Off Campus Experience

I’m going to be honest, I didn’t go to this event for the purpose of completing the Paideia requirement. However, it was definitely a stretch for me, and I definitely think I benefitted from attending. Earlier this year, one of my best friends, Porscha, lost her Dad passed away. Some friends and I went to the funeral near Dallas. Porscha is African-American, and clearly so is the majority of her family. The funeral was held at a traditional, Black Southern Baptist church and it’s safe to say that I felt relatively out of place. It didn’t help that by the time we got into the small church, the only spots left were behind the pulpit, facing the pews. Nonetheless, we were glad to be there for Porscha.

As the service started, I was fairly uncomfortable. It wasn’t like any church service I’d ever been to. Honestly it was just like the movies depict it, with the Preacher yelling a lot and a continuous stream of “Hallelujahs” and “Amens” from the congregation. As he continued speaking though, I became more and more comfortable and it wasn’t long at all until I was thoroughly enjoying myself…as much as is possible at a funeral. This Preacher wasn’t presumptuous or “holier than though” like so many pastors I’ve encountered in the past. The sermon wasn’t monotonous and boring, it was emotional and raw. He didn’t attempt to be verbose and excessive; his message was simple and real: This guys was awesome, and it sucks that he’s gone.

The service wound down and we made our exit without getting a chance to see Porscha. I wouldn’t say that this experience was life-changing, and to be honest I probably won’t start frequenting South Baptist churches. However, I do think that the service was much more comforting and reassuring for me than any service at the Methodist churches I’m so used to.

On-Campus Event: Student Body Forum

This week I went to the Student Body Forum. I was pretty impressed with the number of students who showed up and even more impressed with the number of students who actively participated with questions. There were a few issues that were discussed that struck a chord with me…

On the proposal of changing the name of the school: I don’t have exceptional strong feelings on this either way. Thanks to Dr. G. I’ve heard the research about how a more “prestigious” name could increase the quality of our student and faculty applicants. I’ve also heard about the effect that a new name could have on our reputation: bettering it amount Texans and causing people across the nation to actually know who we are. I have to admit, the thought of people seeing my degree and not only recognizing the school but being impressed, is nice. On the other hand, I love our name. I might be a little more sentimental than most about it, but I grew up hearing about Southwestern. All four of my grandparents came here together; anytime we were driving through Georgetown we would stop and drive through campus while my Dad pointed out the places where his parents first kissed and first lived together. I love these memories and I love memories that this school holds for others. The more I think about it though, the more I realize that changing the name won’t change the school itself. In fact, I will probably enjoy my memories of Southwestern a lot more if my degree from here is the ticket to my success.

On the proposed changes/improvements to the athletic facilities: I couldn’t believe how many athletes showed up for this forum. I think this shows, however, that they are serious about their needs. I completely agree that the facilities need to be improved. Even for the size of Southwestern, the resources our teams have are absurdly insufficient. I mentioned it in class, but I really almost went to TCU because of their Student Life, specifically their recreation building. I think Southwestern administrators hide behind the fact that this is a very intellectually challenging school with students extremely focused on academics. They use the academic aspect of the school to justify not paying attention to the athletic aspect of the school. Personally, I think that SU does a good job of appealing to the concept of a Liberal Arts education and how it applies to more than just academics: we have an extensive arts program, we have all kinds of student organizations, etc. Athletics is just as much of an integral part of this concept, though, and they need to make sure they don’t neglect this.

Overall, I think that the Strategic Plan just needs to be hammered out a bit more, and the committee needs to do a better job of explaining everything to the students.