Vocation

University culture provides an environment that hosts room for under sight and it becomes the social responsibility of the community to protect one another. Regarding the campus survey of Boston University, the first part of the survey focuses on bystander involvement, intervention, and interaction. I am pleased to see that a majority of students who witness something they deemed wrong or inappropriate in public or heard something that is not tolerable towards another person spoke up or acted upon it. This statistic regarding bystander intervention brings some reassurance that the community of BU is looking out for each other.

But that is not enough. There are still ongoing circumstances where obscene comments, gestures, and interactions occur and do not come to light. The Marsh community has the resources to help change this. While many students and members of the BU community may not be religious or engaged in their faith, the Marsh Chapel community is open and accepting of all and wants students facing these kinds of problems to come and seek guidance and counsel. Many people in the statistic regarded their unpleasant or unwarranted encounters as not worthy or important enough to be made a case of, however it claws away at their insides as they do not know what to do. This is a serious issue if it happens at all. While nearly 7% of students intervene as they see fit, the other 30% where it is silently observed and forgotten does not help those affected by it. It is in this manner that I think more members of the BU community should reach out to the proper care found in the Marsh community where the healing process can begin. I cannot recommend a particular way of getting people to talk or open up about the experiences they have had, but sharing the compassion to help someone in need is the first step.

Marsh Chapel should have an understood advertisement that it does offer counseling services. Students often think that BU behavioral health is not the only place to seek counsel. Clergy and pastoral counselors are trained in these matters and can help where other types of professionals may seek a different method. What pastoral counseling offers is someone who will listen, earnestly and with good intention. Clergy provide a different type of care than many health-based professionals are capable of doing or trained to do. As far as personal experience goes, word of mouth and recommending visiting Marsh is a great tool because it can help an individual based on an intimate system of trust. It doesn’t cast a wide net by word of mouth but if the person follows up on that recommendation it may be of great benefit.