I caught wind today that UAAA was unimpressed by the lack of response by so named “Christian campus groups” to the vandalism that took place in CAB last month.

Being involved in a number of these groups, I was one of the people who was solicited for a response. My personal (n.b. individual) lack of response was based on a number of reasons. I suppose as I post this into the world of the internet I am making an official response on behalf of myself… you can count that as a total of two responses now. Okay now to the reasons:

1. The hate crime (I don’t mind calling it one… it was) was performed as it seems as a response to previous events on campus in which I had only a few glimpses of knowledge.

2. To comment about the vandalism without commenting about the convocation debate seems in some sense to be making a sideways response to the one event. My response to the convocation debate (albeit in somewhat selfish terms) is that I thoroughly appreciated the charge and would be saddened to see it rubbed out of the program or altered in what, for me, it conveys about integration of faith and all life.

3. Drawing up a comprehensive statement to the entire religious and areligious community on campus is a magnificently overwhelming concept. As someone who is frustrated by the massive intolerance/disrepect seen in the situation I don’t engage in the debate as a source of entertainment or pleasure as it brings me none. Basically this results in me not knowing the topography of the tensions that may have existed over the past year and a half and am unable to make a comprehensive statement.

4. You (in the individual sense, Ian, as well as the general population) have heard likely over and over that the big picture of Christian thought teaches that Christians should be a source of peace. The Jewish-Christian greeting or teaching of Shalom is one that I’d direct your attention to (wikipedia does a good job as usual). Where does vandalism fall in a world of shalom? it doesn’t.

5. Events like this tend to lead to some Christian communities distancing themselves from others. I would suggest that this tendency would be called “sin” (creative name for it eh?) and making such statements while it feels nice for me doesn’t actually make anything right. As someone who would let you categorize me with the name “Christian” I am embarrassed when other people who might so categorize themselves act in stupid ways.