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As we move into the Homecoming season, I feel that it fits the spirit of this time of year to pay tribute to the tradition and heritage of the university.

The Paladins finally had their winning streak broken recently, but they are far from falling on hard times.

As a student, homecoming is a time for some football, tailgating, and free funnel cakes on the mall. But as an alumnus, coming home to Furman means sharing the success your degree and your education have provided for you. Hopefully by now you’ve realized the full benefit of the liberal arts education you’re receiving here at Furman.

This past week, Commissioner David Stern announced that the first two weeks of the NBA’s regular season would be canceled. It is only the second time in the professional sport’s history that teams will not be participating in all 82 games.

Last Thursday marked the annual Local & Organic Day for the dining hall, and in my opinion, it was a great success. The DH strives to offer many local and organic foods throughout the year, and they usually are accompanied by an identifying label. Last Thursday, I got to try many dishes that were new to me, all the while knowing that I was doing the environment a favor.

Because I’m a ministry nerd, I’ve been reading a lot about religious pluralism. One pamphlet I’ve gathered from Clergy Beyond Borders contains a very pertinent quote from Rev. Dr. Diana Eck of Harvard University. In the pamphlet, she writes that in the world today, “our ignorance of one another will be increasingly costly.”

Furman’s television station FTV is preparing to merge with the Murrow Society. Club leaders hope that the move, which still needs SGA approval, will allow them to develop more programs for student and faculty viewing.

This news has re-heated an already hot sports debate on the idea of creating four super conferences in the NCAA. Everyone from sports analysts to coaches to television representatives and marketing agents have been discussing the possibility of creating four gigantic sixteen-team conferences as a means to push towards a legitimate collegiate football playoff system in an effort to generate even more money from a rabid fan base. To some of us these changes are more important than Greece’s floundering economy, war in the Middle East, and Obamacare.

We’re told that the university appreciates things like “diversity,” “freedom of inquiry,” and the “freedom to look for truth wherever it is to be found.” But we’re also a university that “has sought to remain faithful to its Judeo-Christian heritage,” looked to hire professors evincing a “life of faith” and “sympathetic awareness of Furman’s traditions and purposes.” The statement that “Furman is a learning community where faith is cherished but not coerced” says it all.