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So, Calvin is making a new push to become a smoke-free campus. As a non-smoker who fully believes that smoking is hazardous to one’s health and to the health of others who would be exposed to second-hand smoke, I shouldn’t have a problem with this. If the school were to ban smoking, I wouldn’t shed any tears. As a senior who graduates in December, my days here are numbered and I doubt the ban would go through during my last six-odd weeks at Calvin. However, affected or not, smoking should not be banned on campus; to do so would infringe on our inalienable right to free choice.
Now for me, and I’m sure for many other non-smokers, the fact that smoking is limited on campus is a good thing. It stinks when I have to go to a restaurant or ...
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Let’s start out with something we can all agree on: Afghanistan is a mess. Lately it feels like bad news has been piling on bad news. To make matters worse, the August 20 presidential election has become a drawn-out, two and half month affair filled with accusations of voter fraud and irregularity.
This past Monday, Abdullah Abdullah, incumbent Hamid Karzai’s opponent in the second round of voting, withdrew his candidacy citing fears that the voting irregularities of the first round had ...
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Another week, another Chimes reference to the Memo. This time, I’d like to highlight the fact that Calvin is not alone; the kind of thinking that compelled the board to publish the Memo permeates public life all around the
world.
The United Kingdom has done to the discussion on drugs what the Memo has done to the discussion on homosexuality. No matter where people fall on the issue, their ability to stay fully informed and engaged in conversation has ...
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‘Green’ science shady
Environmental concerns necessitate realistic approach
Last week these pages ran several accounts of the film, “Not Evil, Just Wrong,” a documentary exploring the issue of global warming. As president of the Calvin College Conservatives, I knew there would be a backlash when we decided to show this film.
For the international students at Calvin, devastating events at home often have a way of bringing together a country’s contingent to support their fellow countrymen and women.
One week from today, on November 13, the Indonesian students at Calvin will gather to host a campus-wide fundraising dinner for the victims of Indonesia’s most recent disaster.
Humans are sexual beings. Sexuality is built into us and is part of our nature. God designed sex to be a righteous thing that is pleasing to Him. However, in this fallen world, sin affects all creation. Being a created thing, sexuality is not immune to the damaging effects of sin, which means that sin can affect our desires, our expectations of our sexual partner and ourselves, our reasons for having sex, our thoughts about sex and our sexual orientation.
Issues of injustice connected
Christian bonds necessitate concern for one another
After reading the joint
effort from Kimberly and Joel last week, “Fight for justice
universal,” I was both deeply moved and convicted to respond.
Recent articles published in Chimes have reminded me of the fact that there are several noteworthy and important conversations currently taking place at Calvin.
For several weeks now, we’ve been talking about the Memo and related ...
Campus life far from perfect
Failure to accommodate students impedes healthy living
Thank you, Mr. Kloosterman (“Costs Outweight Benefits,” Oct. 30), for bringing up the topic of on-campus safety problems. Two sub-issues arise: first, the on-campus living experience is not “good for everyone.” By way of example, my own experience was this: within the first three weeks of my first semester, I started to get some moderate harassment for my choice not to ...
>Clarification of terms needed for racial discussion
Dear Editor,
Prejudice is not Racism.
I have a vague high school memory of channel surfing and stumbling upon an argument being played out on Black Entertainment Television (BET) on whether African Americans were capable of being racist. I wondered, “Aren’t we all capable of being racist?” Unfortunately, it took 10 more years of life ...