Letters & Submissions
To the Editor:
On Tuesday, September 14, I, like so many
other freshman, attended Barbara Ehrenreich's lecture in
Koury Center. While I personally don't agree with
some of Ehrenreich's stances and convictions, I also
found it very discourteous when what seemed like half of the
auditorium emptied out before the question and answer session
(which I thought was much more informative and engaging than
the lecture itself) began. When I mentioned it to some
upperclass friends, their response to me was, "I'm
not surprised. I've seen people walk out on Walter
Cronkite before. Happens all the time." My
question is: where exactly did people have to go? For
most of the freshmen (especially the ones in Global Studies
right now), it was required. I understand having other
obligations (I myself had an IV meeting that night that I
missed), but just walking out in the middle of someone
speaking is downright rude. If you don't agree with
a professor's viewpoints, you don't get up and walk
out of his/her class, do you? As angry as, I'm sure
this note will make some people (and I promise you, there
were moments when I wanted to walk out myself), I just want
to ask everyone to think for a moment about how they would
feel had they been asked to speak at an event on college
campus and half of the guests walked out before they were
even done. Kind of leaves you with an empty feeling,
doesn't it?
-Ashley Phipps, Class of 2008
To the Editor:
Last week, Barbara Ehrenreich spoke about the
radical notion that people should earn a decent living wage
for a hard day’s work. She spoke about the radical
notion that we should work harder to end poverty, and make
life better for those people that are not members of the
upper class. To me, this doesn’t actually sound
radical, but many Elon students thought
differently.
After her speech, the attacks began. Students castigated her
for her attacks on the wealthy, for her atheism, and anything
else they could throw at her. Listening to all of this, I was
somewhat disappointed at our student body. I was not
disappointed at the voicing of opinions, but at the lack of
respect the students showed. As the speech ended and the
questions began, students stood up and started walking out
before the event was over. Is it that hard to stay until the
end? I know the Real World came on at 10 pm, but you can do
your homework while watching television.
Let’s go back to the actual content. Students were
raging on Ehrenreich for attacking the wealthy. This is
because she was talking about them. They got
defensive.
I think Elon students sometimes forget the privileges we
have. If you look at the U.S. median household income, then
the Elon household income, you’ll see a disparity. The
large majority of Escalade-driving, Kate Spade-wearing
students’ idea of a living wage is the monthly
allowance from their parents. And you know what? That’s
fine. Many parents may have worked very hard to gain their
wealth and can fully support their children, but it’s
important to understand that there are people who have no
idea, and will never have any idea, about what shopping at
Abercrombie and Fitch or owning a car that is not 15 years
old is like.
Because of this lack of knowledge we sometimes have of other
socioeconomic levels, I’ve come up with a proposal.
It’s an alternative to the Experiential Learning
Requirement. For one semester, Elon students should be
required to work 20 to 30 hours a week at an off campus job,
making this “living wage.” Parental support
during this time should be severely limited, if not cut-off
completely. Students will still be required to take a full
course load while holding down a job and will be required to
find the job on their own, without the help of the university
or mom and dad. It would also be preferred that meal plans
are cut off. After doing this for three months, come back to
me and tell me your opinion of Ehrenreich. Working two
jobs and supporting myself for most of my college career, I
can almost guarantee your opinion of the blue collar working
class will change.
Maybe I’m just a senior that’s taken too many
sociology classes. Maybe, however, I’ve begun thinking
for myself and not clinging on to the thoughts and opinions
of my parents.
-Adam Smith, Class of 2005
To the Editor:
There seems to be little room in modern
politics for the opinions of students. College students are
systematically alienated from discussions of policy and
legislation. It is time for young people to break this cycle
and make a place for themselves on the political
stage.
The 2000 presidential election was decided by 537 votes in
Florida. Many college students sit in lectures at state
universities with nearly that many people. If students
unite and are seen as a viable voting bloc, one that could
make or break an election, politicians will have no choice
but to listen to our opinions.
We are a generation that fights America's wars, fuels
its economy, and bears the consequences of today's
actions, we have a right to be heard.
We, as college students, must immediately mobilize and draw
the attention of elected officials. This November, young
people have an opportunity to establish themselves as a
powerful constituency. Issues such as the war in Iraq, civil
rights, education cost, and reproductive rights cannot be
effectively debated without the input of young
people.
So, how can you affect change? Students across the country
are stepping up to this challenge and starting Youth04
chapters at their schools. Youth04, a non-profit
non-partisan voter engagement organization, uses the best of
the Internet and grassroots techniques to motivate students
to engage in local and national politics and to persuade
politicians to pay attention to us. Students use
petitions, polls and offline engagement strategies at youth
centers, restaurants and cafes to initiate interest in the
legislative and electoral issues at hand.
You can easily start a Youth04 chapter at your university
and lead a statewide effort to take back the political
process. Visit the Youth04 Web site at http://www.youth04.org to
find more information on starting a chapter.
In 2004, we want to do more than vote, we want to be
valued.
-Jessica DeSimone, Class of 2006 and
Youth04 intern
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