EDITORIAL
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the use of the word “cult” can be traced back to the 1610s. From French, culte, it means "worship," as well as "a particular form of worship.” From Latin, cultus refers to "care, labor; cultivation, culture; worship, reverence.” Also, “cult” is found as an organized group of people, religious or not, with whom you disagree.”
When it comes to defining The Cult News as a
project, some of the meanings above are certainly not what we initially
conceived for this movement. Consider The Cult as an organization of scholars,
who share the same work ideals and intellectual ends.
Distinct to religious cults or transcendentalist groups such as the famous
Brook Farm, a strong and committed student community is not an utopian dream.
In fact, in many other institutions of higher education, students networks,
clubs and organizations are part of the curriculum.
One of the most important values that The Cult
News holds is our belief on hands on
experience and networking. An
active FELAS (French and English Language Art Student) is the one who seeks
meaningful educational experiences. I.e. A FELAS is a student who is concerned
and responsible for his or her own learning, and is the one who explores his or
her language skills beyond classroom time, while making new connections.
We believe that The Cult experience is crucial
for many students because it creates a space that stimulates horizons to
broaden, positive connections to develop, and greater professional opportunities
to aspire for. We want our colleagues’ resumes to feature uniqueness. He or she
holds an appealing resume that shows leadership, initiative, confidence and
most importantly a final product, subject for consideration by possible future
employers and scholarship juries.
It is interesting how language evolves in
accordance to what values society deems as more important in a specific time.
Some words like “terrific,” “awful,” “bachelor” and “gay” have suffered great
changes in their meanings (shifting from positive to negative denotations or
vice versa), and others have slipped off the preservation of its form by the expense of carrying
completely different definitions. In a similar manner, FELAS and members of The
Cult News project aim to cultivate the seeds of tomorrow, by changing the way
in which language majors are deemed today. By encouraging this generation of
language majors to realize their potential for development, the possibilities
are likely to make of this small cult transcend into a larger one.
By G.Cocozza
