Letter to Editor

These are the times that bore men’s souls. As I was reading the paper in the library waiting for my next class, I realized I was bored. Not bored of the newspaper, I read it every day, not bored of studying, not bored of going to classes, but bored of the state of the nation today. As Greg Jerrett said Friday, students are too apathetic. Maybe it IS because the economy is good, maybe it IS because we can “get pizza delivered until 3 a.m.”, but still, there has GOT to be something more to college life than this. In my parents’ generation, there were marches on Capitol Hill, there were protests and arguments and fights. Exciting things were afoot. Am I the only one who longs for more interesting times? Am I the only one who thinks that there must be something really exciting out there? Am I the only one who sees the pointlessness in party after drunken party every night? I don’t advocate President Clinton starting another war for me to protest just because I’ve become lethargic about my Biology homework, but if he did, I’d be protesting. There are plenty of things to raise a ruckus about. The presidential candidates, U.S. troops occupying other countries where we shouldn’t be, the situation in Colombia. Just a short time ago, our own government burst into a private residence with a SWAT team to take a child into custody. Our younger brothers and sisters are being gunned down in their own public schools. And we sit, wondering if it’s worth hunting up the remote to change the channel from VH1 to MTV. There should be marches on the Campanile. Five thousand students shouting, “Hell no, we won’t let you do that!” OK, so it doesn’t rhyme, but it’s better than a single annual march on the president’s house protesting dry Veishea when most of us aren’t legal. Instead, all the important issues are protested by a five-member group that gets ignored or laughed at. That, or we write scathing letters back and forth to the editor. Sure, I’m doing the exact same thing, but what good would it do for me to stand in the middle of the campus, handing out flyers? Marching around campus yelling, “Do something, ISU students!” and holding a sign? You’d probably ignore me or laugh. Stop being so apathetic, Iowa State. Stop being so bored! Get up and fight for your rights and not just to party. Get up and do something for anything that you even half believe in! Sami Sanger

Sophomore

Psychology