Letter to the Editor [Daily Universe]-
BYU prides itself on being very culturally diverse. Boasting students from every state and 115 countries, it is quite common to see a vast array of ethnicities represented on campus. This is not only an outstanding statistic, but also diversifies and vitalizes our community.
At BYU we are held to a standard (See Honor Code.) We indeed have all agreed to this. But judgments on a certain person based off a few inches of cloth missing or overhearing a bit of conversation is quite contrary to the commandment to love everyone, regardless. While we have all met at the same destination, we have all come from different places which must be recognized and not forgotten. Us students come from a wide range of backgrounds and are all working to improve ourselves. So the next time you go to make a rash judgment, please consider the many large issues that could be/ have been/ are going on in this person's life, and while you may be in a more fortunate situation, you are still in no position to judge.
Are you responding to the article that was posted just last week on Thursday? I totally agree with you, there are a variety of things that we should be worrying about. That girl overreacted but I guess she had a pretty good point...kinda.
ReplyDeleteI missed the article, what did it say?
ReplyDeleteIf this is a response I think that's great, it's always commendable to remind each other to give people the benefit of the doubt. I don't think I'd call BYU a *very* culturally diverse school but even if we were all from Utah that doesn't mean that we can just judge each other on appearances or very little information. Thanks for the reminder!
The links:
ReplyDeleteOriginal Article: http://universe.byu.edu/node/10467
Responses: http://universe.byu.edu/node/10587
and: http://universe.byu.edu/node/10588
When choosing what to write, I'm very opinionated but it was hard to think of something that affects the community and I remembered to take a peak at the Daily Universe. I didn't see these responses before I wrote this, I just felt very strongly about the article. I have traveled a lot in my life and one thing I take seriously about is judging people.
Something that also made me want to write about this: My mother was teaching a Young Women lesson the the behives (12-13 year old girls) at church and the lesson was about sex. The conversation turned to two girls mentioning a sixth grader who was pregnant and how she had been sleeping around for drug money. The whole situation is hard to handle. My mom then shared a story about a girl in junior high she knew that had been called a slut when she got pregnant, but the situation happened to be that her uncle had raped her and it was better to be called rude names than tell the truth... One of the millions of examples where no one knows what is really going on in a person's life.
That was quite an extreme story and this turned into quite the long-winded comment but I feel strongly about this and I could discuss it as much as possible, especially if it helps people become more accepting and realize we are quite fortunate to be attending BYU in the first place.
Prejudice and ethnic differences go back to the BC years, but I think the judgements this letter is discouraging have more to do with what we tend to have in common: the Honor Code. We all agreed to it. Judgements come from that thought, I think. If I'm living the Honor Code, why isn't that person? or something like that. But I think it goes farther than cultural diversity: Individual circumstances can't really be known, so of course we can't decide if a person is 'good' or not based on surface value.
ReplyDeleteOn an only slightly related note: In my experience, the personal circumstances individualize us; culture is what allows for unity without deconstructing individualism. But maybe that's just me.
Wow. Thank you. I'm blown away by the profound message that you wrote and then by the additional comment you wrote underneath. Simply, wow. It feels like you're trying to get everyone to look at the bigger and eternal perspective rather than the narrow and temporary perspective. I genuinely enjoyed reading what you wrote! Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteSince it is a response to a previous letter, mention in the first sentence or two that you're responding to the letter about "..."
ReplyDeleteI like how passionate that you got in the comment you wrote, and how specific. It helped me see why this matters to you, and in some ways was more convincing than the original letter.
What I recommend is making the second paragraph of your letter a little more specific--give a few details, a short anecdote, and let your passion for this shine through. If you tie it down a little more concretely, people will be able to see specifically what you're talking about, why THEY specifically need to change.
"Personal circumstances individualize us; culture is what allows for unity without deconstructing individualism."- Josie Jo
ReplyDeleteNo Josie its not just you I think that's very true, because that's been my experience as well.
Hey! Is this Margo's blog? The article we read in class today was in reference to what you wrote! I just thought you might want to know :)
ReplyDeleteThis is Margot's. I unfortunately was sick and wasn't at class. An article was published in response to this? Please let me know.
ReplyDeleteThanks!