Hello, friends!
For the past 17+ years, I have had the pleasure and honor of working for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I have lived in St. Louis, Columbia, and Omaha working at large state schools, small liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and HBCU's. I have worked with White, Black, AAPI, LatinX, and international students from all over the world. In every one of those situations, my theory of the case has been the same: give college students an opportunity to experience Jesus and they'll not only want to follow him, but tell all their friends about him too. I've yet to be proven wrong. =0).
Lately, there has been an attack on higher education from the current presidential administration. While a distrust of higher education is nothing new, especially in conservative circles, the threatening of Universities who do not agree with the policy goals of the administration, the quelling of public speech, and the harassment and hostility towards international students feels different.
To be clear, academia does tend to lean to the "left." While my students and I have never personally experienced any hostility based on our religious beliefs, that doesn't mean that we're always welcomed with open arms. Still, even these disagreements have not been rooted in hatred towards Christianity as much as it has been rooted in a desire for everyone to feel welcome on the college campus. Higher education isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it the bogeyman that it's been made out to be.
The assault on "DEI" has been especially egregious. The current administration's assault on DEI policies and departments has been nothing short of astounding. The current line is that the dismantling of DEI policies and departments is a return to fairness. The truth is that DEI in the university s a response to the erasure that students of color and other minorities often feel. Since its inception, the University was designed to privilege the privileged. As the University has grown in its mission, DEI policies and departments have allowed for more people to have access to higher education, which is a rising tide that will lift all boats. However, for the privileged, equity often feels like oppression.
I think back especially to my time at Mizzou. When I was planting ACF, the first place I went was the Asian American Association (AAA). Mizzou was less than 3% Asian American, and the AAA meetings were a place where a critical mass of Asian Americans, students who had to spend most of their day, in class, in the dining hall, in their dorms, and even just around town, being reminded that they were the minority. AAA was a place for them to just be. Mizzou's Multi-Cultural Center (MCC) was a gathering space where AA students could gather and connect with other minorities on campus. I remember being the only campus minister allowed inside the Black Culture Center (BCC) on campus after there were threats of violence against Black Students following campus protests highlighting the University's lack of response to racism on campus. I was the only campus minster of color on campus spent hours there the previous year trying to build relationships. What I saw was students who were scared to be out on campus but felt safe because they were with their people. All that could be gone because according to the current administration, these spaces promote DEI and "woke ideology." I'm convinced that these spaces literally saved lives.
Whenever I meet with ministry partners, I love telling this story. Megan led an international student group at Mizzou while we were living in CoMO. It was a wonderful community and I met a lot of great students. One of them was a Palestinian Muslim who was getting his Masters or his PhD. He came to everything, made friends with everyone, and even cooked and Easter meal for the group one year. He really was a great guy.
When he finished his degree and was ready to return back to Palestine, we took him out to get some frozen custard. As we were chatting and saying our goodbyes, he said something that will always stick with me. He said, "When I go back home, and people talk about westerners or Christians, I will tell them, 'no. You have it wrong. Christians welcomed me into their homes. They bought me ice cream. Westerners and Christians are not who you think they are.'"
The University has the power to change lives. The University has the power to change the world. The University isn't perfect but it also isn't the cesspool of radical leftism that is depicted in certain parts of the media. It's a place where students have the freedom to explore and think for themselves. It's a place where they build relationships that will last them the rest of their lives. Hopefully, it'll be a place where they find Jesus and choose to follow Him for years beyond their time in college. It's a place I love nd one that God has called me to invest in these past 17+ years. God loves college students. God loves the University. We should too.
Have an excellent day!
PS: If you'd like to call your representative in Congress, you can call the Capitol Switchboard and they will direct you to the correct office: (202) 224-3121.
