On Saturday, February 2, Trinity Western University hosted the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS) Worldview Conference. The ICS is a Christian graduate school, affiliated with the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto.

The conference, titled “Another Brick in the Wall,” takes its name from a Pink Floyd song about dissatisfaction with institutions. The conference addressed the issue of our culture’s loss of faith in institutions like schools, the home, government and the Church.

Keynote speaker Bob Sweetman, historian of philosophy at ICS, addressed the conference in the morning and afternoon. Each session was followed by a question-and-answer session with a panel that included professor Peg Peters and TWU students Steven Talene and Shayna Jones.

The community standards at Trinity Western University have become a collective joke amongst a large number of students and faculty. The vast majority of TWU’s students disobey them without thinking twice. Somewhere (in administration?) someone thinks that the community standards play an important role in TWU’s self-understanding as an Evangelical Christian community. I would suggest that in some way they do.

This article is not about partying. It celebrates little. Yet in a joyless world we see glimpses of hope. Now that’s something to honour.

Kenya has long been a gem of Africa – prosperous, progressive and peaceful. Situated right in the horn of Africa, Kenya’s stable presence has been a launching point for relief to conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Darfur. But with 30 days of violence, its allure and security has altogether vanished.

What is a black female democrat to do this election season? This is among the many thought-provoking questions concerning identity that Americans are asking themselves. At first this may seem like a silly question, but it reveals something very profound about the state of the nation and its people. We don’t fully understand the role that race and gender play in the identity of a human being. Furthermore, tied up in the question of identity is the issue of representation: what does it mean to have a candidate who represents you?

According to the Oxford dictionary, a party is defined as a group with common aims, especially in politics. Where has this concept of “party politics” taken us?

While the need for a cohesive foundation for the government to build on is justifiable, have political parties come to embody the principles of the mafia in the political realm? Why else would there be a position within parties entitled the “party whip” who is charged with ensuring members represent a unified front.

On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger died. And for some reason, I care.

It affects me. It goes beyond the simple tragedy of a young life ending suddenly. I read or hear about the death of some young father, or a loving woman, or an innocent child regularly – in fact, they’re hard to miss. I myself have even lost a number of friends to unspeakable ends. But for some reason, perhaps because of the sheer commonness, I forget to render proper reverence to those equally important lives.

Every year I’ve been at TWU, I’ve had the pleasure of being in a first-year class. Irrespective of whether the class is a party-class or a sleepy-class, this comes with the dubious enjoyment of sitting behind people bearing laptops. Continually astounded at the nonsense they get up to doing during class, I have lost all of my once-vibrant faith in multi-tasking.

So I have a proposition to make: a campus-wide renewal of the connection to reality. Yes, reality: the green, wet, squishy and cold material world, the free marketplace of ideas, and the people all around. What’s the easiest way of starting this?

The day before Ash Wednesday is Mardi Gras. Coincidence? Hardly. It’s not surprising that prior to the month of religious fasting one decadent festival was the final chance to indulge in as much pleasure as possible: an indication of the fascinating relationship between religion and celebration. This is what inspired the Mars’ Hill issue on partying - the fact that people always have and always will party. What is particular at Trinity Western University, however, is that the concept of partying comes with some very distinct expectations.