There are a few different reasons why you may be reading The Fenwick Review. Perhaps the largest group of loyal readers comes from the very staff itself. Following them might come those who despise Holy Cross’s “Journal of Opinion” with every fiber of their beings (that isn’t already being used to hate a different “politically unjust cause”). Then there is the camp of the silent supporters, flipping through the copy they picked up with the morning sun streaming through the windows of Kimball Dining Hall. Or perhaps you are a member of the faculty or staff attempting to stay hip on campus culture because you heard about the anonymous Instagram account slandering nearly every paragraph, line, and period written in these pages. In any case, in the true Catholic spirit, all are welcome here.
It’s no secret that our campus has two major papers that represent the two major camps of political thought. The Fenwick Review ranges from center-right to far-right ideals while The Spire tends to range from moderate to far-left. The reality of today, however, is that college campuses are moving more and more to the left, demanding more progressive reforms to the old ways of doing things. For instance, soon to be gone are the days of solely “men’s” or “women’s” restrooms, replaced more and more by gender neutral restrooms. Personal pronouns are commonly proclaimed while safe spaces and trigger warnings are announced before anything that could possibly make anyone uncomfortable, whatever that may be. Serious questions of identity are openly discussed on a broader stage.
I won’t comment about these changes themselves. Rather, if I’m a woman and I want to use a women’s restroom, the women’s restroom is where I will go. If I don’t need to use the safe space, I won’t. If I am not currently questioning my identity, sexual or otherwise, I simply will not lean on the sources put in place to help me arrive at such an answer. Those who are doing any of these things are free to continue about their lives, actions, questioning, and demanding of more. Just as that girl over there is allowed to hang her “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, that boy over there is equally allowed to hang his LGBT+ flag. For lack of a better, more academically pleasing-to-the-ears way of putting it: I really don’t care what you do. Let’s even underline “really.”
But here’s the thing: with campuses moving more and more to the left, those who don’t follow suit – whether it be through demonstrations, climate strikes, PRIDE marches – are increasingly ostracized. Does that mean you don’t believe women should have equal rights? Do you seriously not believe in climate change? What, you’re going to claim that we should all love one another but you won’t support your brothers and sisters of the LGBT+ community? Generally, those on the left and especially Millennials and Gen Z-ers are constantly on the defense, sometimes firing off before any sort of real offense has been made. Out in the world, I am a firm Moderate. On the grounds of the modern college campus, clothe me in red and get me an elephant because it appears that I am a diehard conservative.
Just because I am not marching through the streets of every major world city at Women’s Marches, does not mean that I believe women are less than men. Just because I go to Catholic Mass on Sunday, it does not mean that I believe myself to be superior or “holier” than you, nor do I find myself claiming that you are a sinner or non-believer. Even though I am not stopping my day’s work to go march for the climate, never have I once thought that climate change is not a very real and scientifically supported phenomenon. I have my beliefs and you, my friend, have yours. Can you suggest that I bring my reusable cup to Cool Beans? Sure thing, I’m not offended. Can I suggest that we spend less time in lecture discussing potential discomfort in preparation for entrance into a world where such discussions are rarely had and extreme precautions are rarely taken?
Being at such a small school, many of us know more about one another than we would ever wish to know. Why I know that so-and-so has two Black Labs and a Labradoodle is beyond me. With that said, some things are fine to keep to ourselves. If you’re an atheist, cool. You do not need to put it in your Instagram bio. If you believe that your faith is the only legitimate form, you have the right to believe that as well as the right to keep that to yourself. If you feel empowered by attending Women’s Marches, go on, but don’t judge other women who aren’t there. Like my nana always says, God gave us two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we can speak.
What, you may ask, has sparked this sort of reflection? As we are preparing to make housing selections for the next academic year, one of my good friends and I planned to live with another one of our friends and a girl we have never met. It seemed like it was going to be an okay fit… until I received a message asking me if I wrote for The Fenwick Review. This girl with whom I have never had a single conversation no longer wanted to live with me based solely off the fact that I have written previous articles published in this journal. Surely, this journal has published some “hot takes” and controversial essays, but it almost always refrains from publishing “anonymous” articles. Journalism doesn’t have room for anonymity. If you’re going to say something, you better have the you-know-what to back it up.
I don’t agree with some of the things published by some of the very staff members that I call my friends. It’s called a difference in opinion and it’s commonly seen in the real world. We have come to college to broaden our horizons and see things from a different point of view. Sure, Machiavelli can tell me how a prince should rule - and I don’t have to agree with it, but his point of view is going to help me better understand the world buzzing around me. Stepping outside our comfort zones can be challenging. When my “Natural Sciences” common requirement required me to put a dead Praying Mantis on a pin needle and present it to my professor, you better bet that bug – sorry, that insect of the Mantodea order – was regally speared with that needle.
Moral of the story: step down a bit. Rather than being inherently offended by someone else’s belief, take a moment and educate yourself. Ask them why they believe that. We are in college to ultimately go forth and set the world on fire. (No, Holy Cross did not pay me to throw in the St. Ignatius quote). Your whole life will be full of encounters with other people who come from different backgrounds and belief systems than you, and when you encounter something that makes you uncomfortable, you will have to learn how to get over it. If we asked everyone for copies of their resume before speaking with them, chances are that we would almost always see something that deters us. Maybe you’ll share an office with someone you can’t stand… but unlike the paid staff of Holy Cross, your boss isn’t going to take time out of their day to ask you how you feel and why you feel that way. One part of someone doesn’t make up their entire story. Step down from the defense and take a deep breath.
Oh, and one more thing: you have the power to choose the information you consume. If you are reading this essay with the preconceived notion that it will be total blasphemy and you will then spend the next few hours lamenting over your hatred for a school journal, it’s time for you to pick up a fifth class. Or an extracurricular. Or go exercise. You’d be shocked how your productivity increases when you spend less time complaining and being offended.