Throughout the course of my college career, I have been able to experience two completely distinct experiences, but oddly, for the sake of this article, they will be intertwined. First being the constant shift of people as they enter and leave Cairn, and the second being getting hooked on Doctor Who.  Seemingly unrelated, there is a close connection between a popular science fiction television show about time traveling with the time span between Freshman Orientation and Commencement.  The Doctor (the main character of Doctor Who) is known for change: for different actors to play the same character, all in their own, different and unique way.  This sets the tone of the show and brings a freshness to the character that is always so beloved.  As much as change happens within a television show, so does change within an institution bringing a new tone and freshness to the environment.  

To serve as background of why I’m writing this, I’m starting to understand the importance that this constant shift brings.  I am currently starting my fifth, planned year at college.  Throughout my time, I have been involved with a number of different people groups.  It started with working in the cafeteria with a vast array of students, to being a Resident Assistant (RA) and now to being an Assistant Resident Director (ARD).  I have been the president of a student organization and involved with the self-evaluation and accreditation of the university.  Regardless of this all, being at a small college, I have been able to know enough people to recognize their absence and their impact during their time.  The normal course of action is that one enters as a freshman and then graduates four years later.  The struggle with this is that there is a sense of wanting to keep traditions, or a set pattern of actions that consistently happen.  This, I have learned, fails to recognize the potential of change that a fresh batch of students brings.  

Going back to my guilty pleasure of the TV show, in a recent episode the Doctor talked to a robot longing to become human, and in that conversation he made an interesting comment on the nature of change. As ridiculous of a premise as this is, the comparison is made of this robot to an ordinary broom.  The Doctor explains: “Question: ‘You take a broom and replace the handle, and then later you replace the brush. You do that over and over again. Is it the same broom?’ Answer: ‘No! Of course it isn’t!’”  It is the same with our time at Cairn, where we want to develop people and only have a limited amount of time to do so.  With the constant fluctuation of people, is a university, after 5 years of replacing handles and brushes, still the same?  No! Of course it isn’t!  It is not the same university as when one starts, but it is the same institution.  

At the time I am writing this, freshman orientation is about to start. This is the fifth time I am involved in some capacity, and this is the fifth time that a new batch of freshmen are coming in.  This brings along a sense of uncertainty as to how the tone of the school is going to change, but it brings a fresh new take on how the college culture will develop. Just as the Doctor regenerates (or when they change actors for the same character), this is an exiting and mournful time.  There is a sense of wonder within everyone’s eyes, as there are new people to meet, new friends to be made, and more capacity of impact to be had upon the culture.  While, at the same time, it is mournful because the people that had been key figures in shaping the culture are no longer here, and we all know that there is no way the culture is going to be the same as it once was.  No, we are not the original brush nor the original handle, but we are still the broom that exists to shape our university’s culture regardless of the change of people that have impacted the community.

The important piece of this all is that there is no single Lone Ranger that sets the tone of the culture; it is everyone who is present.  This is my challenge to the upperclassmen: are we going to mourn the death of the old broom?  That would be like missing the beauty of the new broom that is being formed. New people mean new ideas and fresh perspectives of our home at Cairn.  To you who are still coming in and getting adjusted, Cairn was a very nice place before you came around.  How are you going to love the old broom, while still replacing the worn out brush?  I’m really excited to see you grow into the people God has you to become, while taking ownership of the community and allowing the people that are to follow you to impact it as much as you will.