I have loved participating in all things creative and artistic during my time here, but I’m not going to lie, I’m developing some major trust issues from the lack of direct, honest feedback I’ve received for my work. Over the years, I’ve begun to notice a disparity between the praise given to artists in person and the less flattering opinions given behind their backs. We must approach criticism realistically and impersonally so that our words can have their full effect. Rain makes the sun shine brighter. Equating honesty with hostility in our critiques is fallacious and damaging to the betterment of our creative works, and it’s something that needs to change.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of good can come from giving our peers positive encouragement; one of my favorite features of this campus is our lighthearted and welcoming student-run show culture. I would never want to harm this low-stakes, confidence-building atmosphere. There are far more productive things to do than quirk a brow at a one-act Horn Gallery melodrama about the soft serve machine being broken (which would be awesome, by the way). I’m not recommending we take every chance to belittle our enemies; I am simply advocating for students to give respectful, honest feedback to their peers. Our professors provide us with constructive criticism, so why are we so afraid to provide the same for each other? This is how we improve.

I’ve seen and participated in numerous Kenyon shows. It’s very regular that after a performance ends, the actors’ friends crowd around to blast anyone in sight with all kinds of compliments, many of which are genuine and well-deserved. After that, Yik Yak declares this most recent piece to be the greatest new work of drama since Shakespeare, and everyone prances off into the night full of joy and whimsy. And to be honest, I have no issue with this part of the experience; no one wants a buzzkill while post-show bliss is in the air, and the amount of effort and hard work that goes into putting on a show should never go unappreciated. But of course, not every work of art is going to be perfect, just as no Kenyon football team will ever be perfect, either. But for whatever reason, we treat the act of criticizing creative artwork with far gentler fingers compared to our sports teams, which we feel fine beating down on with a closed fist. For what is the difference between critiquing a jump shot and critiquing a poem?

It seems ridiculous that my most reliable way of receiving legitimate feedback from my peers has been in the form of a game of telephone. It’s always, “John said that he overheard Jane in New Side talking about how the Tarantella scene in Act Two lacked energy.” I shouldn’t need a team of spies to figure out what improvements I could’ve made. I just want some real, unfiltered honesty. It seems like every Collegian article has gone soft since a certain infamous a cappella review. Tell me what you really feel, Arts section (a little ironic timing for me, actually; shout-out Beatrix Flynn ’28).

I know I don’t speak for everyone; maybe you would rather be left in the dark about what people think of your work. But in the long run, that might be a damaging mindset to have. With this constant praise, our community slowly becomes conditioned to expect nothing but unanimous approval. This, in turn, makes us view any negative feedback as a personal attack. We need to get used to criticism not being perceived or used as an attempted smear campaign. I believe it was Hillary Clinton who said, “Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” She may be Hillary Clinton, but she’s right. 

But enough chilling at Cedar Rapids. We need to Pokémon Go to my next point, which is that we won’t be students here forever. It’s no secret that Gambier is an artsy liberal bubble, so we have to be prepared for the next stage of life when not everyone who sees our work will be our lab partner, club soccer teammate, a cappella friend or otherwise personally connected to us. And, sure, most of us aren’t aspiring to be world-famous artists, but the ability to take honest criticism is something that will serve us in all walks of life. So let’s not drown ourselves in praise, for we must critique each other’s swimming technique if we are ever going to learn to float. If you disagree with anything I said, I welcome you to write back and give me your honest thoughts. I will probably only cry a little bit. It’s fine, though. I don’t even care. It doesn’t even matter. I’ve got wayyyyy cooler things to worry about.

Tommy Sinclair ’26 is an English major and Spanish minor from Columbus, OH. He can be reached at sinclair2@kenyon.edu.