Swarthmore as a college

It is important for me to preface this piece by saying that I admire, appreciate, and agree with much of what Sarah Dobbs had to say in her recent Op-Ed titled “Swarthmore as a nation-state.” I believe that doing the work of

Institutional wealth is not the gospel of Christ

My meal plan costs me $6,600 per year. I’m sitting in a dining hall that costs thousands to operate and maintain — part of a college that has a master plan to spend millions in the coming years. There are about 1,500

The case for a secular group on campus

The Acts of the Apostles, a.k.a. Acts, is the fifth book in the Christian New Testament. It’s one of my favorites because it reads a lot like a buddy-cop movie starring Peter and Paul, two early Christian missionaries — Paul is famous

Working out with God

Hello friends, and welcome back to another semester at Swarthmore College, another semester of the Phoenix, and another semester of my column, A Still Small Voice. I use my space here to comment on my religion and on spirituality on campus, in

Shout it aloud

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.” So begins Isaiah 58, a strident call to arms and my current favorite chapter in

A significant loss for student quality of life

At the end of this semester, our campus stands to lose one of its greatest blessings. Ailya Vajid has served as a religious life advisor for Muslim students since January. In this capacity, Ailya has proved absolutely invaluable to Muslims on campus

A monastery as a model for effective communication

At 7 o’clock this morning, seventeen men started their day with Matins — the burning of incense, a reading from the Gospel and a few pages of chanted psalms. These brothers follow the Holy Offices (five daily services that follow the cycle