A place of worship or a place of learning: Chapel policy changes and student opinions
Photo courtesy of Steven Guersch
Trinity Adams, News and Feature Editor
Dallas Vandiver, assistant vice president of student ministries, joined NGU staff three years ago, and this is his first year on campus in the undergraduate program. His goal in the changes that have been made to the chapel policies this school year was to bring direction to the campus community that has been created through chapel.
“In trying to make what we are talking about, themes and series and stuff like that, be more intentional, we are trying to frame it as ‘we are developing transformational leaders by regularly worshiping Jesus and thinking about all of life in relation to Jesus,’” Vandiver said.
Chappy Livdahl, junior theatre performance major, has appreciated some of the changes that have been made in chapel. On the other hand, he notes that there is a bit of contradiction between chapel being treated as a place of worship but also a classroom.
“I don’t necessarily know how to feel about a place where you are learning about God and how he works, specifically the setting of chapel, being constrained to a classroom viewpoint,” Livdahl said.
Livdahl explained that it is great to be able to come together and learn about God and to worship him in that setting. He also mentioned that some of the chapels where worship is taken away and a lecture-based chapel can be disheartening.
Starting the first day of classes, students were informed that chapel would now be a technology-free classroom. Students were given a notebook and were told that any scriptures or text that needed to be followed would be put on the screen.
“I’m thinking of it, and Dr. [Jared] Thomas is thinking of it, in terms of creating a space that is most conducive to learning and most conducive to paying attention,” said Vandiver.
During the first chapel of the semester, students were informed that neither hoods nor headphones would be allowed in the chapel. Monitors were also assigned to each section to ensure that there would not be distractions during chapel.
Monitors can be seen walking the aisles and getting the attention of students to put away phones or take off their hoods. Another rule implemented this year is if a monitor has to talk to a student twice in one chapel, then the student will be asked to leave.
Zoe Character, senior interdisciplinary studies major, has had different encounters with different monitors. One monitor even asked her to take off her headphones and put them away five minutes before chapel started.
“It’s interesting how different people monitoring have different standards. It kinda messes everyone up and causes more distraction when you’re so focused on what’s going on around you than what’s happening in chapel,” Character said.
Character also noticed that for a few chapels, a rowdy group of students in front of her were not being corrected, while others who were not being as disruptive were. When the monitor for that section changed, the group was then corrected.
“There are just different levels of consistency. I feel like some people are more targeted to getting called out or monitored,” she said.
Character feels that the chapel changes this semester have some benefits, like allowing people to focus by not having their phones. The biggest distraction in chapel is no longer technology, but the monitors enforcing the new policies.
Vandiver argues that since chapel is a class, it is a curricular requirement to graduate and there is a certain amount needed to pass, it must be treated as such. To pass chapel, students must attend 18 chapels for seven semesters.
“In a classroom, you don’t just get to text the whole time. Some professors won’t even let you pull out your phone. If I have 1,200 students, I can’t arbitrate that this student over here is doing it a real small amount and it’s not a distraction and this student over here is just texting the whole time,” he said.
Vandiver credits this semester as being a learning curve for the school. Since chapel has looked drastically different in the past four years. From online chapel to chapel with little regulations and chapel this semester, Vandiver believes that this is going to be a time for students to adjust and to bring the purpose of chapel to light. He is also hopeful that next semester will look different now that these policies have been consistently implemented.
Vandiver said, “Policies aren’t abstract, like we don’t just make a policy without regard to what we are trying to do. We keep in mind what we are trying to do and what is the best path to get there. That is why policies matter. Otherwise, it would just be rules.”
