Letter to the Editor

Reaction to Liberty Way changes

To the Editor:
As a fellow student, I was surprised but extremely relieved to hear about changes made to the Liberty Way — especially concerning dress code and entertainment. Beforehand, the Liberty Way laid out exactly what should and should not be worn, and stated that R-rated movies — except for those on an approved list — could not be watched; however, these “hard and fast” rules hindered the ability of students to use their own judgements concerning what was or was not acceptable.

During my time on student leadership, I was frustrated because the general response to students being written up was, “Well, the Liberty Way clearly says. …” This did not exactly open the door for edifying discussion. I interpreted my role as enforcing the rules because the rules were there, but I do not believe that this was the original intention of the Liberty Way.

The rules were probably fashioned in the hopes of providing a biblical structure for students to live their lives by in order to help shape a tight knit community of believers. The fact that these rules could not be easily disputed however, did not create an atmosphere of truly “training champions for Christ.” Training — as defined by Merriam-Webster — is “a process by which someone is taught the skills that are needed. …” But having people memorize a list of should and should not and tacitly labeling the should nots as wrong is not training, but dictating.

For a long time, I believed that since the Liberty Way was established by a Christian university then whatever they labeled as wrong must be so. Albeit, this thinking was flawed, but I still believed it, and over time I grew to resent the rules. Automatically dismissing a movie just because of its rating is not always correct, and all skirts and dresses that do not touch the knee are not necessarily immodest.

As part of a student body that, for the most part, consists of Christians that generally hold the same desires to live a life of purity that honors Christ, I too want to exemplify a life that honors God; however, I am not going to be religious by unquestioningly following a set of rules just because they were established by a Christian entity. Instead I’m going to take those rules and evaluate them based on what I interpret the Bible says is just and then walk in obedience towards those authority figures within reason. This is what the Liberty Way now allows.

Joylanda Jamison