With the start of a new semester and a new year, Biola has appointed the theme of “Sacred Spaces,” with the desire to see it apply all year long. College students rarely find sacred space among overcrowded schedules and cramped living quarters as Carson Leith mentioned in “Finding space in the pressure cooker.”

Biola has a few excellent places on campus where students can seek out sacred space, including the Rose of Sharon prayer chapel and the Olive Grove. Many Biolans attempt to find further sacred spaces of their own, but this is becoming more difficult as the campus continues to become more crowded.

The “Sacred Spaces” theme can be a way to help students value the area around them and focus on God while performing everyday activities. The integration of new artwork encourages students to consider using space well.

Though this theme has many positive aspects, it seems to be crossing lines of being under explained and over-hyped.

The theme appears to be emblazoned everywhere, without explanation. It is only the third week of the semester and it already feels like we’ve seen it everywhere. It seems like every single aspect of chapel and much of campus has taken on this theme, including Singspo, AfterDark and SOS.

While there are pamphlets detailing a schedule of events for the whole year and signs displayed on campus, there seems to be little expansion on the idea itself. The failure to explain how sacred spaces will influence the year and students will undercut any excellent marketing. With this kind of overuse and lack of explanation, this theme with great potential will quickly lose its luster.