by Breana Staten, Opinion Editor
In Asbury University’s Handbook for Community Life, sandwiched between policies on tobacco, alcohol and drugs and vandalism/respect for property, is an entry dedicated to “social dancing.” This policy states, “The University acknowledges that Scripture does not address the issue of social dancing directly, and committed Christians may differ widely in their attitudes toward dancing. In its desire to maintain a distinctively Christian environment that promotes physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, Asbury University does not permit social dancing on or away from campus.”
The handbook goes on to list various exceptions to this rule, specifying times when social dancing is acceptable and even going as far as mentioning some of the dances that Asbury hosts. This presents a confusing policy that seems to contradict itself and makes it appear as if this policy was created only to have another rule.
Junior Mikayla Kneen believes this policy states that “we’re not supposed to dance at all … unless it’s choreographed.” Some students are unclear on what the policy states and don’t understand why Asbury seems to shy away from even saying they offer dance classes.
“I think it’s stupid that we have to call our dance class Worship Arts Movement,” said senior Taylor Tomlin. “There’s dancing in the Bible, and it’s the way I worship God.”
Furthermore, when describing some of the reasoning for this policy, the handbooks states, “Many forms of contemporary dance are associated with unwholesome behavior.”
“Not all dancing is bad,” said junior Redeat Amare. “If that is the case, why don’t we ban music because there are bad and unwholesome songs.”
Nevertheless, Asbury still hosts two on-campus dances throughout the school year as a desire to “encourage belonging, celebration, fun and bonding,” according to Director of Student Engagement Heather Tyner.
However, this sense of celebration, fun and bonding doesn’t apply to spontaneous dancing since it was highly discouraged at Welcome Week’s “Get Classy” event, where the DJ only played background music one would hear at a cocktail party and denied requests for more upbeat dance-worthy music. Furthermore, at the Kresge Rooftop celebration and the Welcome Back Bash, dancing was completely stopped by staff and faculty supervisors.
For Asbury to continue being a university that places great significance on providing a space for its students to establish community, the administration should clarify its rules and standards for social dancing. There are students who enjoy dancing and who would like to do so in wholesome environments.
“If they want to protect us from the unwholesome things that happen at parties, they should allow us to have controlled parties on campus … where the teachers aren’t forced to shut down every single hip movement,” said Amare.
