Opinion
The Girl Who Cried Thorns
By Anonymous
The September lo sun rose
to illuminate a new publication on
Merediths campus: The Briar Patch,
Some students found a cryptic email
in their email.meredith.edu inboxes,
some discovered a new Twitter
follower (from an account which
made illegal use of the copyrighted
Meredith Lux, I might add), and
some spotted hard copies of the blog,
printed on unusually sturdy paper,
strewn around campus Mean Girls'
burn book-style.
The principled tag-line
“Behind the oak leaves lies the thorny
side of campus life” precedes every
blog post, and the writer(s) include a
short description at the end of each
as well:
‘'The Briar Patch is a new
independent publication rooted
in Merediths tradition of women
using their voices to better their
communities. The Briar Patch seeks
to challenge the existing norms
that hinder social progress on
campus.”
These noble book-ends to
their content introduce and conclude
each bout of free expression by
reminding their audience that they
are the good guy(s). They write with
swift keys of justice. They shine a
light onto the thorns. But they fail to
shine a light on themselves.
This strikes many as the
largest scandal Joyner has ever seen,
and emerges in the wake of the recent
New York Times anonymous op-ed.
Whether inspired by, fueled by, or
published in ignorance of the op-ed
“I Am Part of the Resistance Inside
the Trump Administration,” they
must acknowledge the diminished
credibility of their cleverly-tailored
words. Just as the NYT op-ed’s
secret source leaves America to
question the reality of its heavy and
serious assertions. The Briar Patch's
anonymity allows its writer(s) to
write not only without a fact-check,
but also without context, without
the ability to be followed up on,
and without the normal healthy
circumspection a journalist humbly
keeps.
This should not discount the
many valuable uses of anonymity in
journalism. When safety or security
are matters of concern, anonymity
is an important tool in investigative
journalism, key to avoiding self
censorship and ensuring the
emergence of the truth. However,
when paired with (albeit well-
written) satirical banter, it can take
necessary sensitivity away from what
just may be legitimate issues.
It seems to me that The
Briar Patch has unclear and
conflicting goals as a publication
in its infancy. Their most obvious
goal is to entertain, which, judging
by the many conversations they’ve
started, is something at which
they’ve succeeded. Their medium
is clever, on the brink of witty, and
frustratingly void of grammatical
error—almost. But inescapable when
reading their work is their second
goal: to complain. Which relates to
their third goal, about which we can
only speculate: to correct? They have
people talking, and their initiative
Homophobia in the Realm of the Angels
By Sarah Kiser, Editor-in-Chief
I don’t have to do much
research to assertively say that
homophobia exists in Meredith’s
campus ministries. As a previously
very active member of Summit
Church and Cru, two of the largest
ministries on our campus, I have seen
and felt homophobia permeating
the Bible studies and sermons, even
the masses at Bojangles on Thursday
night.
It’s a quiet taboo. Like a
mania. The same tempo of shag night
when everyone’s trying to find his/
her next life partner on the crowded
dance floor, stepping to canned music
once the old people have left for the
night.
It’s the quiet that says, “We
love God, and people like us.”
This mania, this silent
detesting of people we, as Christians,
don’t really understand, speaks
powerfully. It says “Gay people, you’re
not welcome. God isn’t for you; He’s
for us.”
I understand that a
campus ministry is a branch out
of the church, and nobody could
reasonably expect to thoroughly
tackle homophobia in the church
in one editorial. I also understand
that it’s not reasonable to blame
campus ministries for establishing
homophobia that persists on our
grounds. They did not create it;
instead, simply, they inherited it and
brought it with them not necessarily
with malicious intent. So, I’ll try not
to overstate myself by saying that this
is an easily surmountable problem
for our campus.
This is an ideology that
keeps a specific and large group
of people away from the Gospel.
Homophobic actions against LGBTQ
people distorts the Gospel, using it
as a weapon when it’s supposed to
be welcoming to all, “Jews or Greek,
slave or free,” residing amongst “all
California Dreannin'
By Olivia Slack, Staff Writer
2045 may seem to be far
in the future, but for California
lawmakers, the deadline is most
certainly looming. On September
10, the state’s governor, Jerry Brown,
signed a bill that calls for California’s
electricity to be produced by
completely zero-emissions sources
by the year 2045. That means that
the state will have to rely entirely
on renewable energy resources such
as solar or wind power as well as
alternative resources like nuclear
power to generate its electricity,
rather than using coal or other
carbon-emitting resources.
The reality is that the
majority of energy sources humans
use today do emit a large amount of
carbon, and California will need to
turn to renewable and alternative
energy sources in order to meet
their goal. NPR reported that on one
sunny day this summer, nearly 50%
of California’s energy was already
being produced by solar power. Of
course, these percentages vary from
day to day as conditions change,
but scientists continue to research
new ways that renewable energy can
become a more viable option for mass
power generation.
nations” (i Cor. 12:13) (Matt. 28; 20).
This problem is easily
surmountable, in that the division
between LGBTQ people and
Christians can be taken down
gradually if only we stop shunning
them from bUr small groups or
avoiding any LGBTQ organizations.
The Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s
campus ministry has already made
steps towards bridging the divide. Its
website, under the “What we believe”
tab, reads that the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America holds
“that all people are children of God,
loved by God, and all are one in Jesus
Christ. This love and acceptance is
extended to all races, ages, abilities,
sexual orientations, and gender
identities.”
That’s not too wacky, is it?
The ELCA is saying to the world,
“Jesus loves you,” except the “you”
truly means everyone.
InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship student leader Indyah
Bryant described IV as “a multi-
Senate Bill too, which Governor
Brown signed into law on Sept. 10,
requires that 50% of the state’s energy
be powered by renewable resources
by 2025 and 60% by 2030 before
reaching their total 100% renewable
goal by 2045.
California is the fifth largest economy
in the world, and because of this, the
policies they enact hugely influence
not only the United States, but the
world. Recently, the state has made
a name for itself by committing to
fight climate change even when the
current presidential administration
has taken a far more relaxed and
towards societal self-awareness is
admirable. But their biting words do
little to bring people on campus who
care and want to help (I promise,
there are some) towards any possible
ability of doing so.
And shaming an entire
gender via pusillanimous tripe never
stopped any genuinely corrupt
old males from doing what they’re
allegedly doing.
Plus, isn’t it annoying when
someone publishes something
provocative and contentious under a
byline that reads “anonymous”?
Their most recent post, a
satirical rewrite of the Meredith Alma
Mater, was inspired by Rupi Kaur,
who is “often criticized for the overly
simplistic, arbitrary, and infantile
approach she takes in her work.” In
my honest opinion, they hit that nail
right on the head with this third post.
However trivial it is, though, it clearly
required ample time to write and will
require my ample time to dissect—
something few students serious
about their studies have to spare.
This editorial was written by
Herald Associate Editor Mimi Mays.
ethnic community” including
members identifying as LGBTQ.
Bryant said “one of our core values
is that everyone is created in God’s
image and therefore is of great value
to God. Our mission statement is to
reach every corner pf the campus
with this good news - to show
everyone that they do matter to God
and deserve His love.” To this end
she said, “I feel it is our duty to love
everyone and show them that God
loves them as well, no matter who
they are or where they are in their
spiritual journey.”
Spectrum, Meredith’s LGBTQ
organization, declined to comment.
Believing and acting on
love that extends to all doesn’t hurt
or cost anything. And genuinely
loving people like God loves us
won’t result in ‘warping’ core beliefs
to suit the liberal masses. It might,
however, cause you to have to put out
more chairs at small group though,
because everyone wants to find love,
joy, peace, and kindness.
unconcerned position on the issue. If
California is able to accomplish their
goal of going carbon emissions-free
by 2045, it will be a large step forward
in combating climate change,
both in terms of political influence
and environmental impacts. By
committing to an environmentally
conscious stance on the issue of
carbon emissions, California is taking
the step towards preserving our
planet for future generations. Even
if you don’t live in California or on
the west coast at all, this bill does
affect you as a citizen of planet earth,
because the actions of even a few
affect the lives of us all.
STAFF
Sarah Kiser, Editor-in-Chief. Mimi Mays, Associate Editor.
Caroline Garrett, A&E Editor. Abby Ojeda, Features Editor. Rebecca Dowdy, Opinon Editor. Micah Clark, Cartoonist Cro Owens, Social Media Coordinator.
Staff Writers: Hannah Flood, Huma Hashmi, Oliva Slack, Molly Perry, Kathleen Daly, Emma Fry.