uGather: Your Response
As of this semester uGather is a new event on campus and it has been surrounded by controversy since the beginning. Union has not required attendance at specific religious gatherings in recent history, and instead has allowed students to choose from a variety of religious events on campus to fulfill those attendance requirements. The uGather chapel is mandatory this year and the change has solicited strong reactions in many students.
I conducted a survey about uGather to everyone at Union. Of those, 55.2% agreed that uGather is creating community on campus and 72.4% enjoy the speakers. However, 51.7% of respondents said their appreciation for uGather would go up if attendance was not required, 31% said that their appreciation would decrease and 17% were indifferent.
In response to the question “What are your thoughts on uGather overall?” student responses ranged from “irrelevant and un-useful” to “I love it!” Jordan Judge has enjoyed it but wants more engaging speakers and Garret Dupper says he has “enjoyed it and likes it a lot.” Erica Owens says it is a “good idea in theory” but that “just because everybody is in the same room does not mean that there is a feeling of togetherness.” One student stated that they heard that the more students that attend uGather, the more money Union gets. I confirmed with Kim Canine, Vice President for Student Life, that the attendance of uGather does not affect Union financially.
One of the main reasons that students dislike uGather is the required attendance, and one question addressed that: “How do you feel about being required to attend uGather?” Some students are apathetic. Shiloah Baillou responded, “Sorta eh. I'd like to sleep in every now and then.” Another respondent added, “At first, I was upset about the change and requirements, but now I don't mind it.“ Good news for Baillou: three skips are permitted a semester!
Others are okay with uGather, such as Judge: “I’m okay with being required to go; it’s just that uGather happens to be on my busiest day, which makes it tough.” Eric Daniels says he finds “it irrelevant to anything academic so including it on a transcript is entirely ridiculous.” To Wesley Rodriguez it doesn’t feel like worship or community: “They say they want to move away from required worship and uGather is supposed to be aimed for community but it just feels like a worship service and when it's required I lose the worship.” Owens understands wanting to build a community, but believes “the punishment for missing too many uGathers is far too harsh,” instead suggesting a fine. Owens also thinks community has decreased because of uGather. “This year, we don't want to show up to any of the events around campus because we were already forced to go to uGather that week.”
The survey revealed additional criticism. One student likened uGather to “the Catholic Church requiring Sunday worship, [and] we have non Adventist[s] going to our school and requiring [their] beliefs is wrong.”
Other people see the required attendance positively: “I really enjoy seeing the entire campus get together, and don't think we would do so without it being required. We have equated "required" with coercive authoritarianism; perhaps we shouldn't see "required" as a negative.”
Out of the 29 responses received to this question, 13 were negative, 11 were positive, and 5 were unclear or ambivalent.
Jade Covel is a junior studying religion.