Counterculture on Campus

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:16:17 +0000

Gordon Govier

Counterculture on Campus

As the saying goes, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” The problems with sex and alcohol on campus have been growing for decades, and were pushed into the limelight again this month by the University of Virginia rape story reported by Rolling Stone magazine.

Greek ��ñ�� is a part of the solution on many campuses by being faithful to the gospel message. On the University of Virginia campus, still in shock from the pain of all of the media attention, Christian fraternity and sorority members are sharing hope and comfort.

"It's really hard to talk about the brokenness," Greek ��ñ�� Campus Staff Member Katie Nowell explained to CBN News. "It's really hard to talk about this culture and that our brothers and sisters are being assaulted like this and we hate this. But, we know that we serve a God who brings healing and brings justice and hates those things, too."

On campuses across the country, Greek ��ñ�� staff and student leaders are being encouraged to initiate conversations that may be difficult and uncomfortable — and listen well to those who have been hurt by the excesses of the campus culture.

At the University of Utah, Greek ��ñ�� student leader Mitchell Cox is working with the Rape Recovery Center through his fraternity Beta Theta Pi to sponsor sexual assault prevention forums on campus.

"As a fraternity, our partnership with the Rape Recovery Center is so important to us because not only are we able to positively impact the community, but we are able to dispel the negative stereotypes that are often associated with fraternity life,” Mitchell said on the Dr. Phil syndicated television program.

For his efforts Mitchell was recognized as a winner of the iAspire Grant by the Robin McGraw Revelation Foundation, which is associated with the Dr. Phil talk show.

Greek ��ñ�� has chapters on 29 campuses across the U.S., and works with more than 3,000 students on a total of 81 campuses.

News Keywords

University of Virginia

University of Utah

Greek ��ñ��

The Complete 180

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:22:32 +0000

News

Abi Christian

The Complete 180

“No guy on our campus has done a complete 180 in this way,” said Cheston Newhall, a senior at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. “I was one for partying and throwing massive parties. Then I swore off drinking until I was 21, which held true, and I no longer plan on getting drunk.”

It’s not just the drinking or how he interacts with his fraternity brother in Kapma Sigma that has changed. “Last November, I went to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. I began reevaluating what I was doing and why,” said Cheston. “I started thinking about the ultimate question—what's my purpose?”

From Darkness to Light

Cheston didn’t have answers, but he did begin going to ��ñ�� with a few of his fraternity brothers who had become involved. He had been part of a church with his family before college, but faith wasn’t an active part of his life. Through ��ñ��, Cheston found a place to ask his questions and see what the Bible had to say about them.

One night in January, Cheston read Ephesians 5. “I was really wrestling with the concept of how God shines his bright light through any darkness. No matter where we are, we can find him,” said Cheston. “For some reason, I was particularly hung up on this passage and what it meant for me.”

Overwhelmed with questions, Cheston needed a break and turned on some music. That’s when the song “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise”by the Avett Brothers came on. The lyrics captivated him.

“There was a particular line: ‘There's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light.’ I listened to it about four or five times. Then I broke down. That was me,” said Cheston. “I was in awe that this was the first song I listened to after studying the passage. I was in awe of the things God had led me through this semester.”

That night, Cheston recommitted his life to Christ.

A few weeks later in February, Cheston went to ��ñ��’s Greek Conference, where he publicly announced his decision to give up his lifestyle of drinking and follow Jesus. A month after the conference, Cheston was baptized. “I won’t say it was a completion of my journey—it’s obviously a process. But it was a completion of the first step of the journey.”

A Little More True

Since recommitting his life, Cheston’s faith has influenced his family’s spiritual journey as well. “Before ��ñ��, I attended church maybe once or twice a year with my parents,” said Cheston. Now they go more regularly, and he’s seen his sister take more leadership roles in Young Life, his mom dig into Scripture, and his dad pray more often. In May, Cheston’s church invited him to give a sermon on God’s love for Mother’s Day.

“I look at my individual journey—it's been such a whirlwind. I've done a lot of things badly,” said Cheston. “For some people there isn't one grand moment that lets them know they’re changed. They keep going, ask questions, and then one day they wake up and realize they're completely different. I've always been very friendly and outgoing. But now I'm more whole on the inside, so the outer reflection has been a little more true.”

Cheston’s fraternity brothers have also noticed the change in him, and Cheston is eager to share with them about his relationship with God. He believes God cares deeply for those in the Greek system, and Cheston is preparing for how he can reach out to his fraternity brothers this fall.

“A lot of brothers in our house are convicted in the sense they believe Jesus died on the cross for them, but they don't really live this,” said Cheston. “Hopefully this will spark a new desire in them to be true to God's Word.”

As students across the country gear up for new classes, roommates, and cafeteria food, ��ñ�� students like Cheston are planning how they can share new life with them too—the 180 change that only Jesus can offer.

News Keywords

University of Utah