Mandatory chapel. Every student here knows it well. You hightail it out of class, or you drag yourself out of bed and try to get there in time to find a seat. It's not always possible to find a seat, mind you, and sometimes you wind up sitting in a place you don't want. Half the students don't want to be there, so you find them on Facebook, texting, or even listening to iPods. The ones that want to be there are struggling to pay attention, but they can't with all that's going on.
Who thought it was a good idea to force religion? And if you miss x amount of chapels, it's CHAPEL PROBATION for you. Miss enough chapels in three semesters? Bye bye, college. You're no longer enrolled at Northwestern.
Now, I don't agree with the concept of mandatory chapel. I feel that students would pay attention, and there'd be a better turn out, if they didn't have to be there. I don't see what the point of mandatory chapel is. To build community? You can't force community. You can't make someone follow a religion.
3 replies ^_^:
I believe the mandatory chapel is there for reinforcement and is part and parcel of the whole Christian college experience. It wouldn't be a Christian college without Christianity, therefore chapel is considered a requirement. I understand the reasoning for it, or else why would you be at a Christian college?
It's akin to the honor code seen at BYU. And a Christian college offers Christians to gather amongst other Christians. Therefore, you have mandatory chapel. The point is Christians should want to attend chapel. Hence the point of a Christian college. That's the approach that Northwestern College takes.
They feel that if you aren't a believer in , then you shouldn't be there. That's why they make you follow the religion.
For Concordia, their approach is more laid back.
I'm sure you're WELL AWARE of this:
http://www.csp.edu/campusministry/FAQ.html
Is chapel attendance mandatory?
No, chapel is not mandatory. Chapel is a privilege of the Christian community that has the opportunity to come together for prayer and resting in the Word.
Oh yes, I am well excited for non mandatory chapel!
I was never fond of the mandatory chapel. Not because I didn't want to be there, but because they didn't take roll properly and I got in huge trouble for missing the max number of times when I'd only missed one! (And I'd told my prof from the class before that I was going home sick.)
Post a Comment