With last-minute homework assignments due at 11:59 p.m., textbook readings stacked like bricks and rationing dining dollars like currency, the non-music major class Campus Orchestra is a rediscovery of campus culture. It’s more than just a class; it’s a space that asks for presence more than perfection.

When the government shuts down, it’s easy to shrug and think, “That’s Washington’s problem.” But here’s the truth: when the lights go out in D.C., the shadows reach our classrooms, our dorm rooms and our financial aid accounts. The shutdown may seem like political theater performed by distant figures in suits, but the damage has already spread not only to our campuses, but our faith in the system itself.

Embarrassment isn’t something to run from. It’s actually a superpower, a teacher, a nudge and sometimes even a gift. When we dive into those moments that make us blush, we realize confidence doesn’t come from being perfect; it comes from being real. We mess up, we laugh at ourselves, we bounce back and we grow.

One of the projects we’re especially excited about this semester is the redevelopment of the airport shuttle service between campus and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

I’m not saying big and bold innovation is bad. It simply means it would need to be introduced carefully. People don’t resist change; they resist discomfort. The best kind of innovation meets us where we already are and takes it a bit further.

The classics are not sacred because they are old — they are sacred because they still speak and instruct us in the present. When we turn them into a canvas for stylized sin without substance, we don’t “modernize” them; we mock them. And worse, we lose what made them worth remembering in the first place.