"Virtually all students asked about the logo change said they were against it," read a sentence of the lead article about the logo change rally in the Trenton Times last Wednesday. The article went on to quote a College student who said, "Every little thing, there are rallies about." Then came the qualifier that made my jaw drop: "This actually matters."
I recognize that the logo change is important to the campus community. Although I won't go too deeply into it, I am displeased with the change and the way in which the College handled it. However, to claim that this issue is the only thing on campus worth rallying for is mind-boggling.
The U.S. is at a crucial point in history. There are thousands of lives on the line in this, as well as other, global conflicts. These lives include not only innocent civilians, but also the U.S. servicemen and women.
The point of this piece is not to attack the particular student who made this comment, but rather address this mindset, which I think is fairly common among our campus community.
Our campus has been active regarding the war, holding rallies presenting different perspectives.
There have been several anti-war rallies and vigils on campus. There were two marches and a large student/faculty teach-in. In addition, there has been a good deal of fliers and literature available on the subject.
On the other side of the issue, flyers reading "Support Our Troops" have been placed around campus. The College Republicans, held a rally earlier last week in support of the troops.
I think it's fairly safe to say that on campus, all bases have been covered in terms of the war. There are opportunities to express sentiment on both sides of the issue.
Apart from the war, there are many other issues at the forefront of society, and therefore at the forefront of the campus community (as the College is a microcosm of society).
In our world there is strife in the Middle East, questions of the extent of our civil liberties at home, the issue of abortion and many others. Again, there are ample opportunities to voice opinion on either side of these issues.
Like I mentioned, I feel the logo change was done for ridiculous and pretentious reasons, was economically wasteful and was done behind the backs of the students and faculty. However, it is hardly a life or death issue.
The quote in the Trenton Times unfortunately projects a poor image of College students to the surrounding community. It suggests that, with everything else going on the world that is weighing heavily on America's people, the future of the nation is preoccupied with a graphic design.
Forget all that administrative garbage and marketing crap about image. Think about the image we as students and members of an intellectual community are projecting with this type of attitude.
The College is a good school, a "public ivy," as our administration will spew and, thus, must have intelligent students. It would seem natural that the intelligence of the student body would manifest itself in an interest in current events.
I think that the problem lies in the insular aspect of the campus. We need to recognize that there is a world beyond the College and the clock tower.
This is a world with many problems and it is a world that we will inherit from our parents.
We can only improve ourselves and the world around us by recognizing that, indeed, a world does exist outside the bounds of the College.
I agree that the underhanded logo change warrants protest, but there are certainly more pressing issues in our communities. This is an important fact for our campus to recognize.
