2008 Woodie Awards
What do you care about?
Merle Eisenberg
Issue date: 5/4/07 Section: Opinions
Almost every senior has the same view at the end of the year. They love the idea of Colby, but they have become annoyed with the institution of Colby. At a school with only 1800 people it is easy to become involved in anything and everything, but the more involved you become the more you become frustrated with the system. Many seniors refuse to give to the senior pledge for this very reason-they cannot stand the institutional workings of Colby. In 30 years, however, we will all forget, meet at reunions, and talk about all the crazy drinking we did.
I have chronicled Colby's institutional weaknesses-everything from the SGA to dining services, both in the Colby Echo and in the great Colby Shadow. Some of these critiques have created change, while others have encountered substantial backlash. The purpose of these critiques, however, has been to create dialogue about issues (and hopefully policy action). Too often students complain about issues, but do not attempt to change them. Too often students refuse to listen to any contrary opinions, regardless of their merit. And too often students watch an event, for example Drinking Time, rather than participating in something they like, but refuse to do.
College should be about fighting and arguing-the more, the better. You should not, however, be rude to people or deliberately insult them, but rather argue your point succinctly and with as much supporting information as possible. As Canaan noted in his article two weeks ago, this involves attending class and debating issues with professors. Arguing can take many forms. As one professor related to us, Ayatollah Khomeini based his classes on arguing western philosophy with his students. Furthermore, he liked those students who argued the most.
What is the purpose and the end result of this arguing? It creates passion. It means that a student genuinely cares about what they are doing. People often complain that students in high school only become involved in activities that look good for college, but this problem has, unfortunately, been extended to college as well. We too often hear about students who engage in activities whose primary motivation is to boost their hopes of medical school or law school acceptance.
I have chronicled Colby's institutional weaknesses-everything from the SGA to dining services, both in the Colby Echo and in the great Colby Shadow. Some of these critiques have created change, while others have encountered substantial backlash. The purpose of these critiques, however, has been to create dialogue about issues (and hopefully policy action). Too often students complain about issues, but do not attempt to change them. Too often students refuse to listen to any contrary opinions, regardless of their merit. And too often students watch an event, for example Drinking Time, rather than participating in something they like, but refuse to do.
College should be about fighting and arguing-the more, the better. You should not, however, be rude to people or deliberately insult them, but rather argue your point succinctly and with as much supporting information as possible. As Canaan noted in his article two weeks ago, this involves attending class and debating issues with professors. Arguing can take many forms. As one professor related to us, Ayatollah Khomeini based his classes on arguing western philosophy with his students. Furthermore, he liked those students who argued the most.
What is the purpose and the end result of this arguing? It creates passion. It means that a student genuinely cares about what they are doing. People often complain that students in high school only become involved in activities that look good for college, but this problem has, unfortunately, been extended to college as well. We too often hear about students who engage in activities whose primary motivation is to boost their hopes of medical school or law school acceptance.
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Kris
posted 5/05/07 @ 9:36 PM EST
I just wanted to say that despite the fact that Merle and I have written and spoken on opposite sides of the same issue, I think this is the best article of the week, and one of the best of the year. (Continued…)
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