Oracle Online

« Democracy doesn't exist | Main | Scrutinize proposed executive board »

May 01, 2007

Letters to the Editor

Student finds spirit of Hamline in HUMC

This letter is in response to the Oracle’s front page article: “What is the Spirit of Hamline?”

Hamline’s quest to find its spirit is similar to something that happened to me when I was little kid. At age five in my hometown in Brazil, I used to play many games. In this particular game somebody would select an object, and would hide it in the house and see if others could find it. In my turn, I had to hide a pencil; nobody could find it. I thought I was the best player ever until they asked me to look for the pencil and I couldn’t find it. It turned out that the pencil was in my hand all the time! Similar to this story is the search for Hamline’s spirit.

The spirit that we are looking for is just next to us and has been here since the beginning of Hamline’s history. It is just south of Manor. Yes, I am talking about the Hamline United Methodist Church.

One may think that this is an overstatement because after all, we are a religiously diverse community. But my point is that although the HUMC is not fully representative of our spirit, it certainly constitutes one manifestation of the spirit we are looking for and that is worthy of acknowledging and cultivating.

Let me give you a brief introduction of the HUMC. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that I was in a church when I heard certain sermons. I remembered having a neck spasm when Minister Greg Renstrom began to give an entire sermon based on the story of a gay man who was doing all these great deeds for the gay community. In some of the places where I grew up you probably would never hear a minister speaking about a gay person; if she or he would’ve done so, you would not see that minister the next Sunday.

I also heard my minister speaking strongly of accepting those of the Muslim faith, especially those that are new in this country. Every time a baby is baptized in our church he tells us the story that the Hmong consider every newborn infant as a new cousin, whether or not the newborn is connected to her/him by blood.

We also pray for the people of Israel as well as the people of Palestine. Once, I asked my minister, “Let’s say that I’m the President of Brazil and Argentina invades Brazil. I must declare war, right?” He bluntly replied “No. There are always ways to find peace. There’s always a way to resolve conflict through peaceful means.” I didn’t like what I’d heard. I thought, “Man, this is just too much.” But now, I understand that this is a good way to think about such issues, a way of thinking that is founded on the resolution of conflicts primarily through peaceful means because peace is indeed the way that we all must follow to the bestčreally, the bestčof our abilities if we are to be called Christians and beyond that, human beings who live on this earth.

Being part of the Hamline Church allowed me to become a much better person, more accepting of others, whether or not we share the same values, traditions, ethnicity, or any other different background. Thanks to HUMC, I am proud of my Christian background. I don’t feel insulted when somebody blames Christians for many evils that occurred in our societies such as deeming Africans and Indians as heathens or the Muslims as infidelsčand all the cruel and inhumane bloodshed and pain that came with it. At HUMC, we are planting seeds of high ideals that our community and the world needs. Such is the spirit of Hamline. And it is this spirit that we live by.

-Joao Murilo S. V. da Fonseca ’08

Nature cabal brings joy to professor

I would very much like to thank the tree-hugging, do-gooder, free-thinking nature cabal for making me crack a smile every time I walked across campus these past few days.

Yesterday, a fine tree that I pass every day on my way to and from work as I walk between Sorin and Manor invited me to “get in touch with my inner squirrel” and climb it. As badly as I wanted to embrace my spring fever by accepting the tree’s kind offer, I considered the very real possibility of getting stuck up there with no way down. Instead, I could only smile and let my imagination roam. The folks at MPIRG have given voice to the voicelessčHamline’s trees. Thank you for lightening up my day. Bravo!

-David Davies
Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Tragedy produces thought-provoking questions

The Virginia Tech tragedy has given me the chance to be involved in a series of very deep conversations with members of the Hamline University community and others in my life. For me, there are two main issues with which I have found myself concerned.

First, more than anything else, I worry about my brother Jacob. We adopted him when he was nine years old. He’s a Thai national, 21, mentally ill, deaf and has a history of violence and acting strangely. He’s living in a group home and his medications have greatly decreased his schizophrenia-related behaviors.

But-what if? He is “the creepy guy on the bus.” What if his odd behaviors get him into trouble? He’s deafčwhat if there is a call to the police and they don’t understand his attempts to communicate? He has a second-grade educationčhe can’t communicate effectively by writing.

What if Jacob is shot by law enforcement acting in good faith because they aren’t properly trained or are just plain scared of his irrational behaviors and vocal noises?

Secondly, I’ve been attending a church that doesn’t really give a damn that I’m not a Christian, and I enjoy the community there. They are good people with a focus on social and ecological justice.

In Father Mark’s sermon this week, he shared the story of Saul/Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-19a). In it, he noted that we always focus on Saul, but never on Ananias. Ananias was told by God to seek out Saul; Ananias’ responded by basically asking God “Are you crazy?! He’s the one who persecutes us the most!” God told him to go anyway, and Ananias did, even though he was terrified of this Saul-person. The point of this story, according to Fr. Mark, is bravery of Ananias seeking out a person who could greatly harm him, and reaching out to that person. He put aside his fear to help another human being.

And I think Fr. Mark is right-what if Cho had his own Ananias? I don’t know if anyone reached out to him, but what if there was one person out there who could have reached out to him but didn’t? That question is going to haunt some people for the rest of their lives.

I try to smile and say “hi” to everyone as I’m walking around in my day-to-day life. Even if I am in a bad mood, I think it’s important that I try to brighten up somebody’s day. So now I will try to make a habit of thinking: How can I reach out to someone in need, regardless of my fears?

Hamline Universityčplease make a point of acknowledging one another, even strangers, with a nod or a smile, or anything. And reach outčbe someone-in-pain’s Ananias; you may never know that you’re a hero but at least you will have made a difference.

Jules Howard ’02

Hamline martial arts club shows promise

Hamline has had a strong history of martial arts clubs on campus. And in recent months there has again been a surge of interest in self-defense and martial art programs.

Hamline Hapkido, for example, has been training students in six-week sessions since October of this year, with approximately 30 students having been through the program.

Typical of martial arts training, students take off their shoes and line up in rows to stretch and do calisthenics before they begin an active class of kicking targets, twisting each others' wrists, blocking, avoiding, and taking their partners to the ground-all in a “safe and non-aggressive atmosphere” of course.

Interest has been very high for martial arts on campus with successful Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Self-Defense, Aikido, Kickboxing, Yoga, and Capoeira clubs all having been in operation at various times during the past two years.

Several students have proposed that those with an interest in martial arts on campus form an official martial arts club. Funds from HUSC could be used to pay instructors to teach courses throughout the year. This would encourage new arts to be brought on campus and increase the appeal for outside instructors to come in.

Many instructors have found it difficult to establish a good format to keep students with the same interest connected on the topic. A formal club could be what is needed to provide an environment for clubs to succeed.

Formats to increase interest could include: demonstrations and shows, public promotion testing, martial art workshops, and cultural festivals.

Next Tuesday, May 8, there will be a meeting in the Student Center which will determine where these opportunities go. Any students with an interest in martial arts need to attend and sign a petition declaring interest for a formal martial arts club.

If enough students demonstrate interest, the club will elect 10 officers and one president to establish it.

The meeting will then open up to comments from the group fielding ideas on what arts to invite to Hamline, possible connections to martial arts schools in the area, class times and formats, fundraising questions, and leadership responsibilities.

Student Activities Director Kelly Krebs will oversee the event.

Jeff Clark

Posted by dwright at May 1, 2007 10:04 PM

Comments

Post a comment