Greetings from Student Senate! I would normally start off an article like this with a quip about ‘How busy the year has been’ or ‘My hasn’t time flown’, but that would likely fall on deaf ears; life is always busy. I digress. This article is supposed to be an update on Student Senate activity. With that said, there are a few things that I think would be helpful for everyone within the community to know about!.
Primarily, we have been asking ourselves the question: Why does Senate matter? While the answers have not come overnight there is a greater degree of clarity that is developing in the minds of senators. Currently, we are wrestling with our commitments to both the academic and social aspects of the CTS community. With regards to the social aspects we have landed on the quality of hospitality. Do we as a seminary foster an environment of hospitality?
Do we as students perpetuate that environment? While more information will be available on this at a later date we are actively developing a strategy for weaving hospitality into the fabric of our culture. (Trust me on this one, things are in the works!) In addition, we have been examining existing facets of social life such as The Kerux, clubs, Food Pantry, and various ‘tent-pole’ activities such as Christmas Around the World, and the Medenblik Stick.
With respect to the academic component of CTS we have begun preliminary discussions surrounding student workload. In some of my conversations with fellow students this is an area of considerable concern given a pull that is felt in virtually every direction. We ask ourselves as students the question: How can we survive? What if the question changed and became: How can we thrive? (A cheesy rhyme, I know. However, you get the point!) Part of the discussion surrounding this has revolved around student workload. I hope for these discussion to continue through the future and to move beyond mere discussion.
Finally, I would like to ask everyone of you to consider life at CTS. Consider what this institution does well so that we can build upon them. Consider where we need to improve (or areas where we need to stop because it is not working) and let us together find ways to actively pursue betterment in those areas. My hope is that Senate, as your representative, can speak on your behalf to faculty and administration. If that is to pass along encouragement, great! If it is to request a hard look at something that is not working, we would be more than happy to facilitate that.
On behalf of Senate we say thank you for the opportunity to serve. I hope this article has been, at the very least, semi-informative. We as Senate are eager to assist in making your voices heard and in shaping CTS to be the best possible place it can be!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to stop anyone of us, or if you prefer email you can reach Student Senate at semsen@calvinseminary.edu
Written by Anthony Vander Laan