March 29, 2024

Ketchup Can’t Compare

Cover art of the inaugural issue. Courtesy of Madeline Linnell

By: Tohko Nohara ‘18 and Liam Adams ‘17

Staff Writer and Web Editor

Smearing the digital scene, Mustard whets an appetite for compelling storytelling and dynamic dialogue.

Mustard is a digital magazine seeking to foster conversation about society and politics between students of Christian higher education.  

“We”–fellow Tartan colleague Shalom Maleachi ‘17 and Linnell–”noticed a lot of Christian colleges are encountering hate crime,” said Madeline Linnell, Mustard’s Editor-In-Chief.

Linnell said that she and Maleachi were aware of these patterned events because of the friends they found, ironically, outside of the country. These friends refer to other Christian college or university students who also studied at Oxford University at the same time as Linnell and Maleachi.

The sharing of news led Linnell to ask, “Why don’t we have some kind of platform to discuss those things together?” This was the starting point for Mustard.

Maleachi serves as the Online Public Forum Facilitator. One week after every issue, a discussion forum will be available for Christian college students to ask questions about and discuss further the content presented in published articles and artwork. Maleachi said, “I don’t think I will be censoring… I will be more like a moderator. If someone is majorly violating rules, I will step in, but it is an open minded space.”

Maleachi’s efforts to create an “open minded space” seems to embody the general ethos of Mustard. The name “mustard” is an allusion to the parable of the mustard seed, which is found in Matthew 13:31-32. The verse states that the mustard seed is “the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants.”

Using the “largest garden plant” as an analogy, Mustard similarly seeks to create “an open-minded and respectful community” through fostering thoughtful discussions.

Jamie Shore ’17 commented on the magazine, saying, “I always think it’s great when students are asking questions about the politics and entering into conversations outside of Gordon. Putting their own voice in the turbulent world is increasingly valuable.”

In the magazine’s first issue, One.One January 2017: The Inaugural Issue, 10+ undergraduates and one graduate student grapple with topics such as U.S. Politics, Christian Art, Sexual Assault and Technology in their published work.   

The Mustard staff consists of students from Trinity Western University, Calvin College, Bethel University, Seattle Pacific University, Belhaven University, and more.
Visit their website by going to: Mustard Magazine

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