#443 I sometimes skip chapel. During this time, I study, study, and study. I can not comprehend the logic in having people watch and follow chapel skippers. It doesn't make any sense; what's the point? We all know that when we are forced to do something, not only will we not participate in it, but we'll also not enjoy it. In fact, this force feeding action often leads to resenting the very thing trying to be instilled on us. So to me I just don't understand. If I pay over 20,000 dollars a year to go to a school, I believe that I should be allowed to miss chapels to help me get good grades, because let's face it; at the end of the day, chapel isn't going to help me get into pharmacy school, medical school, law school, or any other kind of school. It's going to be the grades I get while attending my four year university.

#442 If you ever want to protect your kids, do not send them to abstinence-only education. I'm in my 5th year of a very healthy relationship. With my second husband. The first guy I married my sophomore year (at 19) because my mom would tell me it was always better to get married than sin. No, what's better is not getting fucking divorced because you placed the entire emphasis of your marriage on your vagina. Speaking from experience, it is much better to just have premarital sex and learn how to use proper protection and birth control. I waited until marriage and highly regret it. Abstinence only is usually taught from people who waited, had a great experience, and wouldn't know the difference. They'll tell you "no one regrets waiting." Not true, I'm an obvious exception to that assumed rule. Plus, if you're not sleeping around and are just sleeping with your boyfriend, it's impossible to get STDs. If a guy is going to refuse to marry you because he can't deflower you, than he's not worth marrying. He should love you for who you are, and you should love him for who he is. I get so angry at people who fell for the same crap I did and thought that her value as a woman dropped because she had sex before having a wedding ceremony. I'm not a feminist or even liberal, but can openly admit that's sexist and not remotely true. Your value as a woman has nothing to do with your vagina. If you both decide to wait or not, the emphasis of marriage should be placed on the actual marriage, not the first night. The first night is just one night out of fifty years. Make those other years count. Nothing wrong with waiting. But focus on the marriage, not the bedroom. Make sure you learn sex ed, even if you're planning on waiting. I ended up with an unplanned pregnancy in my first marriage because i thought birth control led to future miscarriages. That's what abstinence-only taught me, and many others who received the same "sex-ed" would share similar scare tactic stories. it's crap.

#441 I'm gay and I'm seriously wondering is it worth coming out while still at ORU? I grew up in a super conservative home and dealt with all of the self hatred of not being able to do the whole Christian thing and bring a proverbs 31 woman home and make lots of babies with her (I'm obviously making fun of that whole idea). Not getting into a super long confession, let's just say I really believed that somehow I did something to make me that way, and it was some "lifestyle" I somehow accidentally found myself in without doing anything wrong (because that totally makes sense lol). I'm really comfortable with being gay now, and want others to know that. I love every aspect of who I am, and don't like hiding a small portion. I like men, but I want to be an evangelist and travel the world. That's a much more important way to describe myself, I think. It seems like there are a lot of people who went through the same thing on here (besides the obvious trolls) and I'm wondering if the school will freak out and kick me out, or if I'll just have to write in my gay agenda to meet with the deans a couple times. In case I spread it or something lol. And before someone comments about me living some bad lifestyle, I'm not hooking up with anyone, never have, and have no desire to. I'm monogamous and have a fantastic relationship with God on top of it. I want to find a great Christian husband just like a lot of you. Any alumni/outed LGBTs want to give advice? I'm still just a sophomore, so I'd have to be here awhile to deal with whatever consequences. One more thing I'll add is that it's pretty sad I have to hide a minute aspect of who I'm attracted to in 2013 in case I get kicked out of receiving an education.

#440 I hear all this stuff about girls wanting as much action as guys around here,.. but I can never seem to find them..

#439 I can't imagine what might have happened to me if I hadn't been at ORU when I was 21, since ORU is an environment where alcohol was clearly discouraged. There would have been nothing to stop me from continuing down that slippery slope! But God was so gracious to me! So many terrible things can happen to people when they get involved with alcohol, from DUIs to car accidents to loss of sexual purity...I was so blessed to be spared from all those things! That year was a real battle for me, and my deliverance didn't happen overnight...it took some time. But I'm overjoyed to tell you today that I have been delivered and set free and alcohol no longer has any hold on me! The fact that I had broken the honor code weighed heavily upon my conscience. But God has forgiven me and I have also been able to forgive myself. Like Song of Solomon says "Your love is better than wine!" Anything that compromises your relationship with Him just simply isn't worth it. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! When we stumble, He helps pick us up and get us back on the right track. I'm so grateful for the solid Christian morals and standards of ORU, which put the path of wisdom and righteousness before me when I might otherwise have wandered further into foolishness.

#438 I REALLY didn't like our new President because I thought he was not progressive and relateable. So much, that I emailed him yesterday with some issues that I had with him, not really expecting a response. He emailed me back AN HOUR later, with a lengthy response. He responded with such humility and honesty that to be honest I felt pretty convicted. I encourage you guys with beef to email him: president@oru.edu. I was surprised....I went from not liking him at all, to becoming (somewhat) of a fan.

#437 Thank you for writing a whole confession to bash the science department. Yes, I'm sorry our department isn't as good as your perfect business department (which we hear about consistently) and we don't get millions of dollars donated to us to make shark tanks, and I'm still working under a hood from 1975. You're right, we never get money. You're right, your department is better. As a science major myself, I think the most obviously fucked up thing about that post was the last sentence about how we have nothing other to talk about than our organic chemistry exams and how we should pick up our heads out of our textbooks. Our classes are our lives. We dream them, talk about them, marry them. Talking endlessly about our classes does not make us cocky. Yes, I know you weren't referring to "all" of us, but insulting the fact that we're not as perfectly extroverted as you and don't have a perfect department is an asshole move. The ironic fact is that I'm sure you never talked to a science major about any of this before and how you feel. You're just assuming everything. I study from 2pm until 2am every night besides days I have labs. Minus labs, that's roughly 70 hours a week (am I really "cocky" for saying that? It's true). All for a future job I don't even know I'll get. I take the MCAT this year, and if I don't do well than I just dedicated four years of my life to nothing, and seriously might as well die. Having a business degree means you may search awhile for the job that best fits you, but you're pretty much guaranteed a job, even in today's crappy economy. That's why our lives revolve around our textbooks. Because if we don't make it, we just spent $40,000 on an education that got us to work in fast food, if they even want us. We spend four years in a basement. We spend four years hearing about everyone going out drinking, socializing, and having fun while we consistently get yelled at by Gaikwad who says we're too stupid to be alive, and live off of comparisons and self hatred for getting anything below an A on an exam. Maybe you met one cocky freshman guy who thought the fact that you have a lot more free time meant you don't work hard. That would be wrong of him. But chances are, you see us talking about our lives consistently or see us freak out about a B on an exam, and just assume that means we're talking down to you or we're cocky. We're not. We just have nothing else to fucking talk about. Getting a "B" really does mean I probably can't get into medical school. Because chances are, every other science major got an "A," and I have to graduate with honors or bye bye future. I'm honestly really tired of you business majors ragging on us all the time as if you think all we do is sit in a corner and gossip about you. That's pretty cocky. Do you know how many of us science majors actually end up graduating? About thirty. I highly doubt in a school of thousands you consistently hear science majors ragging on you. Probably not ever, considering I never have. Instead, you've probably taken your accounting class with a science major who took it for fun, got an A, and automatically assumed that meant he was full of himself. You probably just overheard us in some of your gen eds freaking out about our exams or our senior research, and just assumed we're cocky and not actually suicidal. I'll stop rambling on, I apologize. This is the third time this week I've heard someone bash science majors. We're not anything like you say or just naturally assume.

#436 I know not all science majors do this, but some of you need to realize you are not the only ones who work hard at ORU. Insinuating that we non-science majors have no homework or aren't busy or intelligent is insulting and ignorant. It would be really nice if some of you could get your noses out of a textbook and look around. There are plenty of us who are working our butts off outside a lab. And if you haven't noticed, the best departments at ORU (save Nursing) are non-sciences like Business or Education. We certainly respect what you do and plan to achieve, and you should do the same. And if you can't figure out what we're doing with all of our "free time," just ask. We'd love to talk to you about something other than your Organic test.