If you listen closely these days, all over campus you will hear echoes of people asking, “Are you applying for leadership?” We need to be careful, because this process cause competition between those who are.
The problem is that if everyone keeps asking who is applying, we can begin to view others as competition. Considering the duration of this process, it can do a lot of damage in our hearts to let a competitive spirit against such a huge portion of students fester for over a month.
The competitive spirit comes from the anxiousness to know if they will get to be the leaders that they think they could be. There’s nothing wrong with that. It makes sense that one would be anxious. The problem is that when they get anxious, they try to figure out their chances, which means that people start ranking themselves against their peers. As people talk about their RA positions in particular, they start talking about who would or wouldn’t make a good RA.
Although I’ve tried not to say too much or spend too much time thinking about leadership stuff, I know that these types of judgment have come out of my mouth.
Trying to find out who would be better or worse at the job is pronouncing judgment, which is a bad idea because Jesus says, “Judge not, and be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you,” (Matthew 7:1). I have found it to be true that our judgment is later weighed against us in equal measure. In your self-conscious moment, when you wonder if you are cut out for leadership, you’ll start to see in yourself the same things you judged others for.
When we judge, we also construct a sort of RA frame, the proverbial RA-type of person, which is probably the one who is most like that counselor at summer camp who’s cabin everyone wanted to be in. There is no such type. Think of all the people you know in any kind of leadership position. They are all different. To create a team, we need all of those different people with completely different strengths.
I tend to get pegged as an SGC-type of person. While I think I could do a good job, I get frustrated with being put in a box. Different people know entirely different sets of strengths and weaknesses in me. A person who knows me differently could say I would be good at something else, like RA for instance. Who knows? Take on a heart of humility by understanding that those of you applying have no idea how anyone would do at the job.
When it all comes down to it, the ones who care the most, and persevere in caring throughout a whole year will probably be the best. Do we have the capacity to see someone’s capacity for perseverance beforehand? Rarely.
All the anxious hype surrounding the process makes the day we all find out who’s hired a hard one for those who didn’t get it, and a great one for those who did. It’s a difficult contrast to have. The judgment that happens throughout the process comes back to make the situation that much harder. If you’ve been judging, this is the time where that judgment is measured and heaped on you.
My biggest caution, though, is that we need to be careful how we react to those who didn’t get positions. The thing is, most people understand that not everyone can get hired and it’s not a reflection of them. They just did not fit onto someone’s team, that’s fine. Instead of offering them our pity, understand that they’re probably fine; so don’t place sadness on them that isn’t expressed.
Last year, when I didn’t get SGC, I wasn’t that disappointed, but the pity that I felt from some people became frustrating and upsetting over the course of the day. I didn’t want people to look at me like that just because I applied and didn’t get it. I applied on a whim anyway.
If any of what I described is true of you, stop thinking about the positions and enjoy the process, find things to talk about that don’t alienate non-applicants, be excited to get to see your peers grow in their leadership abilities next year, whoever they are and more than anything, stop pitying those who don’t make it.
Wheeler is a sophomore majoring in English. Comments can be sent to jacquelyn.wheeler@whitworthian.com.
OPINION: An application of consideration
Published: Monday, March 8, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
 "Photo: Lucas Kok/Whitworthian")
Lucas Kok/Whitworthian
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