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I'm procrastinating. What else is new.
Mar. 31st, 2009 11:59 pmAs part of my Japanese class, I have to go to language table a couple of times a week, where you're supposed to have lunch speaking nothing but Japanese. Because I'm only in beginner Japanese, I can't understand half of what other people are saying, and because I suck at speaking foreign languages off the cuff, it's a rather futile endeavor. Anyway, today a group of SNGers decided to crash language table to protest the lack of endowment transparency, especially in terms of funding for environmental programs. They were loud, shouting, playing trumpets and other makeshift instruments, wearing colorful clothing, and holding signs in various languages. After they left, most people applauded, both in appreciation for their willingness to protest and, I suspect, because they were "entertaining" and wanted to show their approval in a somewhat condescending manner.
This must've been the third or fourth time this semester where I wanted nothing more than a hole to be cut out in the floor above me and let me fall through. Clearly this is a bad omen.
See, this is yet another thing that bugs me about college: protests over trivial matters that most people with at least an ounce of sense in them won't care about once they graduate. It's one thing to protest instances of racism, sexism, or homophobia on campus, like trying to raise awareness about instances of rape. It's another if you're deliberately making a hullaballoo over this. I'm all for transparency, but in the grand scheme of things there are much more pressing concerns, and I can't bring myself to care too much. Then again, this is SNG we're talking about. Demos like this are their modus operandi, and they seem to be doing this a lot lately. Protests are all fine and good, but I believe there's a time and a place for them. I can see their reasoning -- catch people off-guard and really get them to notice and all that -- but I think protests like this backfire more often than not. Besides, the line between those who protest because they genuinely believe in what they're doing and are passionate about what they believe in versus those who are just in it to have a good time and crash people's class requirements is a thin and blurry one, and sometimes I just don't want to put the energy in figuring the two apart. This is why I don't go to SNG meetings anymore. I'm an environmental studies major, and I do believe passionately in environmental issues and realize their importance, and I do want to make an impact in one way or another. But I'm no demonstrator, and the earnestness of some of these people just disgusts me, to be quite frank. There's a good chance, too, that if I decide to do grad school, I'll study something completely different, or go into a career that doesn't fit the ES mold at all. I'm keeping my options open. I hear employers don't care about what you major in all that much anyway.
Though I really would have liked to have been at language table when the Japanese travel agent was there, doing all sorts of shameless plugs. I heard that was freakin' epic.
This must've been the third or fourth time this semester where I wanted nothing more than a hole to be cut out in the floor above me and let me fall through. Clearly this is a bad omen.
See, this is yet another thing that bugs me about college: protests over trivial matters that most people with at least an ounce of sense in them won't care about once they graduate. It's one thing to protest instances of racism, sexism, or homophobia on campus, like trying to raise awareness about instances of rape. It's another if you're deliberately making a hullaballoo over this. I'm all for transparency, but in the grand scheme of things there are much more pressing concerns, and I can't bring myself to care too much. Then again, this is SNG we're talking about. Demos like this are their modus operandi, and they seem to be doing this a lot lately. Protests are all fine and good, but I believe there's a time and a place for them. I can see their reasoning -- catch people off-guard and really get them to notice and all that -- but I think protests like this backfire more often than not. Besides, the line between those who protest because they genuinely believe in what they're doing and are passionate about what they believe in versus those who are just in it to have a good time and crash people's class requirements is a thin and blurry one, and sometimes I just don't want to put the energy in figuring the two apart. This is why I don't go to SNG meetings anymore. I'm an environmental studies major, and I do believe passionately in environmental issues and realize their importance, and I do want to make an impact in one way or another. But I'm no demonstrator, and the earnestness of some of these people just disgusts me, to be quite frank. There's a good chance, too, that if I decide to do grad school, I'll study something completely different, or go into a career that doesn't fit the ES mold at all. I'm keeping my options open. I hear employers don't care about what you major in all that much anyway.
Though I really would have liked to have been at language table when the Japanese travel agent was there, doing all sorts of shameless plugs. I heard that was freakin' epic.
