On any given week on Brock Commons, at least two different Greek fraternities and sororities are fundraising for their philanthropies. The Cormier Honors College and their student organizers may be collecting canned goods for FACES.
The bulletin boards are plastered with fliers pinned on top of each other: basketball games, spirit nights and speakers. At almost any given time somewhere in the ballroom is a campus radio DJ blasting Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” for a social or networking mixer.
Longwood University’s longstanding mission has always been to develop citizen leaders. From the university website’s mission and vision statements, “The University will be a first choice institution renowned for developing the power of citizen leadership in its students for the benefit of the greater community.”
While it is clear that Lancers are academically committed and actively serve within organizations embodying their values, the idea of an active citizen leader has been just that. The average student here practically double majors in student activities.
It is not uncommon for a students email to be riddled with organization titles. A Longwood Ambassador may also be the fundraising chair for his fraternity. A WMLU disc jockey may also be a writer for The Rotunda. The SGA president may also be captain of the club tennis team. A single student might even be responsible for all these roles. Conflicts of interest are often the norm, rather than the exception.
Yet, somehow, these same individuals are responsible for what may sometimes amount to the same work hours as an unpaid internship, while working for tuition and studying for a full course load. It is too easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle. From one event planning meeting to a group project, from one political science paper to another design for a flyer; I am sure we fell into catnaps between coffee and fast food sandwiches that we don’t remember.
In other words, the citizen leader has become over-involved, without being “fully engaged,” as Longwood’s mission intends. The typical citizen leader has become active in multiple capacities without being capable of proactivity. This proactivity is in every sense of the word involving a removed perspective. Without the proper time of leisure allotted, one has no room for necessary assessments and self-reflection. Without the time and practice, one cannot vigorously debate each other productively for creative solutions.
Look back to the times of our parents: when was the last time there was a genuine protest for change in student affairs? When was the last time the free speech zone behind the student union was used for protest or public forums?
Petitions, online or otherwise, are only in name: they state intent, but affect no actions on campus. Will the momentum still be in full steam ahead behind any movement after winter break? Summer? Leaders graduate – often taking their work with them, leaving no history, no paper trail or portfolio, to be improved on by a new class.
Rinse and repeat: it becomes a university rat race full of empty dreams and heavy loans.
If we continue in this kind of cycle, even as powerful as media and Facebook opinions might be across classes of students and alumni networks, the university and the town will not budget through bureaucratic means for rape kits or a certified nurse.
No – The school will not install a 24-hour suicide hotline –just candle ceremonies. We will not have responsibly sourced foods through passive-aggressive rambles on Aramark feedback cards. We will never have academic resources for international students unless there is an overwhelming perceived need debated on a regular basis.
We need to be taken seriously – by taking ourselves seriously, to task.
It is time for our generation of students – of citizen leaders – to become proactive, to bring real issues to vigorous debate publicly.
Forgo the bread and circus of speakers and workshops. Forget that you are young and may lack “real world” experience – it’s invented, a cop out. Forbid yourself the façade of university refuge: everything that you do matter. This is real life.
Write for the Rotunda. Host a talk show on WMLU 91.3FM. Perform at an open mic at Uptown Coffee, Healthy Living, or The Bakery.
Remember: the real game is pro-active citizenship, not what we’ve been told. It’s your time to speak, your time to act.
