Bad News Is Good News

Makala Coleman

Being told that I’ve done something wrong is surprisingly one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. As editor of Status, Southwestern’s Student Association magazine, I can’t help but laugh at the irony.

The second issue of the semester was distributed last Thursday. Negative comments about a movie review column one of my writers put together bothered me when I first heard them. A fellow student told me that he didn’t like the use of movies that were not rated G. Later, a faculty member said he didn’t think we should encourage people to watch science fiction. The movie’s referred to in the article were Ender’s Game, About Time, and Sherlock (the BBC mini-series). It was even suggested that I remove that column to avoid offending people who don’t want to watch that “type of entertainment.”

Initially my brain caught on fire. Do they think we are living under a rock? We are college students, old enough to make our own decisions. Why should we ignore the pop culture of this era?

Then it hit me: people are reading Status. And not only are they reading the magazine, but the content is stirring emotion in them. Controversial issues are being brought up. Something I created is making people think! That’s when the laughter wouldn’t stop. How ironic that a negative comment about something I’d done could make me so joyful.

The issue brought forth is an important one: as students in a Christian university, it’s important to reflect God in what we say, do, and yes, even in what we watch. I am thankful that this issue was brought to my attention.

This being said, I believe there is an important message to be found in many different genres of entertainment. I do not think that Christians should isolate themselves from the rest of the world. God calls us to be in the world, and not of the world. How can we be in the world if we do not know anything about it?

I realize that not everybody shares my opinion. Therefore, it is impossible to please everybody who will read the magazine. What I can do is give those who read a voice. In the issues to come, there will be an editor’s letter section. Also, if someone wants to write about an issue they feel strongly towards, I am more than willing to find space for them in the magazine. So e-mail me! makalac@swau.edu.

Not every Christian or even every Adventist thinks exactly alike, or should they. But having a difference of opinion, and sharing that opinion in a fair, open-minded way, gives us an opportunity to explore what we believe, and why. That’s what critical thinking is about, and that’s one of the good things I like about going to a Seventh-day Adventist Christian university like Southwestern.

Share this: