Monday, May 11, 2009

So I'm cheating a little...

I'm slightly cheating with this "blog". This is an older article I wrote for the school paper awhile back. But some recent events made me think of it and so I thought I would share.

As an active member on Simpson's campus, I tend to notice what's going on. Each new year, I notice the changes that occur with the entering of a new class and the leaving of an old and the one thing that seems to stay the same.

There is an epidemic that somehow continues to plague our campus and effect the students.

Students with this plague seem to suffer from the following symptoms: the willingness to complain about the actions of student organizations without offering any advice as to what said student organizations could do instead; and a problem with the lack of school spirit, while their attendance at school events is minimal at best. Most victims have the ability to make students who are actually trying to change things, sometimes wonder why we even try.

An example that comes to mind is a recent purchase by the student government association. Members of SGA felt that the purchase of name tags would help us market ourselves better as an organization to not only the campus, and also come in useful when representing Simpson at other events. The cost for the name tags was right around $200, and some students were upset and complained that spending $200 on name tags was a horrible idea. However, the students offered no suggestion as to how we could better allocate the money.

My theory when it comes to complaining or talking about how something isn't working is that you should at least have a suggestion to take its place. Don't complain if you aren't willing to work to make a change.

Most students fail to realize that we are rather fortunate at Simpson. We have faculty, staff and administrators willing to listen to us. They are working hard to make Simpson a good experience for us and yet everyone still sits back and doesn't care. Then something happens and everyone gets upset and causes a fuss about it, but they don't care enough to actually try and do something about it.

Another big thing you hear everyone on campus talk about is the lack of school spirit Simpson College possesses and it slightly confuses me. I hear all these students complaining that no one goes to the game, no one has school spirit and no one cares. People talk about how more students need to go to this and that, but don't go themselves.

So here's my solution.Instead of skipping the game, saying you're not going because you know no one else is, shut up. Actually go to the game, and then your friend will go because she knows you're going, and then she brings another friend. The next thing you know, people actually are at the game. All because someone decided to try and remedy a problem instead of just complaining about it.

Now, while I am still quite a few years away from my PhD and have further research and testing to do before I can give an official diagnosis for this disease, I'm pretty sure I can offer some advice that could help prevent the spread and I'm taking it from Ghandi.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

If you want things to change at Simpson, work to change them. If you want people to attend the games, go to the game yourself. If you don't want SGA spending $200 on name tags, tell them what they should spend $200 on.And if you don't care. If you don't feel like working and trying to make a change, then don't complain.

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