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Reflecting on religion: The importance of the Brickyard preachers
Opinion
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PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
Reflecting on religion: The importance of the Brickyard preachers
My grandfather always told me to never discuss religion and politics with others. While I used to agree with this sentiment, I have come to realize that for college students, it is important for us to talk about these complex issues with others in order to form our ideas.
As a result of never wanting to discuss these sensitive issues with others, I didn’t truly have an opinion that was my own regarding organized religion. It wasn’t until this past summer — after my first experience being shouted at by one of the Brickyard preachers — that I actually began to create my own opinions about religion.
Walking through the NC State Brickyard on any average weekday can often be met with various shouts and yells of someone preaching the Christian text. The Brickyard preachers — local men and women that sermonize teachings of the Bible on NC State’s campus — have become a Wolfpack norm.
The Brickyard preachers serve an important role to students that pass within earshot of them: they force students to have their own opinion when it comes to religion. Whether a student agrees or disagrees with what the minister is saying is less critical to this argument, but what matters is that the student must form an opinion.
The Brickyard preachers, although sometimes intense (for example, when they tell students they are condemned to hell), are presenting a perspective concerning religion, God and other theological ideas. Stephen Morris, a media intern for Gospel of God Ministries and a ‘Brickyard preacher,’ shared the importance of his presence on campus to offer a different perspective.
“Being here at a public university, you’re not going to get, in your classes, a biblical understanding about the world, and it’s hardly going to play a part in most philosophical classes.” Morris said. “In education, usually
this form of biblical belief will get shunned. So it definitely allows for a Christian worldview to be proclaimed and made known.” It is very easy for anyone to be ignorant if they never choose to hear about religion, but when it’s being forced on your ears as you Zack Jenio Staff Columnist walk into the Atrium, you can’t ignore it. “[The purpose] is to bring the word of God to people,” Morris said. “So, we believe that people are in need of the message of reconciliation, and that, by proclaiming the good news, people can be transformed; they can be brought out of death and brought into light.” Although Morris means to bring others to the “light of God,” this statement reminded me of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, in which an individual can be brought into the light of knowledge from the cave of ignorance. Plato’s main point is that once an individual sees the light, they can no longer act with the same blissful ignorance that they had in the cave. Likewise, with the Brickyard preachers, once you are exposed “As an informed and to their perspective, you are not able to critically thinking student stay content with igbody, we need to have norance and a lack of an opinion. opinions on topics that As an informed and critically thinkare sensitive, controversial ing student body, we need to have opinand important within our ions on topics that nation.” are sensitive, con troversial and im portant within our nation. Additionally, we need to hear from other sides so that, even if we hear opposing viewpoints, we are forced to think more critically about our viewpoints. Moreover, when we think more about our opinions, we strengthen and understand why we agree with them rather than believing something told to us by a parent or another authority figure. As Malcolm X once said, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for everything.” We need opinions, and we sometimes need a nudge to think about those opinions. Even though the Brickyard preachers all have various perspectives on the religion of Christianity, they force us to think about our opinions of religion to ensure that they are our own and based on our morals and values.
Opinion
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PAGE 7 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
Radio has its place: Locally and on the internet
Radios: they’re in our cars, sure, but we don’t really give them a second thought. Besides, with Spotify and Pandora and the million other music streaming services, it seems more and more every day like the radio is going to go the same way of the dinosaurs.
But it shouldn’t. There’s definitely a threat to the medium there, but there’s so much history and purpose behind it. Music, news, opinions, it’s the one-stop shop for all that and way more with the press of a button or the spin of a knob. But it’s usually placed next to digital broadcasting as competition, when in reality, it could be a great friendship. Whether you’re strict or loose with what “real radio” is, it’s clear that the industry needs to adapt to survive, and it should, because it’s a unique medium unlike any other.
NC State communication professor Fredessa Hamilton worked for years in the radio broadcasting business, and she sees several problems arising for current radio. She notes the development of streaming as giving the average media consumer the ability to listen to whatever they want, whenever they want, and more easily input their opinions on the quality of the service with “like” buttons and other features. She added, “More than likely, I believe the beginning of the end for radio was when you put a mini-plug inside a car, and plug in anything you want.”
Personally, public radio is a necessity for me. I drive a lot, and those trips would be so much more boring if it weren’t for public radio. My friend jokes that he can’t listen for more than five minutes without falling asleep because of their voices, but public radio is more than just that. It provides news coverage on all levels, from downtown Raleigh to the other side of the world. Additionally, many radio programs broadcast features and stories with journalistic quality on par with any other outlet.
But my desire for AM/FM to stick around doesn’t have much impact on its actual longevity. Some say it’s thriving, some say it’s dying. Truly, I’m partial to the former, but that’s if you’re willing to stretch the definition of that word “radio” a little bit.
“Digital is where the market is moving, and it’s what listeners crave,” SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe told Music Business Worldwide. “Rather than doubling-down on a declining business, radio should seek a commonsense solution that recognizes the new reality of the marketplace.”
Podcasts, for example, have recently exploded in popularity. A couple-hourslong episode of various personalities sitting around talking about your favorite topic — such as history, politics or technology — have become a common occurrence on many people’s phones, iPods or other media players. I believe accepting trends like this, and others, is how radio will stick around.
Some don’t like it at all, but the definition of “radio” should not be tied to certain technology, or formats. As Hamilton told me, some stations are already making that jump. Many stations, like WUNC, have livestreams of their broadcasts available on their home page. It’s a small step, but embracing the digital could take the medium in great new directions. But hope isn’t lost for fans of original AM/FM either. Hamilton has a suggestion for “true” radio if it ever wants to see a return to power: go hyper-local. She suggests finding a “niche”: smaller staColin McKnight tions playing local and locally interested music and artists, along with featuring local neighborhood issues and news. InStaff Columnist teraction with and the development of local culture could get it back on its feet. It’s a scary thought. The internet was once commonly stereotyped as some niche concept, but it has exploded in popularity to the point of endangering the living space of almost every other outlet, like the radio. So, it’s understandable why some fear the future, but that’s unnecessary. Embracing new technology and connecting with local communities might be what saves an outlet that’s been around for a large chunk of our nation’s existence.
As Seen Around Campus
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PAGE 8 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
JAY BATE/TECHNICIAN Redshirt senior Jamal Morris holds down Appalachian State’s Irvin Enriquez at Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 4, 2018. Morris won the bout with a 10-4 victory, increasing the lead over the Mountaineers 10-0. The Wolfpack won 29-9.
As Seen Around Campus
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PAGE 9 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
SARA TRUDAN/TECHNICIAN Redshirt senior Jamal Morris holds down Appalachian State’s Irvin Enriquez at Reynolds Coliseum on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. The Wolfpack won over Appalachian State 29-9.
SARA TRUDAN/TECHNICIAN NC State’s Thomas Bullard fights against Appalachian State’s Michael Elliott at Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 4, 2018. The Wolfpack won 29-9 over App State.
