“The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands.”
That is the advice my fortune cookie from Java Junction gave me this week. Tuesday’s snow day was the perfect opportunity to buy a latte in the Connector, and as my fortune told, to “hold hands.”Last week’s perspectives page left reverberations on campus. Two students shared differing opinions on GC Open Letter and consequently exemplified a respectful campus conversation regarding same-sex relationships.
Ted Swartz, a Mennonite comedian, arrived on campus this week in the wake of those reverberations and performed a play that I am sure will continue the conversations regarding LGBTQ people in the church.
Gun issues are the hot topic in this week’s paper, adding more differing voices.
Perhaps my fortune came at the perfect time: we must hold hands, even in the midst of disagreement.
My snow day ended with a large curry dinner, a visit from old friends and their new baby, and a discussion about the Dumpster diving story that is part of this week’s issue.
Behind the aliases in Dumpster diving article are real people with lives and vulnerabilities that could be affected by telling their story in a public forum like The Record. As responsible journalists, we have to honor that.
Students eating food from Dumpsters reveals broader truths about consumption in the United States. According to the article, 40 to 50 percent of food produced in the U.S. is never eaten.
Goshen College students addressing that statistic by breaching the law and turning waste into food is news.
Their names might be relevant to someone trying to incriminate them, but the purpose of the article is not to report a crime. The purpose of the article is to uncover truths about food systems in the U.S. and to inform readers that some GC students who care about this issue are reacting in radical ways.
In this situation, I am choosing to “hold hands” with the sources in the article and not reveal their names, per their requests. Their identities are theirs to reveal, not mine.
For those who disagree, I ask you to also “hold hands” with the sources, people who share a relationship with you as fellow members of humanity.
Although it would be sensational to print the names of GC’s resident Dumpster-diving experts, I do not believe it would make the story any more true to reality.
The simple fact is that students are acting on their beliefs. In a world where this is rare, that is the kind of story I want to read.