At various intervals in our academic journey at NCU, we are often reminded to abide by the university’s “ethos.” Many students often question what the ethos of this institution is; I must admit that I have questioned this belief at some point in the past. Of a truth, the concept of a university ethos is often spoken; however, the student body has yet to see written documentation of the ethos. For an average student questions like these will surface at some point in time: How important is this? How can the student body abide by an unknown code? Understandably, each society has various rules and laws which are clearly defined. We don’t have a problem with that at all. However, for the NCU student he/she struggles to understand the ethos. This struggle is worsened, when members of faculty or even special guest seemingly break the ethos and are left unpunished. However, a student who unknowingly breaks the ethos is hunted and punished, worst case scenario suspended. Case in point, during the chapel service held at the Gymnatorium on Monday, September 28, 2015, students witnessed a guest who delivered greetings dressed in an “un-ethos” friendly way. She wore a sleeveless top and she was wearing heavy makeup.

The student body has often seen, individuals clad in heavy make-up and jewelry speaking from the NCU platform. And I’m more than certain that this has raised a few red flags in the mind of each student. This begs to ask the question if the ethos is limited to a certain group of shareholders (the student’s) or is it for everyone? That is the way it seems, at least from my perspective. So to the question at hand, is campus ethos still applicable? To answer this question I say NO, in light of the constant double standard which is often displayed by various shareholders. The reality of the situation is that “respect is earned, honesty is appreciated, trust is gained and loyalty is returned.” Forcing something upon the student body, they have no idea about will limit their respect for the institution; if it is that they are seeing acheter viagra something else. However, when the ethos is modeled by the university then the loyalty of the student body will be gained forever. And YES, they are important, that is based upon the Christian principles which the university was originally built. Being a Christian institution calls for certain standards to be maintained and principles which must be modeled by all.

Nicordo Wilson

nicordo@stu.ncu.edu.jm