Dear Editor,
Let me begin by expressing
my surprise when I first saw the
RYAN WEBB/East Tennessean
“Walking by Faith” article that
has run in the ET this semester.
As an outspoken and proud
Christian myself, I find Whitney
Harris’ articles very pertinent
and inspirational to the
religious community on campus.
I do understand that some
will undoubtedly have unease
with the content. Thankfully,
because of our Constitutional
First Amendment rights, articles
of faith may be printed in a
secular university’s paper.
In response to Mr. Gregg
Searles’ Letter to the Editor
in the previous edition of this
paper, I suggest if he is concerned
about the campus community
not receiving diverse
literature about religions other
than Christianity, that the ET
invite others to write articles
about their religion.
Respectfully, I do not agree
with Searles saying that non-
Christians on campus might
“feel forced to join this religion”
and that “only writing about
one religion is leaving out students
here on campus who are
not of that religion.” While
only writing about Christianity
does leave out members of
the student body that are not
Christians, I don’t think that
writing about all religions is the
solution to the problem, as Mr.
Searles suggests in the closing
paragraph of his letter. With
the dozens of religions present
in the world today, it’s not feasible
for the ET to write about
each and still have the information
credible.
Mr. Searles argues that
“Walking by Faith” leaves out
non-Christians, yet other articles
in the ET can be used with
that same argument. In the
“Tube Watch” section, there
is no way the journalist can
report on every television show
that is watched by every student,
therefore leaving some
people out. The same can also
be said about political articles
and numerous others.
In short, there is no way to
completely include every single
member of the ETSU community
in nearly any article.
However, I think the column
does appeal to a large number
of students, as should be the
goal. I appreciate the “Walking
by Faith” articles and hope they
continue.
-Daniel Hurst

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