I was going to write this column about Sarah Palin and how much I hate her, but instead I’m going to write about something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Well, that’s not exactly true, the real roots of this article come from dollar pints at the Nickel and some conversations I had with the Obama campaign folks, bless their hearts.
Not that this will come as a total shocker to anyone but on a scale from one to ten — one being a quaker school in Virginia that I forgot the name of, and ten being Berkley — Lawrence gets about a two on the fiery activist scale. I think that overall we are a community of entirely passive, ambivalent students. OK, yes, sometimes people get a little riled up when the college republicans make fun of Gay Marriage or sometimes the President or Nancy Trusdale send disappointed emails when students write hurtful slurs on people’s door decs, but the last honest protest I have seen was tonight at Downer when B line ran out of tortellini.
Some professors interpret Lawrence students’ passive, laid-back attitudes as “politeness” and think it indicates what kind and compassionate individuals we all are but I dare to disagree. I have yet to ever get into a legitimate argument in class, either with a fellow student or a professor. There have only been a few delightful times when I’ve seen someone who is blatantly wrong get shut down in class, either by the teacher or a peer.
I’m not saying we should all be fighting one another and making it uncomfortable for anyone to speak up, but overall it seems like Lawrence is filled with a lot of silences. And this extends way beyond the classroom. If you all didn’t remember, there is a major — let me really emphasize the MAJOR part here — election happening in less than a month. We should all be riled up! This is our future we are talking about! Do you not remember 2000 and the hanging chads! Do you not remember the last four years?
I don’t care if you identify as Republican or Democrat, you can’t deny America been screwed up lately. The markets have been crashing, some random woman from Alaska with poor ethics is running for Vice President, we are still doing battle in Iraq at the expense of American lives and money, and we are all here at Lawrence pretending nothing is really going on. It is somehow possible for us to pretend to be safe inside this bubble and that the events of today will have little to no affect on our futures.
If you actually believe your liberal arts degree is going to protect you from a permanent job at Starbucks because of a failing economy and no money for health insurance you are sadly mistaken. We should all be picketing the news station on College Ave. or fighting each other in class, or pretend as individuals to care about what you believe in. Classes are hard, drinking is fun, but the future is now, and I hope we can all raise some fists in the future.
A Feminist Perspective
