Bryan College Triangle

Last semester's "Couch" forum, hosted by the Worldview Formation, sparked many in the student body to question if it's possible to be Christian and homosexual / Triangle photo by Maddie K. Doucet

Jesse Murray
Senior Reporter

Bryan College is keeping up with the times, and with that comes everything that entails—hardship and hard questions. In the past months, the college has addressed a host of issues ranging from ethnic diversity to the current chapel theme on sexuality and the Bible. Last semester, Worldview Formation held a forum called “The Couch.” The topic was homosexuality, and the opinions of individual speakers varied. This forum opened a Pandora’s Box of questions that has left many students looking for answers.

The issue of homosexuality in the context of a Christian community is anything but nice and neat, and it’s an issue for more people than one might realize. To put it simply is to not understand the gravity of the issue. It’s anything but simple because human beings are anything but simple. The question to be addressed in this first article, of what will be a short series, is this: how is homosexuality treated at Bryan by administrators and faculty? The purpose of this series is not to prove or disprove anything—and especially not to address deeper questions that would be better suited for a public forum. Its purpose is to be informative, and to perhaps foster helpful discussion.

From an administrative position, the handbook speaks volumes. Bryan is a Christian private institution, and as such, is under no obligation to show tolerance to homosexuality on campus. Read full story »

Catherine Rogers
Editor-In-Chief

Students found this offensive sign hung on a tree near Long Dorm last semester / Photo courtesy of Vincent Smith

What started as Diversity Week, ended with campus-wide rumors about racism at Bryan. Students attending chapel on Jan. 25 heard the “racism announcement” and without specifics, questions and speculations began to spread. Students spoke of racial slurs being carved into trees and minority students leaving Bryan at the end of the semester.

When asked to help clarify some of the rumors, Dean of Student Life Bruce Morgan had no comment for Triangle.

The truth, according to Student Body President Vincent Smith, is that Diversity Week was not planned as a response to recent racist acts on campus, but rather was planned at the beginning of last semester as part of the year’s chapel themes.

The week’s theme did, however, raise questions amidst the student body as to whether the Bryan community actually needed a series of lectures on diversity. According to Smith, many students vocalized the feeling that racial or cultural insensitivity wasn’t a problem at Bryan and that caused the formation of the group that made the announcement in chapel last Wednesday. Read full story »

Krissy Proctor
Online Editor

Dan Jackson
Assistant Online Editor

When students sign the document saying they have read and agree to abide by the Student Handbook, they submit to the college’s rules and direction and give up their legal rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, and the Second Amendment, among others.

That does not mean the college has the legal right to do anything it wills. Students are still protected by the Student Handbook and contract law. In the law’s eyes, the handbook is a contract between the college and the student and both parties must agree with the document. The discipline process at Bryan attempts to provide a fair hearing for students accused of rule breaking.

Read full story »

Photo taken from a Bryan News mass email.

Alex Green
Triangle Reporter

The first Commoner Forum of the year will take place this Thursday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the library.

The subject of the forum will be racial diversity on Bryan’s campus, seeking to spark conversation on the topic, specifically the consequences of a lack of diversity or the benefits of diversity on a Christ-centered college campus.

Dean of Student Life Bruce Morgan is quoted on the College’s website saying that the goal of the forum is to “…start a conversation about this with the end result being a move toward more cultural diversity on campus.” Read full story »