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Jan. 12th, 2005
Baaaaaaaaa (taken from
Jan. 12th, 2005 03:54 pm
Secularization of universities
Jan. 12th, 2005 06:35 pmIt's been awhile since I've written for my college newspaper. For my new friends, I post a rough draft for comments to help me with ideas and recognize flaws in my argument. My deadline is usually Friday at noon, so I try to get up a rough draft up before then. Technically, I write for the opinion section. I say technically because I usually have no opinion at all. However, since my newspaper is usually short on opinion writers, they accept my opinion news articles. I do get paid thirteen bucks an article (splendid pay, ain't it?).
I accept constructive criticism, even harshly worded ones (I am a waffle, just like Kerry). This is probably one of the few times I appreciate grammar nazis. I suck at coming up with titles as well, although my editor has done a fairly good job of picking good ones.
On a side note, TU=Tulsa for the non-Golden Hurricane.
Secularization
Daniel Tu
In a recent campus wide email from President Upham, he informed us that the University of Tulsa would no longer have an official university chaplain. This got me thinking about the secularization of universities. Is it necessary for universities to grow more secular as it reaches higher level of prestige? I believe so, though a university need not completely lose its religious character, especially in terms of how we determine how prestigious a university is. Of course, we first look for prestige in the reputation of professors and tuition costs. But we also pay attention to diversity, a diversity built on attracting students from a broad spectrum of faiths.
To attract high caliber students, a university must provide an environment conducive to learning. It would be restrictive to have one organized religion dictating what can and cannot be studied. An environment where religious beliefs are forced upon students defeats the purpose of education. Traditionally religious schools such as Notre Dame now pride themselves on their diversity. For example, a recent television special on the Fighting Irish football team featured a player of the Islam faith. The program centered around different aspects of his life on campus, showing the acceptance of his culture among the student body, faculty, and staff.
Tolerance, the acceptance of others’ ideas, has become a resonating buzzword, for secularization and tolerance go hand in hand. The world is a magnificent mixture of peoples and ideas, all crayons in a box. Coexisting requires cooperation between different people and comprehension of unfamiliar ideas. However, a university doesn’t need to become so secularized that it totally discards its religious character. After all, ninety percent of Americans believe in God or have a faith of some sort. Secularization provides a university its capacity to maintain stability.
Undoubtedly, the history of our own university confirms the value of diversity. TU began as a Presbyterian school for Indian girls. Now it is a school that celebrates a variety of heritages. Our current undergraduate bulletin states, “After the 1970’s, the character of the university changed…the student body—which currently hails from 46 states, one U.S. territory, and 73 foreign countries—became increasingly diverse.” We not only take pride in our ethnic diversity but also in our religious diversity as well. A few months ago, Tulsa opened the first mosque on an American college campus. That has gone a long way in creating the right kind of atmosphere, attracting international students coming from an assortment of cultures. In TU’s case, though the university is still affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it cannot be classified as a religious school. That is for the best.
I accept constructive criticism, even harshly worded ones (I am a waffle, just like Kerry). This is probably one of the few times I appreciate grammar nazis. I suck at coming up with titles as well, although my editor has done a fairly good job of picking good ones.
On a side note, TU=Tulsa for the non-Golden Hurricane.
Secularization
Daniel Tu
In a recent campus wide email from President Upham, he informed us that the University of Tulsa would no longer have an official university chaplain. This got me thinking about the secularization of universities. Is it necessary for universities to grow more secular as it reaches higher level of prestige? I believe so, though a university need not completely lose its religious character, especially in terms of how we determine how prestigious a university is. Of course, we first look for prestige in the reputation of professors and tuition costs. But we also pay attention to diversity, a diversity built on attracting students from a broad spectrum of faiths.
To attract high caliber students, a university must provide an environment conducive to learning. It would be restrictive to have one organized religion dictating what can and cannot be studied. An environment where religious beliefs are forced upon students defeats the purpose of education. Traditionally religious schools such as Notre Dame now pride themselves on their diversity. For example, a recent television special on the Fighting Irish football team featured a player of the Islam faith. The program centered around different aspects of his life on campus, showing the acceptance of his culture among the student body, faculty, and staff.
Tolerance, the acceptance of others’ ideas, has become a resonating buzzword, for secularization and tolerance go hand in hand. The world is a magnificent mixture of peoples and ideas, all crayons in a box. Coexisting requires cooperation between different people and comprehension of unfamiliar ideas. However, a university doesn’t need to become so secularized that it totally discards its religious character. After all, ninety percent of Americans believe in God or have a faith of some sort. Secularization provides a university its capacity to maintain stability.
Undoubtedly, the history of our own university confirms the value of diversity. TU began as a Presbyterian school for Indian girls. Now it is a school that celebrates a variety of heritages. Our current undergraduate bulletin states, “After the 1970’s, the character of the university changed…the student body—which currently hails from 46 states, one U.S. territory, and 73 foreign countries—became increasingly diverse.” We not only take pride in our ethnic diversity but also in our religious diversity as well. A few months ago, Tulsa opened the first mosque on an American college campus. That has gone a long way in creating the right kind of atmosphere, attracting international students coming from an assortment of cultures. In TU’s case, though the university is still affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it cannot be classified as a religious school. That is for the best.
