Why Do Students Write?

A recent issue of The Bagpipe ran an article about and by ChatGPT that posed the question, "Why write again when this tool is available 24/7 and arguably can do a better job than the average student can?" In response, Director of Library Services John Holberg, Dr. Jay Green, Dr. Robert Erle Barham, Dr. John Wingard and Dr. Scott Jones have shared their perspectives on the purpose of writing.

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“What is Chapel?” Vague Chapel Definitions Lead to Vague Chapel Messages

At Covenant College, Chapel is a time we all set aside, faculty, staff, students, to sing, to pray and to read from and to meditate on Scripture. Chapel is a time when we can come together as a body of believers to worship. But Covenant needs to seriously rethink how it operates the chapel program. Chapel is not clearly defined: we do not know what it is, and as a result, Chapel has lost its priority of worship.

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Discussing the Issue of Covenant College’s Dating Culture

Covenant has a serious problem. It’s not the food, it’s not the chapel music, or anything else of that sort. Covenant’s biggest problem is the cancerous nature of its dating culture. Since before I came here in 2020, I was told by so many upperclassmen not to date as a freshman. I’ve extended that advice to the freshmen on my hall, but I’ve gone a step further: I encourage them not to date at all at Covenant. It’s a mess, and you don’t have to go far to find people who agree with me. As someone who made the mistake of dating here, and someone who currently has friends and roommates who are dating here, I have had a lot of frankly very depressing conversations with people over their experiences with dating here at Covenant.

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Grace Report Article Three

In 2018, while the college was beginning work on its plan to make Covenant a great place for women to work and study, Covenant’s publication The View published a small statement by Joel Belz on the events of the summer’s General Assembly. “None of us enjoy losing a vote,” he writes, “especially on an issue we consider to involve an important principle. So I was still absorbing the assembly’s rejection of a proposal that would allow the election of women to the Board of Trustees of Covenant College. After less than an hour’s debate, the proposal had been defeated by a vote of 727-449-18.” 

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Jon Bellion Artist Review

For the past few months I’ve been listening to one artist almost exclusively: Jon Bellion. unlike other media reviews Jon Bellion hasn’t directly released any music since 2018. He has written and produced 5 albums and a handful of singles. His first two albums, Translations Through Speakers and The Definition, were released in 2013. In 2014, he released The Separation; in 2016, he released probably my favorite album: The Human Condition; and the last album he released came out in 2018: Glory Sound Prep. 

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The Mission Statement Shouldn't Have Passed

On Tuesday, November 22, Jon Schimpf, our student body president, released an email titled “Final Update Regarding the Mission Statement.'' For many, this email went straight to the trash can, and this is understandable. The Student Senate has attempted to pass this document since last semester. (However, last semester, it was called “The Declaration of Intent.”) Since the statement's first proposal in March, the student body has received countless emails (eight that I can find) regarding its content and voting procedure.  I, like much of the student body, don't care about this document at all, which is exactly why I'm writing this. So, first, I will show why the Mission Statement shouldn't have passed and, second, why the Mission Statement shouldn't exist.

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Have American Christians Stopped Walking with the Spirit?

I often think of the image of the beloved Jewish character from Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, lifting his outstretched palms heavenward, furrowing his brow in confusion. Wordlessly with these gestures he exclaims to his God, “Why?” I, too, have often found myself exclaiming to the Lord, “Why? Why me? Why now?” Too often when life runs amuck I have turned an accusatory finger to the Lord, instead of a word of praise. For a while, I began to believe that the Lord didn’t really care for me—He didn’t really provide for and sustain me in every moment and in every breath. He simply gave and took away the things I loved and cared about according to “His will.” Whatever that means. I stopped looking for Him and His grace in every moment of life.

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