February 18, 1997

True Christians live without prejudice
My Turn
Ryant Johnson
Columnist

I am overwhelmed by the number of people in which I come into contact with everyday who declare themselves to be Christians.

The word "Christian" now spans such a large group that you could just about declare anything a "form" of Christianity. Well, this article will make reference to true Christianity; a daily Christ-like lifestyle.

Everyday I meet Christians who declare a great love for humanity and for the work of the Lord. However, I am finding this love to have boundaries and conditions. For example, I find racist comments being made against those who dare to let their love cross the racial boundaries. The sad part about this is that as Christians we declare to be a reflection of what Christ is like—sorry folks—Christ is not like that.

In Christ, "There is no respect of persons" (Col. 3:25). The love of Christ crosses the boundaries of racism and societal prejudices and furthermore should not be limited in its capability to touch hearts.

The Rev. Billy Graham wrote an article on the matter in which he cites several scriptures from the Bible which depict the Bible's stance on interracial dating and marriage.

The scripture that stands out in my mind the most is Numbers 12:1. After reading the article, I decided to read the entire book of Numbers. I wanted to understand the context and the history of the book in its totality.

The verse declares that they spoke against Moses "because of the Ethiopian (Cushite) woman he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman." (Num. 12:1).

The Bible makes clear the cause and the outcome of the situation (see Numbers 12:9). God was not at all happy with their prejudices.

What really baffles me is that we of minority ethnic background, who throughout history have been

persecuted because of our racial heritage, are fomenting the racist viewpoint toward interracial marriage.

All this after God, much like he did Israel, has allowed ethnic minorities to come this far in the fight against racism.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, God is displeased and deplores racism, no matter what the form. For this reason, God's saving graces supercede racial boundaries.

He loves whomever and saves whoever believes despite their racial heritage. As Christians we must be Christ-like and follow his example regardless of what society has supported as "correct and acceptable" throughout the years. The Bible states ". . . Let God be true, but every man a lie..." (Romans 3:40).

I did not write this article to make anyone angry nor to "slam" anyone, but rather because of the simple fact that you may not realize that you are doing it or that it is occurring amongst us Christians.

If you are angry, then you have missed the point of this article. I encourage you to read it again with an open heart.

We as Christians must do as the Rev. Graham suggests, we must "pray that God will help them overcome their prejudices." We must replace prejudice, no matter the form, with Agape Love.

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What has snow done for you lately?
Down Home with
Bob Hutton

Last year (transfers and freshmen will have to take my word for it), The Appalachian carried a columnist named Stephen Mackay, an enthusiastic young Republican who tried to portray himself as the paper's arch-conservative, but instead usually portrayed himself as the horse's posterior.

In one of his columns, Stephen made the remark that the upper echelon of Republican power in the US. Congress had too many Southerners.

At the time, I felt like writing in to the paper to inform Mackay that, without southern voters, his Republican party would have gone the way of the dodo back when Grand Funk Railroad was still on the Top 40.

I would have also mentioned to him that if he wanted to write on politics, actually knowing what you're talking about can come in handy. But I didn't write in. I've always prided myself on my self-restraint.

Another time he wrote a column about how people that don't like cold weather shouldn't bother coming to Appalachian. According to him, there's no other defining facet to the Boone community than our yearly arctic conditions. Stephen must have never visited Expressions.

Anyway, that article really got my goat. There's more to love about Boone than just the weather, and I wanted to tell him that. In fact, my desire to respond to that particular column was what originally inspired me to sign on as a columnist. Now you know who to blame.

I don't like cold weather myself, but I came to ASU anyway. Despite what you may hear, there's more to this university than just the weather.

Personally, I came here because Appalachian sounded like the kind of academic setting that I was looking for: a relatively provincial locality with nice restaurants and ample entertainment nearby, but with a few socialists thrown in to give it that kooky cosmopolitan feel that you expect in a college. I have to say that I wasn't disappointed.

Nevertheless, winter is definitely my least favorite season, especially here in Watauga County. You catch colds, the residence halls get too hot, the wind makes your ears feel like frozen meat (or tofu, if you prefer), and getting from place to place on campus becomes an exercise in misery.

I suppose the primary complaint I have about winter is the one part most people seem to look forward to: snow. Snow is wet and cold and it doesn't have the decency to run downhill like rain does. Snow makes its way into the buildings and makes a soggy mess in front of the door that someone has to clean up. You can bet that the housekeeping staff doesn't look forward to snow; unlike the rest of us, they actually have to work around here and the snow just complicates matters for them.

Snow also promotes obnoxious behavior. Snowballs are often thrown at complete strangers. This seems to be considered playful behavior among many students, particularly freshmen Floridians and lowlanders who, in frequent cases, have never seen the stuff before and get excited at its appearance.

Just remember kids, if you happen to get me in your sights, I don't use snowballs.

Snow makes driving difficult. I've noticed that very few of those I hear gushing about how pretty the snow is actually have to drive in it. Those few who do drive are usually the ones that got a brand new Ford Explorer from Daddy last Christmas. I don't know if there is anyone else here who drives a 1978 Malibu like me, but I doubt you'll hear them espouse many kind words about the snow.

Speaking of which, why do people think snow is so pretty? It's white. What's pretty about white? It's the color of nothing.

Then again, I can see why some people may think this way. I've found that snow is particularly popular among those with a predilection toward purity. And it's no wonder; with the world covered by a layer of immaculate, neutral white it appears as if all is pure and serene. It helps us forget that there's any dirt in the world.

But don't forget, under that flawless white covering there's a lot of grass and trees that are dead. Come to think of it, I bet Hitler loved snow.

And with the snow comes ski-season. The one question that skiing conjures in my head is, why? Why would anybody want to pay good money and stand in line in order to strap boards onto their feet and slide down a steep hill?

Actually, I admit that I can see how this could be thrilling, but I'd rather do it in the summer when there's no cold wet snow to confound me. But then again, I suppose that's what skateboarding is based on and, well, it's just not worth it.

Winter spectator sports interest me even less. Hockey is okay, but I'd enjoy it more if players occasionally fell through the ice. Ice skating can be fun to watch for a number of non-competitive reasons, but can you really call it a sport? And basketball, well, let's just say that if I want to watch a bunch of young men running around in their underwear trying to score, I can just go to Cone hall.

Still, I think I get along fine around here even though I don't always like the weather. In some ways I like it better this way because it gives me something to complain about that no one can change. This is important since it insures that I remain perpetually unsatisfied, a valuable asset for curmudgeonly opinion columnists like myself. Besides, so far this has been the mildest winter I've experienced in Boone. All in all, I can think of worse circumstances. And you can bet you're going to hear about them.

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Our Opinion...

RSA should be utilized by all residents

We at the Appalachian find it interesting that a campus which so often points fingers at the administration and demands to be watched like children has yet to take advantage of all of the opportunities that have been presented to it.

Namely, we've noticed the lack of interest among on campus students towards the one outlet they all have for vocalizing their views on how they want to live, RSA.

The Resident Student Association is the voice for on-campus students. You don't have to be elected to speak. All you have to do is live on campus.

Yet, it is obvious that few are actually taking advantage of the opportunity.

Amy Harrington, the RSA president for Lovill hall said that out of the almost 270 residents in her dorm the average attendance at RSA meetings ranges between 30 and 40. Does that mean that only 15 percent of the residents in the dorm actually care about how they live?

This situation is not uncommon across campus. In fact it is the norm. Perhaps residents don't know how the system works.

Each residence hall has a weekly meeting called RSA. Each RSA has a representative which it send to the CRSA (Campus Student Resident Association).

The president of this organization is able to give the opinion of the CRSA, which represents the RSAs to the administration.

RSA and CRSA are the organizations that the administration looks to to get a consensus for on campus student's opinions.

So, if you're not participating then the administration doesn't know how you feel.

Perhaps you feel that RSA doesn't actually do anything. Well, if you're right then get involved and change it. Some things are obviously getting done.

Last semester students were able to suggest to the administration where additional blue lights were needed and where hazardous spots were on campus. Rather pertinent to recent events concerning the safety of on-campus students.

Maybe one of the best ways to confront some of the problems that we've recently had to face would be to actually get involved in the organizations in which you could have a say about improving the situation.

RSA is the group that can lobby for residence hall equipment like vacuums and board games. With the lousy weather still among us, residents could find a little amusement in a good game of Trivial Pursuit.

We say it's time to put up or shut up. If you want things to change start by changing your own actions and use your right to voice your opinion.

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