2008 Woodie Awards
Our generation's vitality at stake due to apathy
Dustin Ward
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Religion and Politics
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When older adults say college students live in their own little bubble, I sometimes get offended. But the more I look around and the more I converse with my fellow students, I see what they mean.
As college students, we tend to just not care about anything really important. Now I realize, and yes, I too, think clothes, significant others and parties are special, and I know that it may seem hard at times to keep up with the world around us with bills, homework and jobs constantly on our minds. But it is our duty to care. And forgive me for sounding like an '80s Michael Jackson song, but we are the world, and we are the future.
That's why it is vital to our future that we get involved and stay informed. Soon we, meaning our generation, will be the leaders of the world. We will be the ones sitting in Congress, we will be the ones running businesses that keep our economy alive and we will be the ones raising an all-new generation of leaders to take over after we have left our mark. And what kind of mark do we want to leave?
Staying informed is not as hard as it sounds. Stop for a second and think about how much time you spend on "myspace" and playing Internet games. Now divide that time by five and spend it on a news Web site like CNN or Fox News, and in no time you will find yourself abreast of the latest issues shaping our world.
Staying informed also could be done by watching nightly news broadcasts and reading - yes, the age-old pastime of reading - newspapers and magazines. There are so many publications out there that we easily can find something to suit our needs and beliefs. So there is no excuse for not staying informed.
To those reading this piece, please e-mail me and let me know that you are at least reading our campus newspaper. It will be greatly appreciated.
Another reason we should strive to keep up with current affairs is because we all have opinions, yet most of us have uninformed opinions. College students always are ready to get up in arms about issues ranging from the war to gay marriage, yet when they are put on the spot and faced with questions regarding why they believe what they believe, they usually are not able to answer. And as my life science teacher, Professor Howard, says, know why you believe the things you do.
As college students, we tend to just not care about anything really important. Now I realize, and yes, I too, think clothes, significant others and parties are special, and I know that it may seem hard at times to keep up with the world around us with bills, homework and jobs constantly on our minds. But it is our duty to care. And forgive me for sounding like an '80s Michael Jackson song, but we are the world, and we are the future.
That's why it is vital to our future that we get involved and stay informed. Soon we, meaning our generation, will be the leaders of the world. We will be the ones sitting in Congress, we will be the ones running businesses that keep our economy alive and we will be the ones raising an all-new generation of leaders to take over after we have left our mark. And what kind of mark do we want to leave?
Staying informed is not as hard as it sounds. Stop for a second and think about how much time you spend on "myspace" and playing Internet games. Now divide that time by five and spend it on a news Web site like CNN or Fox News, and in no time you will find yourself abreast of the latest issues shaping our world.
Staying informed also could be done by watching nightly news broadcasts and reading - yes, the age-old pastime of reading - newspapers and magazines. There are so many publications out there that we easily can find something to suit our needs and beliefs. So there is no excuse for not staying informed.
To those reading this piece, please e-mail me and let me know that you are at least reading our campus newspaper. It will be greatly appreciated.
Another reason we should strive to keep up with current affairs is because we all have opinions, yet most of us have uninformed opinions. College students always are ready to get up in arms about issues ranging from the war to gay marriage, yet when they are put on the spot and faced with questions regarding why they believe what they believe, they usually are not able to answer. And as my life science teacher, Professor Howard, says, know why you believe the things you do.
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