Across campus, many students have been caught up in the nationwide excitement of the election of Barack Obama. It is easy to feel inspired by Obama’s words, but translating this enthusiasm into action can prove to be more difficult.
Community involvement at Lawrence can take many forms. Those who want to help improve many aspects of how the University operates can either join LUCC or attend their meetings at 4:30 p.m. every other Monday in Riverview.
The Volunteer Center offers many opportunities for students to work in a hands-on fashion with the greater Appleton community. Whether setting up Lawrentians with students to tutor or notifying them when a local organization needs help with a special event, the Volunteer Center is a great resource to have on campus.
Maintaining a basic political level of activity in keeping updated on current events, informing oneself and developing one’s own opinion seem to be synonymous with a liberal arts education.
The University does a great job of facilitating this by providing all the residence halls with free copies of The New York Times, Appleton Post-Crescent and USA Today and by keeping an extensive up-to-date periodical section on the A-level of the library.
Joining groups like College Republicans, College Democrats, Greenfire and Lawrence University Progressive Union of Students, whose focus extends past campus, is a great way to channel this interest into a larger discussion and action.
Maybe the acts that could have the biggest impact are the little ones done every day, whether interacting with peers or contributing to residence hall community.
It can be easy for students to feel frustrated at their perceived inability to take a bigger part in these exciting times, but we encourage them to take steps to enact the change they want to see however small those changes may seem.
Staff Editorial
