Affairs of State
Stand Up For Your Wrights
Laura Carpenter
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Editorial & Opinion
Students don't realize that sitting idly by the sidelines makes us just as bad as those who refuse to help. Author and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel said, "And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor - never its victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten."
Wright student Alyssa Adorno believes most students don't stand up because they think of Wright as a transitional school. "I would assume they don't feel emotionally attached to this college. People aren't invested the way students are that go to four-year universities," Adorno said. "I think because most students at Wright get financial aid they take for granted the opportunities they have here. Their lives are busy, so they don't have time to care."
Even so, the voices of Wright students aren't completely silent. In a recent interview, new Student Government Association (SGA) President Sheila Woods explained how SGA wants to combat the rising prices of textbooks by instituting a book exchange. Students for Peace and Justice (SPJ) also deserves brownie points. They spend their time protesting the wars and unfair compensation as well as fighting for justice for immigrants among other issues. Whether you agree or disagree with them you must give them credit. They care and want to do something to change these circumstances, unlike others who sit by indifferently.
SPJ member Juan Ortiz explained some of the ways the club helps out. "We raised money for the water purification system to help Iraqis so that they can have clean water. We did this by selling scarves, books, candies and anything we could," Ortiz said. Ortiz and the rest of the Peace and Justice crew get it. It's our responsibility to care about the injustices in the world and to hopefully do something to change them or at the least try to change them.
Wright student David Pineda feels most students aren't aware of everything that's happening in the world. "I think the first step toward recognition is acknowledgement," Pineda said. He also thinks they might be too busy to care. It's clear a lot of Wright students work while going to school full time. Some also have children that need their attention. Time remains a luxury, but if we don't exert our rights, we might lose them. In the words of Bob Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up. Stand up for your right. Get Up, Stand Up, don't give up the fight." If not us, then who?
Wright student Alyssa Adorno believes most students don't stand up because they think of Wright as a transitional school. "I would assume they don't feel emotionally attached to this college. People aren't invested the way students are that go to four-year universities," Adorno said. "I think because most students at Wright get financial aid they take for granted the opportunities they have here. Their lives are busy, so they don't have time to care."
Even so, the voices of Wright students aren't completely silent. In a recent interview, new Student Government Association (SGA) President Sheila Woods explained how SGA wants to combat the rising prices of textbooks by instituting a book exchange. Students for Peace and Justice (SPJ) also deserves brownie points. They spend their time protesting the wars and unfair compensation as well as fighting for justice for immigrants among other issues. Whether you agree or disagree with them you must give them credit. They care and want to do something to change these circumstances, unlike others who sit by indifferently.
SPJ member Juan Ortiz explained some of the ways the club helps out. "We raised money for the water purification system to help Iraqis so that they can have clean water. We did this by selling scarves, books, candies and anything we could," Ortiz said. Ortiz and the rest of the Peace and Justice crew get it. It's our responsibility to care about the injustices in the world and to hopefully do something to change them or at the least try to change them.
Wright student David Pineda feels most students aren't aware of everything that's happening in the world. "I think the first step toward recognition is acknowledgement," Pineda said. He also thinks they might be too busy to care. It's clear a lot of Wright students work while going to school full time. Some also have children that need their attention. Time remains a luxury, but if we don't exert our rights, we might lose them. In the words of Bob Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up. Stand up for your right. Get Up, Stand Up, don't give up the fight." If not us, then who?
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