Letters to the Editor

Posted by admin on Sep 23, 2008 in Issues & Ideas, Letters to the Editor | 0 comments

“Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” – C.S. Lewis

I am writing this by way of protest against the recent action taken by the TWU Accountability Committee against Spartan Men’s Soccer player Nathan Pogue. I have been a very close friend of Nathan for a few years now and am, to say the least, disheartened by the whole procedure.

There is likely no need to go over the events Nathan and the three other Spartans participated in as they have been fairly well circulated around campus (if not accurately circulated). My only issue is with the Accountability Committee and its poor handling of the situation.

Of course, what the students did—during a school sanctioned outing—are inexcusable and reflect poorly on Trinity Western as a whole. However, they are insufficient grounds for a small group of ‘moral busybodies’ to deem that Nathan should not be allowed on TWU grounds for a week, that his scholarships be revoked, that he be kicked off his team, and that he be forced to have ‘accountability meetings’ for the entire academic year. If ‘the Committee’ is aware of the personal and financial implications of their decision for Nathan they will realize that this is tantamount to expelling him. Perhaps they should have, at the very least, handed out their punishments on an individual basis instead of condemning each student identically. Was there even a need for individual hearings if this is the result?

Surely a reasonable person would understand Nathan’s heavy regret and his deep commitment to his team and to his school. A reasonable person would see that these actions are not reflective of his character and are little more than a series of poor decisions. Disciplinary action of this degree implies, not so subtly, that his character is dubious – at best – and that he is currently unworthy of participation in a Christian institution.

Were the voices of the many professors in the humanities department who have nothing but praise for Nathan heard? Will they be? Is there justification for ignoring the opinions of these professors, as well as his coaches, and other staff that actually know him? Or are we to rely on the arbitrary opinions of a small group of bureaucrats who likely do not represent the theology or philosophy of the vast majority of students and professors at Trinity?

I hope that these questions are raised this year as we rewrite the Responsibilities of Membership and the procedures that uphold them. If we at TWU continue to operate in such a fundamentally flawed, moralistic, unempathetic and unChristian way it will be hard to continue my support of, and pride in, our outstanding institution.

– Matt Enns