Wake up

I recently wrote a letter that (along with a few other events) has been causing a lot of controversy and discussion on campus. The letter hasn't been sent yet. What.

Check it out:

Dear President Williams:

A number of students on Cairn’s campus have expressed concern about the political representation on campus. We were encouraged by your recent article in Cairn’s magazine, in which you exhorted all students to become well informed, to know all sides, and to “engage in the gift of a free and democratic political system”. As you said in your article, it won’t be easy. We know that this is an ongoing and long process, one that Cairn is striving towards. We want to be a part of this process, to take steps to “know, appreciate and engage”. We realize that in order to bring positive transformative change, we need to work together, and we recognize that because this is such a large and long journey, the small steps to get there are sometimes the most important.

One step that might be helpful in continuing this journey concerns the TV in the cafeteria. It currently shows only one channel, Fox News. While this news station is highly respected and appreciated by many, it has a tendency to misrepresent both sides of the political arena. We want students to be well-informed about current issues as they begin to engage with politics on their own and learn to present their own political beliefs.  Therefore, we want to suggest a plan for the TV in the cafeteria to equally inform the students about current events. We recommend Fox News be shown in the cafeteria Sunday through Wednesday, and CNN Thursday through Saturday. We are open to discussion concerning this topic, and would be more than happy to hear your thoughts on this plan, further questions, or discuss the next steps in continuing this process of engaging as Christians with the world.

Thank you for being approachable and open to your student body.

Sincerely,

Well-written, right? Thanks, but some friends helped me out, so I can't take the full credit. You may noticed no one has signed it. Here's the scoop:

Students complained, so I wanted to do something about it. I went to the cafeteria manager. He directed me to Tech Services. Several people, including myself emailed tech services- no response, no change. The President, who constantly reminds us that he is approachable, wrote an article (mentioned in the letter) that basically said don't just watch one channel. So I wrote the letter, thought it would mean more coming from a club, so I approached Student Cultural Association with it- they thought lots of clubs signing it would mean even more, so I sent it out in an email explaining details to all club presidents. Little did I think that (as I found out later in a meeting I was called to by Student Life), by writing this letter and sending it out I was reflecting badly on student life, ESPECIALLy as a student leader (I'm the Program Association Prez). 

Now, I had to turn it into a proposal, which I discussed today with a committee (It didn't go super- the proposal was met with a decent amount of defiance and opposition) and it will be voted on soon by Student Government Association Cabinet (A group of people that were not voted into power by the student body) and where it goes from there is up to them. 

My point in narrating this drama is this: WAKE UP, students!!! Don't you see the way the system is directing our thoughts and silencing our voices? A student body president never voted in by the student body? A letter that can't be sent? A student rebuked for trying to address a concern? 

Think about it. And then become engaged with the world around you. Don't hit snooze. Instead: Try to benefit the school, create positive transformative change, and bring voices to the voiceless.

Wake up, students. Wake up, church.