Dear Editor,
I write in response to Mr. Anthony Pantlitz’s letter ‘I will not send my daughter to Yale University’ published in the Sunday Stabroek of December 16th ,2018.
Being a religious person myself, I must commend Mr. Pantlitz who seems to be a God fearing family man and father to his children. It is without a doubt very admirable to see some societies still have men who are not afraid to declare and stand by their religious beliefs whatever they are; while still being positive role models to their children.
With that being said Editor, after reading Mr. Pantlitz’s letter in its entirety a whirlwind of thoughts circled my brain; as a self-declared man of God why would Mr. Pantlitz want to depend so heavily on a university or any other academic institution to aid in the maintenance of his daughter’s religious beliefs? Should that not be a personal decision between his daughter and God? Why would you let your experience at Yale weigh so heavily in dismissing your daughter’s chances of attending that same University? Remember you stated “I believe a person’s life is guided by the way he or she sees the world”. Your daughter already has a Christian upbringing, that was what she was exposed to from an early stage of her life. So what makes you so strongly believe that sending her to Yale will automatically vanquish her beliefs; should she not be able to see both sides of the coin and decide what is best for her? How did making a decision on which University to send your child become a matter of a ‘public issue’? Should your daughter not have the choice to choose where she would like to pursue her higher education, granted that her choice is equivalent to her personality and interests, the school is financially suitable (for her parents of course) and the location of the institution is geographically compatible, among other factors.
Editor I am a twenty-five-year-old, two-time University of Guyana (UOG) graduate, who grew up with very strict grandparents in an Anglican Christian home. I left my home in Linden at eighteen years old to pursue my tertiary education in Georgetown at (UOG). During my time at UOG I would frequently travel to Linden on the weekends, still attend church services and teach Sunday school among other church activities all because ‘I wanted to’. All of the teachings I received as a child, at home and at church never departed from me, I was able to adapt to my new environment not so much with ease, but with the understanding that people and situations are different. I never allowed my new ‘non-religious’ friends, new environment, sometimes questionable teachings of my lecturers, parties, and all the other countless distractions I faced at University to grossly affect my belief in God.
All of that is to say, that upholding one’s religious beliefs is up to ‘us’ as individuals no matter where we go or who we meet, we have to make that decision on our own. One does not need to starve themselves of learning new ‘secular worldviews’ just to maintain the facade of being more in tune with our religious sides. Preaching and teaching about God will not make a person more ‘godly’ especially if they are being forced (not to say that your daughter is being forced, since you did not mention how she feels about your decision). Your daughter will be entering into young adulthood soon and what you should be pointing out to her is that she will meet people who do not believe in what she does and that is fine, but it will be up to her to maintain and stand for what she believes in when faced with ungodly people or situations. Exposing your daughter to both the good and the bad will help her to be an exceptionally grounded woman and trust me she will learn a lot even from the bad.
I understand Mr. Pantlitz’s plight, I am not a parent but I can only imagine what it is like raising children in our world today; but the harsh reality is that ungodliness will not hide away, disappear or disguise itself because you choose to send your daughter to a religious university instead of a more popular and prestigious one that you claim has no religious teachings. Altar boys and girls were not even safe in Catholic churches in many states in the US and other parts of the world, their own Priests sexually abused them countless times right in the church. All the lecturers at Liberty University may believe in God but what about the students? Isn’t there a possibility that your daughter may meet new peers right at Liberty who are not as godly as one might expect them to be? There are a lot of pros and cons at both universities but, unfortunately we the readers only saw one side of the coin in your letter.
Sometimes what parents want for their children is not always what is destined to be.
All the best to your daughter in her studies.
Yours faithfully,
Rohana Carryl
Community Liaison Officer
Ministry of Social Protection
