For the RecordFor the Record is a weekly editorial usually written by the current executive editor of The Record. It may also be written by other Record editors.
For the Record is a weekly editorial usually written by the current executive editor of The Record. It may also be written by other Record editors.
October 10, 2024
Connecting through conversation
Since my late years in high school there has been a question that continues to leave me stumped: How do I create deeper relationships? As someone who grew up with few words and little space to speak them, I found it hard to talk to new people or start conversations. It has been an ongoing journey learning to step out of my comfort zone and express myself easier. Whether it was with my family, on learning tours, during SST in Indonesia, or meeting new people, I struggled to ask my own questions and was fascinated with people who came up...
October 3, 2024
Proximity does not build community
In my time at Goshen College, I believe I experienced a prominent shift within the GC student body: party culture. We do not congregate on the weekends like we used to, for better or worse. Currently, most on-campus students spend weekends together in their same friend groups, huddled in dorm rooms and apartments. It’s cliquey and exclusive, but not intentionally. I think we just don’t know how else to gather. Some will invite a larger group to their spaces, but that risks noise complaints and violations. It hasn’t always been this way, though. For much of GC’s history, students, especially...
September 19, 2024
I’m scared
As I enter senior year and put into perspective the memories I have made here, the word nostalgia comes to mind. Nostalgia allows us to put on rose-colored glasses as we re-experience events from our past, especially those that we associate with meaningful times and places in our lives. In my work with marketing and design, I’ve realized that this wistful affection for the past encourages brands to reimagine designs from old releases. This new focus has been very prominent in sports marketing and can also be seen in the latest fashion trends. Brands doing this acknowledges our, the consumers’,...
September 12, 2024
I want to be everything
I was at church last December when an older man asked me what I wanted to be someday. I said confidently, “I’m studying journalism at Goshen College.” He chuckled. “Are you going to write a book or what?” he asked me. I concealed my irritation and laughed. I didn’t bother to explain that I wasn’t drawn to reporting or even book writing, but loved the strategy and problem-solving of public relations and marketing and ultimately hoped to pursue that as a career path. If you asked me right now what I wanted to do in the future, that’s what I...
September 5, 2024
The green grass
“The grass isn’t greener on the other side,” That’s what I heard from my former coach after I told him I was transferring to Goshen College. Now, before we dive into that lovely, totally optimistic quote, I’d like to give some context. To start, school sucks. At least for me it does. For as long as I can remember I’ve always struggled. Everything from the ‘simple’ concepts of algebra to the early mornings scrambling to the bus. As hard as that was, though, the hardest part was working with teachers or any sort of authoritative figures. Words such as...
April 11, 2024
Tired
What a ride it’s been. There’s so much I have yet to say, and so much I want to say. So much gratitude: to the friends that have kept me going through endless late-night study sessions and Taco Bell runs; to my professors, the advisers and mentors that they are; and especially to the student-athletes that have given me a space to act like a child again, and jump, dance and sing my way through four years in the student section. I don’t have space for everything I want to say, though, and you all don’t need to read my...
April 4, 2024
Reflections on SST
It’s been nearly a year since I got back from Ecuador, and I still think about it practically daily. I’ve done a lot in my four years here at Goshen, but I found SST unquestionably the most impactful experience. I have so much I want to say about it, and I just don’t know where to start. I could talk about the language barrier, which was super difficult at times (such as when I thought my host mom was screaming at me “HOLD ON” to a half-ton cow dragging me face-first through a field, when she was actually saying “LET...
March 21, 2024
Personal style always cuts through
From age 6 to age 11, before trends had entered my mind, before I was aware of what was cool or uncool, in style or out of style, I wore outrageous things: psychedelic print shorts with a neon tank top, long striped rainbow socks and a white faux fur vest, to share a glimpse. One day on a hike in the woods with my family, I even wore a strapless tank top, bell-bottom jeans and a skinny but long shimmery scarf… On a hike… Now, far from the days of clueless bliss, we are constantly bombarded with opinions on what...
March 14, 2024
Wanting to live
“I’ve thought about dying, a few times.” As the monologue continued, it became harder and harder to breathe. That’s something really special about Goshen Monologues. Now, I’m a male, and I can’t say that I identify with — or fully understand — the feminine experience, and not all of the stories speak to me. And that’s OK! I am not the reason this is happening, and it’s not something made for me. But some of the stories, the emotions, the experiences that were expressed in Monologues on Sunday night really rang true to me — and are the reasons for...
March 7, 2024
For the Record
Lately, there’s been a push against “toxic” masculinity, defined by traits including but not limited to sexism, aggression and social dominance. Good. Let’s chuck all of these into the garbage. Another long-standing and often-criticized feature is stoicism: men can’t be emotionally vulnerable. While I also despise this concept, I am also tired of the notion that this is just a man’s issue — it isn’t. Yes, it’s a terrible expectation for us, but other genders struggle to express their emotions, too. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, “female hysteria” was a widespread disorder on the basis of women having feelings;...
February 15, 2024
Music, together
For three afternoons a week, for an hour and a half (and two hours on Mondays), I forget about everything else going on in my life and walk into the Music Center, pull out my black folder, and start my vocal warmups. I’ve sung in GC’s low voice choir, Vox Profundi, every year of my college career. Now, over my time at this school, I’ve been a part of a good number of clubs, groups and extracurriculars. Don’t get me wrong: I love, love, love my work with The Record; I talk constantly about how much joy I get from...
February 1, 2024
Reclaiming my essence
For most of us, grief means reminiscing on the memory of a grandmother, a sibling or a pet, longing to bring something to life that cannot be brought back. We yearn for their presence to return to our lives. But how do you grieve for yourself — your very own essence? In my first years at Goshen College, I began to explore who I was, and I wanted to blossom into my new role as an adult. During that time, I was secure in who I was and what I wanted for my life. Isis was certain she was destined...
January 25, 2024
It’s just a name
People say that names carry an extraordinary amount of meaning. There’s some truth to that. To my friends, I go by Dan, but I grew up with my family calling me Daniel. To me, the two names are somewhat different: Daniel is deeper, more emotional, while Dan is fun and free-spirited. I don’t have a favorite; they just feel separate. But no matter what, everyone knows my last name as Eash-Scott — until now. This semester, I made a decision I’ve been wanting to make for a long time: I am now writing under the name Daniel James. I’ve replaced...
January 18, 2024
The power of paper
I started working on my history senior thesis last week. I’m telling the story of the 2010-11 national anthem controversy at Goshen College, a tale of politics, convictions and identity. Those of you who were around 13 years ago probably remember it well; it’s a fascinating topic — for those of who you don’t know it, I would recommend looking it up. But this isn’t about that subject — what I love about writing this thesis is that I’m using this very newspaper as my most important primary source. The Record is beautiful in that way, I think. Studying both...
November 30, 2023
Gratitude overflowing
The final editorial of the semester has a tried-and-true pattern, often offering encomiums and a love letter to journalism — and I, for one, am happy to carry on that tradition. After nine issues together, I have little else but gratitude on my mind. The path from accounting to The Record may not be well-trod, and it certainly wasn’t in my college plans, but I’ve found the newspaper’s central role as a forum for campus discussion to be captivating. When I had my first article published (an opinion on starting college amid a pandemic), I was fascinated with the process...