Precisely a year ago, I used this very column to decry, perhaps invectively, the pervasive apathy on campus. Though this still remains one of the biggest challenges to student life at UT, it is only fair to take this year to acknowledge the significant progress made during this past year.
Occasionally, events force us to face down our apathy. Most dramatically did this prove to be the case on Tuesday, April 17. After the tragic Virginia Tech shootings, nearly 200 students showed up en masse to show their support and display solidarity at the candlelight vigil in front of Plant Hall. The initiative was taken by Zoe Oliver With the help of Residence Life, UT students made a definitive statement that highlighted both their concern for their fellow students and their desire for security at UT.
Yet, it shouldn’t take palpable calamity to inspire action on campus. And, to our credit, it hasn’t. The lectures and talks I’ve attended this year have attracted more students than I recall in my freshman or sophomore year. Whether this is due to professors mandating attendance or not is still an open question.
Nonetheless, conversations are taking place that I’ve never heard before at UT. At theminaretonline.com, debates have raged over the rectitude of Sodexho employing people with criminal records, the fairness of the senior trip and even U.S. foreign policy in the Iraq War.
When the Gasparilla rape became public, Becca Palmer and the Women’s Organization issued an immediate protest. While safety was repeatedly put at risk through the Brevard fire alarms, students lodged complaints. Through the international festival, the international film festival and other events, a high student turnout underscored the importance of internationalism on campus and sparked the question as to whether UT is international enough.
These measures taken by students belie the popular impression that going to UT means tanning by the pool and getting wasted five nights a week in Ybor City. Such a vulgar generalization is wholly outdated; in nearly every class and organization I’ve observed, there have been sincere and dedicated students with incisive things to say. I will confidently put the critical thinking skills and active involvement of these students up against the best students anywhere, including Oxford University where I’ve been lucky enough to spend a semester.
Yet, unfortunately, student apathy continues to plague UT. As enrollment expands, more students are admitted who do conform to the popular impression of a UT student. Though it may be reductionist to speak of “two UT’s,” it is nonetheless true that the student who measures the week by prospective parties and the significant stratum of serious students have little in common. To risk speaking in sociobiological terms, the growth and virility of the latter is compromised by the pestilence of the former.
Thus, as another year approaches at UT, combating student apathy remains a high priority. Last year, I wrote in this column that “perhaps [The Minaret] can become the organization that tackles this problem when the fall semester begins.” In retrospect, it can with poise be asserted that The Minaret has done its fair share toward the improvement of that this past year has witnessed. Its pages helped to spark interest on issues of campus safety and security, administrative decisions and even international politics.
But The Minaret is not solely responsible for the positive turn. The hard work and initiative of countless organizations and individual students, all a testament to the ability and motivation of UT students, was an indispensable condition of the progress made.
The continued cooperation of all sincere students and organizations will prove to be even more crucial if the trend is to be improved next year. We need to fight student apathy and showcase the talented and dedicated stratum of students here on campus. No longer should the least capable members of our University be allowed to serve as its representatives in the public image.