CHICAGO, IL (August 14, 2015) — Many Covenanters routinely share links to social media articles and videos with one another that Covenant News Service believes may be of interest to others. Each Friday we post five of them. Following is a sample of those submissions—their inclusion does not represent an endorsement by the Covenant of any views expressed.

DiCaro: How NOT to Talk about the Patrick Kane Rape Allegations
Within minutes of news reports that NHL superstar Patrick Kane was being investigated for rape and sexual assault, people were attacking the unnamed victim’s character on social media. The author of this excellent piece, Julie DiCaro, is an update anchor for Chicago radio’s 670 The Score, as well as “a former rape victim and a former criminal defense attorney.” She writes that “each time you remind the world that Kane is innocent until proven guilty (which, by the way, he is), remind yourself that the alleged victim is also presumed to be honest until she’s shown to be otherwise. Fair is fair.” But this is about far more than an athlete accused of a crime. DiCaro reminds us that doubting the victim is all too common and often prevents women from seeking justice.

The Coddling of the American Mind
The two authors, one an attorney who defends free-speech rights, and another, who is a social psychologist and professor, express their alarm that the increasing desire to protect students from words and ideas they don’t like is harmful for education and mental health. The current movement is different than institutionalizing political correctness the authors argue. Rather, the current movement is largely about emotional well-being. More than the last, it presumes an extraordinary fragility of the collegiate psyche, and therefore elevates the goal of protecting students from psychological harm….And more than the last, this movement seeks to punish anyone who interferes with that aim, even accidentally. You might call this impulse vindictive protectiveness. It is creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression, or worse. Be sure to read the backstory to “The Coddling of the American Mind.”

Why Sesame Street’s Move to HBO Is Both Great and Extremely Depressing
Sure it might look bad that a major media outlet has now purchased Sesame Street, especially when HBO is known for programming that is far from kid-friendly, but the move could be great for children because it will enable more episodes to be produced. The popular program also will continue to appear on PBS. The writer laments, however, that the need for a private firm to save Big Bird is reflective of the government’s lack of support for programs such as Head Start.

Teens, Technology, and Friendship
The Pew Research Center releases another of its exhaustive—not exhausting—studies. Perhaps it comes as no surprise to you that technology plays a role in teens making friends and developing relationships, but you probably didn’t know how extensive it was and the types of technology used differs between males and females, or those with and without smartphones. How might this change the way you parent or do youth ministry?

Interview with Chris Tomlin on Worship Night in America
The king of contemporary worship has launched a mini-tour with big names. In this interview, Tomlin says he hopes Worship Night in America will help Christians cross denominational lines and pray for the nation while glorifying God.