I like Tech.I like that I don’t have to walk uphill to get to any classes.
I like that all the buildings match.
I like that I feel perfectly safe walking across campus by myself at night.
I like that all the professors in my department know more about me than just my name and letter grade.
I like knowing I’m going to graduate without the massive debt I would have accumulated going to a private school.
Overall, I think Tech is pretty great. Don’t you?
No? You think tuition hikes are too much? You think parking is a daily headache? You think the bookstore rips you off every semester?
Well why didn’t you say something?
Maybe no one talks because you feel like you are not heard on campus. But maybe you aren’t heard because no one talks.
I don’t see students protesting university policy on South Patio. I’ve never been handed a petition fighting for change on campus.
In this week’s online poll, two-thirds said that they have not even tried to make their voice heard on campus.
Either everyone is perfectly happy with how Tech is now, or there is a lot of apathy on campus. I think it’s the latter.
With a student body around 10,000, I don’t buy that everyone is content with the ways things are. Hearing people complain and whine to friends confirms this.
But friends are not the ones who make changes. You have to voice concerns to department heads, SGA senators, and the President’s office to see change.
Sometimes the answer is “no.” But sometimes the answer is “yes.” You’ll never know until you stand up and let your voice be heard.
Even when you don’t get what you want, at least you have raised the issue, and maybe you will join together with others who feel the same. There is strength in numbers.
We are no longer in elementary school where we had to stay in our seats and be quiet.
Voicing your opinions is part of collegiate learning, learning who you are, what you believe in, and what type of difference you want to make in the world.
College is the testing ground for real life: are you going to be the meek minion or the contributing citizen?
I get that a lot of people are just here for a degree. And that’s great since getting a degree is the basic point of higher education.
But if that is the only goal, then why not just go to a university that has 400 people in a class, where you don’t have to say anything and barely have to think?
Better yet, stay in your pajamas and do all online classes; you won’t get any of that in-class discussion or debate or further explanation on the topic.
You won’t have any of that annoying human interaction at all.
There can be more than classes on Tech’s campus.
There can be an active student body that frequently converses with the administration on what Tech wants to be.
There can be an active student body that takes the responsibility of ensuring that students receive the best education they can.
There can be an active student body that makes campus a great place to be.
Tech is a great school and great campus, and it deserves a great student body that cares about it.
