Campus and beyond: An invitation to contribute

Hello friends, and welcome back! I hope that you’re all settling in with relative ease and minimal homesickness. Before getting into the hard and fast news, I want to be sure to reach out and express my desire to get as many of you involved with the Anchor as possible. Allow me to elaborate before you begin to form the thought, “But I’m already so busy!” Believe me, I know.

This section, of which I am a co-editor, is named Campus and Beyond. While the Anchor doesn’t technically have a “Beyond Editor,” that is definitely what I’ve been calling myself for kicks and giggles. It’s vaguely ominous—are we talking “great beyond” or is this the “bed, bath, and” variety? Unfortunately, it’s neither of those things. Rather, we decided to stop pretending that a weekly publication could adequately cover breaking national and world news like a major publication. That being said, we still think that these issues are worth talking about. What I would like to do with the “beyond” section this semester is to take that national news, those political stories, and somehow make them relevant to you, the students of Hope College. I want to convince you that you should care about current events and political issues, and I know that’s not going to happen by just saying, “Look! This is probably important!”

Tell us, tell me, what matters to you. Hope College is a weird and wonderful place, and I am sure that every student on this campus has a passion, an insightful thought or a delightfully forceful opinion. We are fortunate to be in a place where we can wrestle with hard topics and celebrate our differences, so let’s take advantage of that privilege. If this resonates with you whatsoever, I urge you to reach out! Do you think that Texas should secede? How about Wisconsin? Are you involved with any activist groups or social organizations? What are your thoughts on the winnowing Democratic presidential field? Does your roommate have a unique opinion regarding tropical fruit imports? What is the place of religion in the public square? I want to answer your questions and broadcast your views. Whenever someone is brave enough to take a stand, the rest of a community becomes more enlightened, and it is the understanding created through being open with each other that ultimately leads to acceptance.

I’m not asking for you to write a piece or sit for an interview – unless that’s what you want, then by all means, please do! I am not so foolish as to think that college students have unlimited time and resources to pursue side projects in addition to their massive course loads and various extracurricular activities. Please, just shoot me a message and we’ll work something out. Let’s share, let’s discuss, let’s talk about what matters to you. I truly believe that you, the Anchor and the Hope college community will be better for it.