To the reader: Five letters in seven issues?

by Christian Bell, Editor in Chief

If you’re part of the Calvin Seminary community, take a good look around the pages of this publication.

If you’ve noticed, Kerux has been publishing weekly this year. As of this week (the second week of the second quarter), we’ve already put out as many issues as last year’s Kerux put out all year. I don’t say that to our credit. In fact, this isn’t about us at all. It’s about you.

You, the readers, have been looking at the pages of this publication for seven issues now. And for seven issues, most of you have failed to give substantive feedback, failed to write letters, and failed to pariticipate in this publication despite numerous invitations. We’ve put up signs, sent e-mails, and yet hardly a blip of interest has been registered.

Is the problem disinterest — or apathy?

The Kerux staff meets twice a week discuss, debate, and put together articles and issues about a wide range of topics. We’ve discussed Christian day school funding, fair trade economics, Biblical interpretation, environmentalism, gubernatorial politics, gender issues, and a whole host of topics in between. The material hasn’t just been about Calvin Theological Seminary, it’s been about sorts of things going on in the world.

And yet in seven issues, we have only five letters about our publication.

Lest anybody think this is a student problem — I've heralded the students of this institution before — of the five letters we have received, zero have been from the faculty and staff. Perhaps the faculty are too good to be bothered with us? Or perhaps – with Forum by their side – do they not feel the need to condescend to our level?

Perhaps everybody agrees with what we’re writing. If that’s the case, we’re proud to have achieved intellectual unanimity amongst the community, curious though it would be. Or perhaps nobody wants to make big splash by writing a dissenting opinion, or by writing anything at all. For a community that is frequently satirized for perpetuating the status quo, that would be a disappointing avoidance.

From my perspective as editor of this publication, apathy towards good dialogue and discussion is a troubling problem. And think beyond the bounds of this publication. Will the upcoming gender forum on Thursday by sparsely attended? Perhaps students and faculty would rather attend to other business than participate in an excellent and serious discussion featuring an exceptional panel of speakers.

Prove me wrong. Come to Thursday's forum. Write letters of response to what we run here. Tell us when we're doing well — and when we're doing poorly.

Whatever you do, please don't pretend these things don’t matter.

We are leaders of the church — people expect much more of us. It's time to deliver.

Want to respond to this article? Send your letter to letters@kerux.org; see the guidelines for more information.