The “Starving For Diversity” hunger strike has come and gone.

Being the organizer, I now ask myself the question, “Have we made a difference? Was the sacrifice made by all those students on the steps of Beardshear worth it?”

Myself, I lost a lot of sleep and my class work suffered that week. I know others on those steps sacrificed the same things. So, was it worth it?

On the surface, it may appear nothing has come about. The administration is still staying quiet; President Jischke has yet to agree to mediated talks.

But if I look just a little bit deeper, we did make a difference. I think we brought the issue of diversity more to the forefront. For a while, all I heard was Catt Hall this, Catt Hall that.

It’s more than just a name on a building. It’s about creating a more diverse environment at ISU. We need more funding for all cultural studies programs.

We need to create an Asian/Asian-American studies program. We need more funding to programs that help low income and minority students succeed at ISU.

We need a commitment for a multi-cultural center. We need to help create a less hostile environment for minorities, women and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) students.

We all came to college to earn a degree and find a good paying job. But isn’t a university supposed to be a place of higher learning? To me, higher learning is more than just books, tests, homework and letter grades.

It’s about growing mentally, physically and spiritually. I’ve learned more about people, organizing events and the media in a couple of days than I could have ever learned from years of reading books. It’s about preparing ourselves for the real world.

And in the real world, everyone isn’t the same race and you’re not always in the majority. We can’t just sit around, be comfortable and believe the world is perfect. Especially when we know that the world isn’t.

No, we can’t expect to bring about sweeping changes. But every little thing we do to help is a step in the right direction. By not doing anything, we not only make it harder, we make it impossible.

Sure, things aren’t so bad here on campus. But there are problems and we should address them. Where would we be if someone hadn’t stood up against slavery, discrimination, racism, colonialism and everything else that was at one time believed to be okay?

There are people in countries, including this one, who are suffering because they were born the wrong color, born into a certain race, born a certain sex, have a sexual orientation or any other reason that isn’t acceptable to the majority.

Can I say, “Well, it’s not me, so why should I care? Why should I give up my cushy life for someone I don’t even know?”

But after closely examining the issues and looking within myself, it’s easy to find the answer. Why should I give up a cushy life? Because it’s the right thing to do.

It all comes down to that simple fact. It’s the right thing to do.

Human beings have this thing that separates us from all other living things. It’s the human conscience. Deep down, we know when we’re doing something wrong and when we’re doing something right.

Okay, so when I look at it, we did do the right thing. Was it worth it? Most definitely. Why? Because we were willing to take a stand against something that was wrong-something that needs to be fixed. It was the right thing to do. We don’t ask for immediate change; we do ask for a commitment for change.

I’d like to make a few last comments about the “Starving For Diversity” hunger strike. I would first like to say I met a wonderful group of people that day. Intelligent, energetic, caring and determined people.

They all knew why they were there, and they believed they could make a difference. Just by being around them gave me the strength and energy to continue throughout the day and into the night. Talking to them helped affirm my belief that what we were doing was right and was going to make a difference.

Throughout the day, I had my doubts. But by looking at them and sensing their support, I was revitalized. I had gotten only four hours of sleep in the past two days, but I felt as if I was on top of the world. Full of energy, full of life. It was apparent to me the others were feeling the same thing.

At 9 p.m. Tuesday night, we lit candles. In our hands, we each held a small candle. We lit these small candles from four large ones. At the time, I wasn’t sure what the candles meant.

But today I do. The large candles represented the struggles and gains of the people who have fought for what is right. Those who fought against colonialism, slavery, discrimination and racism and fought for women’s rights.

The candles that we held represented our individual contributions. Sure, our individual contributions may be small, but if we put them together, we can light up the night.

And light up the night we did. It was such a great feeling to be amongst those “Starving For Diversity” that night. It will be something I will always be proud of and never forget.

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Lang Tran is a senior in computer science. He is the president of the Vietnamese Student Association.