Letter from the President: Seeking Strength in Times of Hardship
Published: December 31, 2019
Author: Sidney Webster
If you read the first letter from the president, thank you and welcome to letter #2. If you didn't read the first one, that's okay! But I do want to inform you of what these letters are all about. As the blogging intern for the marketing department, I have an assignment. That assignment is to publish a "Letter from the President" blog about once a month. I would like to take this opportunity not only to complete my task as an intern, but to share with you my struggles, successes, and setbacks as I attempt to lead the student body to a higher place. I have 3 goals for these letters. First, I would like to fill you with knowledge about the role of GSGA (Greenville University Student Government). Secondly, I want to show you the heart of the campus at GU. Lastly, I hope to open a conversation about how GSGA can help prospective students, current students, graduated alumni, parents of these groups mentioned above, past, present, and future faculty and staff and anyone else I failed to mention.
Here at GU, the last couple of weeks, and for some months, have been more difficult than usual. There are changes taking place in regards to majors and faculty that many of us are trying to process. If you need more information on this issue, watch this video before continuing to read. Thanks to the GU Papyrus!
As student body president, I have been very involved with these circumstances. While I can talk about specific ways my team and I have responded to these changes, I would instead like to share what I've learned by being a part of this community during such a difficult time. Conversations about this process have pretty much consumed my life for the last couple of weeks. I am a full-time student, an athlete for the women's basketball team, a marketing intern, and am also involved with the First Christian Church. Balancing all of this has never been easy, but this week it's become especially challenging. There have been many times where my input, time, and energy was needed immediately, within only a few minutes' notice. Being that readily available to people isn't easy. However, I am incredibly thankful for the voice I've been given. One of my greatest desires is for all students on campus to feel like their voice is being heard. These changes are challenging for all of us. From the board of trustees all the way down to freshman students, it's been burdensome. My point is not to scare anyone. While these changes can be scary, our community is going to push through this season. While that word community is tossed around a lot, I believe it to be true. We are a community, a tight-knit one to be more specific. If we were not, these changes wouldn't be as hard to accept.
Merely saying that I'm thankful for this community does not do justice for how I really feel. No words can truly express the pain, anger, frustration, and sadness I've felt, In the same way, no words can accurately depict the joy, comfort, empowerment, and love I've felt. To the administration that has encouraged me, thank you. To the faculty that have been entirely transparent and supportive of our students, thank you, To my fellow peers who have gathered around one another in love, thank you. Each of you makes up one part to the whole body; we are in Christ's church.
2 Corinthians 12:10 says, "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." It is my prayer that Christ's power will rest on this campus. His hands are holding us up, whether we feel it or not. We are in a time of weakness, in a time of hardship, in a time of difficulties. Let us take delight during this time, for Christ has made us strong.
