Peace surpasses the demanding

Carly Williams, Photo Editor

“Poverty is the absence of peace in all its meanings.”

As I read this quote one Sunday morning, I could not help but step back and think.

As a child of God, I am called to peace. From the moment of conception  into God’s kingdom, I was given permission not to fear, worry, doubt, or be overwhelmed by the world. For in that fear, that worry, that doubt I can subject myself to unrest.

Without such peace, I am invited into poverty. Poverty far greater than torn clothes and grease-stained faces. Although when many think of poverty the automatic thought can be African countries with no running water, but the poverty to which the quote is referring is a shortfall of peace in humanity and in our daily lives; an unrest within ourselves.

Now, if I wanted to preach, I would not have declared journalism as my major. However, this quote has resonated with me for about two weeks now. As a student, the entitlement to become stressed over homework and finances seems to be ingrained into the heads of those in their 20s especially in this season of life—college.

I have been working towards a Bachelor’s degree for five years. I have endured test after quiz after speech after grande double shot vanilla latte and I have found one thing—stress erases peace.

Even amongst school work, along with family problems, jobs, activities, ministries, and friends, we cannot forget what is important. By factoring all these commitments into our lives, where is there room for peace, let alone God?

As a senior, I have come to understand that I have every opportunity to base my day off of accepting peace and finding beauty by placing God before my studies and ahead of my day. This can be as simple as acknowledging Jesus as Lord over my life or reading a chapter out of my favorite book of the Bible. I have come to acknowledge my imperfection and God’s redemption, which always shows how blessed I am.

I never want to forget the peace, which surpasses understanding. I never want to lose sleep over petty things, but rather rejoice in the stillness of God. Even as I flop on my bed after a 19-hour day, I want to realize that I am no longer impoverished, but rich in peace.

College not for kiddos: give residents back their noise

Students will at some point encounter a noise dispute with their roommate (roommates, for those of who survived the glory days of three-to-a-room in Laguna). It is inevitable: you need quiet to study, but your roommate is hosting a “Glee” marathon; they want to sleep in, but you need to blow-dry your hair before your 8 a.m. class.

Luckily, the “quiet hours” policy was established to level the playing field between early risers, night owls and…whatever bird metaphor goes best with “afternoon people.” However, this balance is often disrupted by Resident Directors who enforce quiet hours early, due to their sleeping toddlers.

RDs fill a much-needed position, as they counsel students and facilitate dorm life. However, the disconnect comes when students are berated for skateboarding “too loud” outside of Huntington Hall on their way to class; or how other residents are made to feel guilty for late nights in the Towers lobby, when the lobby serves as a hub when open-hours are over.

Part of the Vanguard experience is the nightlife, including the late-night runs to In-N-Out, the high jinks, and the infamous moonlit walks and DTR talks. Living on a college campus, noise is a given. When one takes a job that requires them to live on campus, one adapts to the environment, not the other way around (considering that free housing perk). What is frustrating is that the little college life we get to call “ours” is stifled by nap-time.

The answer to student retention is not simply better food, better scholarships, better chapel services. By choosing VUSC, students sacrifice a lot of staple college experiences (such as football games, Greek pledging and on-campus baristas), yet they decide whether they want to stay at VU by the culture that is created. It seems beyond an RD’s job description to parent residents—isn’t that what we left home for?

Compromises are made between feuding roommates all the time. At the end of the day, the children of RD’s should not dictate how loud a floor is at 9:30 p.m. Just because you can enforce a policy, doesn’t always mean you should.