to the book store.

I get that many of us are poor college students, with such a large amount of student debt that if we actually think about it we have to reach for that brown paper bag and take slow, deep breaths. I get it, I really, really do.

If you are one of those poor college students, you probably have a part-time job, on or off campus. Maybe you’re the one in the dreaded dishroom in Baldwin, scraping food off plate after plate. Or maybe you’re in McConn, making my 16 oz. Jack Frost. I hope you like your job, or at least find it bearable, and I hope your paycheck puts gas in your car and pays for those school books. And most of all I hope you get told “thank-you.”

As a fellow poor college student, I also work a part time job at Wildcutz — the salon on campus. Maybe you’ve been there, maybe you haven’t. I’ve been there for three years. Doing hair is a major part of my life. If I don’t have a laptop keyboard under my hands, typing yet another paper, it is probably because I’m holding a pair of scissors or a flat iron. I love my job, mostly because I get to meet you. I like hearing your stories: where you’re from, what you’re majoring in, why you are having the most stressful week of your life. And I work hard to give you a half hour of relaxation and a great haircut. Or pedicure. Or eyebrow wax (although that would cancel out the relaxing part).

At Wildcutz I work on a commission scale, not for an hourly wage. I get 40 percent of the service price my clients pay. So if I do a 10 dollar eyebrow wax I make 4 dollars. The major downside to working only for commission is that if no clients come in I don’t make any money. I also work for tips and I usually do really well because most clients (even poor college students) are good tippers. Only sometimes customers forget, or just don’t realize that they should tip.

Hair stylists are like waitresses — we survive on our tips. For me my tips often pay my car insurance, or cover my bi weekly Wal-mart expenses. They pay for that occasional Friday night movie with friends or the gas for my car trip home. Tips usually pay for the little things in life, but when tips are non existent those little things add up.

Most clients I get are generous tippers and I want to say thank-you. I think others just aren’t aware that tipping is expected. As long as a client receives good service, tipping is expected. It’s not about the amount a client gives, I get that many are poor college students. But a couple bucks and a smile are the best thank-you a client can give to their stylist.

by: Dr. Rusty Hawkins
Postdoctorla Teaching Fellow – John Wesley Honors College

Last month nearly 400 members of the IWU community piled into the Globe Theatre to watch “The Help.” For more than two hours, these people were treated to images of physical and emotional violence, labor exploitation, and intense racial bigotry from one of the darkest chapters of American history. Rather than warn the movie viewers about the incredible amount of oppression and abuse that they were about to witness (which, frankly, was a sanitized Hollywood version paling in comparison to the brutal reality of life for African Americans in the Jim Crow South), the audience instead was given a disclaimer that they might find some mild profanity in the film offensive. With apologies to Tony Campolo, it saddens me that our community is apparently more sensitive to occasional cursing than it is to overt displays of the historical racism that has shaped (and continues to shape) our nation. As a fellow follower of Christ, I pray for the day when Christians’ discomfort with salty language is far surpassed by our discomfort with injustice.

by: Emily Bair

I was grateful to see someone else who is confused by the lack of spirit at Indiana Wesleyan University sports events. Quite frankly, I’ve been asking the same question, myself.

I am a cheerleader here, so I attend every men’s and women’s home basketball game. I get so caught up in watching the games that I often forget that I’m supposed to be cheering. Sometimes, the games are extremely close, and in those games I’ve watched our players give all they have to cinch the victory. At others, we dominate the court. Either way, our teams give us something to be proud of when we come to games, and it saddens me that more people don’t know about it. We are top-ranked teams, too.

In fact, all of the athletic programs here at IWU are great. Our volleyball team, as you mentioned, put on an impressive display against Taylor, and they have been a powerhouse team all year. When I came for my first visit here, I met with the former cheerleading coach, who showed me a video of a performance that earned the Wildcats a third-place trophy –  third being out of not just NAIA schools, but all Division II schools across the country, with roughly 10 teams in the division. Track, cross country, soccer and all the other sports teams have all had their moments of greatness, and within their seasons, every athlete that comes here commits to representing IWU in a positive manner. We pride ourselves in being Wildcat athletes.

So why are there so few fans who pride themselves in being Wildcats? Why do so few people come support their athletes –  their roommates, their suitemates, their hallmates and their classmates – at athletic events?

I brought up those very questions to Aaron Morrison, and the two of us came up with one dominant answer: we seem to have nothing to rally around. Some universities have come up with traditions that have survived years, such as ringing a bell at the first basket, the “Silent Night” tradition at Taylor, or even an incredible mascot program. We even brought up the toilet paper ordeal that happens at John Brown University. Sure, these might be gimmicks, but they work. When we tried to come up with IWU’s “gimmick,” we were both stumped. I jokingly said World Changers; that’s not going to bring people to games.

I would love to see more people come to games – not just basketball, either. Being at all the games, I see people come in with seemingly low expectations and leave ranting about how great the Wildcats played. People exercising in the Recreation and Wellness Center often stop what they are doing to see what all the ruckus is about in Luckey Arena whenever a sporting event is going on, and they end up staying for the rest of the game.

I agree completely with what Jeremy said. I want to see more people get excited about Wildcat sports. If you come to a game for no other reason, come to support your fellow IWU students. We pride ourselves in the community we have here; extend that to sporting events. We may not yet have a tradition or even a “gimmick” to rally around, and I hope someday we can have something like that. But until then, if people come to a game for no other reason but to show their support of those who call us their friends, then I’m happy.