Diversity should include all

Thank you for the extremely informative and interesting article, “A Campus Agent of Renewal” (fall 2014).

As a Calvin grad and former faculty member (I taught in the Spanish department from 1988–1993), I am so happy to see that Calvin is waking up to the fact that in order to be relevant to today’s society, we need to be aware of diversity and make a conscious effort to be inclusive in our student body, administration, teaching faculty and curriculum. I applaud Ms. Loyd-Paige for her tenacity and willingness to help a campus—that was largely unaware of the “mistakes by omission” that it was committing—start to come to a realization of the importance of diversity. I firmly believe that the Lord that we serve wants us to honor Him and His creation by including ALL of his people.

That said, I did not see any mention of Hispanics or other minority groups in the article. I hope that we are not correcting one sinful wrong (over a century of ignoring the strong African American heritage of the U.S.) and committing another. We need to focus on the multiple cultural heritages that make up the beautiful nations of the U.S. and Canada—both immigrant cultures and First Nations (a Canadian term) or Native American cultures.

Jacoba Koene ’77, MCE ’80
Franklinville, N.C.

Diversity a concern

It is with much concern that I write about the article on diversity at Calvin. Are we trying to be politically correct or do we see this as part of the new mission at the school? There has and will always be a certain “comfort level” at the school and that is why many of us went there. Did we try to diversify back in the late ’60s and early ’70s? Would I have been just as comfortable applying to a major school in the South even if they extended a warm hand to me? Our churches are not very integrated for the same reason. I say, let it be, and if anyone wants to come to Calvin, extend the warm hand, but let’s be careful what we ask for. Calvin needs to continue following its mission and that is to educate and prepare our next generation to be a part of the world and shine our light wherever that takes us. I understand Ms. Loyd-Paige’s frustration. I was a public educator my whole career.

 Tom Bytwork ’73
Sun City West, Ariz.

Honduras had profound impact

I want to thank you for the article “Justice in Honduras” (fall 2014). I know it was not the main focus of the article (which I think is fine, since a focus on what AJS has done deserves its own article), but I wanted to stress how much the educational program, put together by Kurt and Jo Ann in Honduras, has profoundly impacted the lives of so many Calvin grads who have participated in it.

I went in its early years (1997---see pic above) and still hold it up as one of the most interdisciplinary educational experiences I have had: meeting politicians and activists, visiting banana plantations and shrimp farms, reading political history (and some literature). Guided by Jo Ann and Kurt—and I think I can speak for all the students in the program—it was a transformative semester for all of us; it made us question, care and delve into issues many of us are still involved in today. In other words, we experienced the epitome of what many would call education.

I guess I just wanted to echo the article you wrote, but also give a few more kudos to those who created this program for students to see firsthand some of what AJS is trying to tackle (and much, much more. I was there before AJS existed, but Kurt and Jo Ann’s passion for Honduras, justice and educating people about much of what it deals with foreshadowed its eventual creation). I should also mention the Honduran teaching staff that they assembled, at least when I was there. Pablo Villalta, who now teaches at Calvin, also had a great impact on many of us. Thanks for the report, and thanks Kurt, Jo Ann and Carlos (who I did not meet when I was there) for their very brave and extremely important work.

Ben Van Wyke ’99
Indianapolis, Ind.

Churches should unite

My wife and I attended Calvin; my son attended Hope College a few years back. So, when we receive the Spark and Hope’s equivalent, my 60+-year-old mind doesn’t immediately differentiate between the two. Suffice it to say that when I began reading “Decoration Day” (fall 2014), I read it with the misconception that I was reading Hope’s quarterly missive. “Decoration Day” described the wonderful remembrance service and respect given to the burial plots of William and Angeline Spoelhof by the great folks of Dale Sprik and Steve Van der Weele. Especially moving to me was their recitation of Psalm 91:11-2: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High/Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty./I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,/My God, in Whom I trust.’”

I thought to myself, how gracious, how Christian, this Hope periodical was to lay down past animosities, past disagreements, in the name of Christ. Until I realized my mistake: The two churches, while related, still maintain their differences, to the confusion and detriment of the message of Christ to the world. Shame on both. Drop your swords, realize the sin against God you are committing by your infighting and UNITE in the gospel of Christ’s forgiveness of our sins. Do you really think that Jesus—who is walking among us—condones this hypocritical self-righteousness? I don’t.

Fred Ruble ’74
Lowell, Mich.

‘Hey, I know her’

The first two years of my college career were socially, rather than academically, successful. I had a large circle of friends and a great deal of professors who remembered me even after taking only one class with them. It took two days of freshman orientation and one day of class for my younger sister to change that: I was walking to a class in Hiemenga Hall when I heard someone greet me with, “Hi, Miriam’s brother.”

Thank you Calvin for preparing me for the rest of my life. (“Helping people find their voice,” fall 2014).

A few years ago I was teaching GED classes to a wide cross-section of students. There someone who in a gesture of convivial respect began calling me Professor van Mersbergen. I explained to him that upon hearing that greeting, I look around for my sister and began bragging about her accomplishments as an older brother would.

The next time I saw him, I was greeted with, “Hello Professor van Mersbergen’s brother.”

David van Mersbergen ’86
Marietta, Ga.

Inclusion debated

A big bouquet to Spark for including a same-sex wedding announcement in the fall issue’s Class Notes. This shows that Calvin is becoming more inclusive.

Tom Ozinga ’59
Grandville, Mich.

I wanted to share my disappointment with Calvin and the Spark editors in the decision to run a class note an alumna submitted related to her “marriage” to another woman. My disappointment stems from the fact that homosexuality is a sin, which is very clearly stated in the Bible. As a Christian institution, Calvin should not be celebrating sin. (Nor should there be a need or feeling of obligation to allow anti-biblical submissions or submissions celebrating sin to be published by a Christian institution. I would be equally as disappointed if the class note had celebrated any sin; I’m not calling out homosexuality in particular.)

We are called as Christians to be in the world, but not of the world (e.g., political correctness is “of the world”). While God wants us to love one another, we do not need to love/celebrate/accept sin. (The Bible says for us to love the sinner, but hate sin, which Jesus’ actions exemplified.) Though we are all sinners, as Christians, we know that sin is wrong (and the Bible clearly says what is right and what is wrong), and we need to turn away from it. I would hope that you would use more discernment to ensure that what is published by the college in the future is not anti-biblical, nor celebratory of sin.

Karen Greiner Henshaw ’04
Rockford, Mich.

I read your Director’s Desk article this issue (fall 2014) full of Bible verses and “religious” flavor. Then I read the announcement of two homosexual persons doing exactly what God says not to do. If you have “director” by your name, it is a calling to direct in a way favorable to God. Not your flowery Christian gobbledygook. Start directing, or find a job where you can handle the pressure of saying “no” to obviously non-Christ-like activity.

Dave Kapteyn ’74
Hudsonville, Mich. 

Editor’s Note: In “Justice for Honduras” (fall 2104) the work of alum Abe Huyser-Honig was unintentionally omitted. Long part of the AJS team is Huyser-Honig ’04, who moved to Honduras in 2006 and served first as director of operations and then as coordinator of research and investigations, in the latter capacity leading the team that unmasked the corruption in the pharmaceutical industry. In the summer of 2014 Huyser-Honig moved back to the U.S. with his wife and two children to pursue a master’s degree in public policy at Michigan State, while continuing to work 25 percent time for AJS from his base in west Michigan.

Correction: The credit for the photo accompanying “Flashback: Selling the Franklin Campus” (fall 2014) belongs to Heritage Hall, Calvin College.