Empty Halls
For a long time, I've believed that the youth have the power. We are taught from a young age to think for ourselves, ask questions and use the power of the self for the greater good. This is how movements are started. This is how change occurs.
College students, although slightly less attached by the umbilical cord, can still be considered youth. Our thirst for knowledge is insatiable, and we're always asking why things are happening (which is the basic premise of classes, isn't it?). But somewhere between 8 a.m. lectures and late-night TV, we've stopped moving.
After a full day of school and work, we go home. We meet our friends for dinner at the Terraces, where we chat about nothing and everything. After the pizza has been eaten and the salt shakers have been emptied, we go back to our rooms to do homework.
Or so we say. Unfortunately, a full day's stress level is not depleted by 45 minutes in a dining hall. College students spend hours on the computer, phone and television, hoping to retain that feeling of freedom reserved for Friday evenings. But we never do. And after hours of "doing homework," we go to bed and start over the next day.
Wait a minute...what about college sports? What about clubs? What about speakers? What about ICTV? What about dorm programs? Where is everybody?
We're still young enough to say what we want without much consequence. We still have the chance (not to mention the time) to keep informed about the world. But without passion, that chance is depleted. The fewer people that show up to clubs, the less likely they are to survive. Wouldn't you be disappointed if you couldn't catch a $3 movie at SAB because people stopped coming?
College is the best time to learn about anything that amuses you. Want to help save human rights? Join Amnesty International. Want to get a jumpstart on learning Japanese? Go hang out with the Anime Society of Ithaca College. And if there isn’t a place at IC for what you want to do, you can always join a community group.
It's time for us students take the reins and put their passion back into the college experience. Find something you like to do and do it. If it doesn't exist, make it. Just get off your ass. Nothing says "boring" like someone who spends their nights inside watching reality TV.These are the most opportunistic years of your life. Back away from your computer and leave your room. There's a whole world outside of "homework."
Not sure where to start? Visit The Center for Student Leadership and Involvement.