Are we still in the 1960s?

[gradygirl]

We're having big waves being made in our little lagoon of happiness. Tensions are running high after a number of racially ignorant issues have come to light; two black students have had their door whiteboards defaced with racial slurs and a fraternity pledge decided to dress in sexually explicit black face for a pre-Halloween party.

And this doesn't even bring to light the fact that at least two of the fraternities are on probation because of fights that same pre-Halloween night. One of the fights I was witness to, calling the campus police after a mob formed and people started breaking bottles. The fight broke up once an HPD cruiser came down, but individuals kept fighting, which led to one of our campus officers having to be taken to the hospital after his knee was seriously injured by one of the fighting students.

But back to my intended rant, why do people think that they can do things like that? I mean come on, grow up! Everyone here is out of high school and at one of the best colleges in the country. One would expect some level of maturity to come with being a student here. But apparently not, or else why would we have these senseless acts of cruelty being committed towards our students? Geez. :mellow:

 

[MMiz]

Beer: The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. -- Homer Simpson

 

[oldschoolmedic]

Ahhh, the righteous indignation of youth. Gotta love it. The children of which you speak do not have the emotional or physical maturity to truly understand the repercussions of what they have done. Yes I said CHILDREN. Your bodies are all grown up, however your minds have not made the leaps you believe they have. There is no real world experience to backup what you have learned through classes, news snippets, and those long engaging dorm discussions. You mercifully have made an adult decision which does tend to make people grow up rather quickly, whether they want to or not, you became an EMT. You're seeing things through eyes which will eventually become immune to the stupidity which prevails in our world, by the same token, I hope your heart never does. Am I shocked at what a couple of thoughtless college students in high spirits did? No, sadly no. Where I used to work we had two major universities and two colleges in one city which usually made for interesting weekends. You hit the nail on the head when you said your "little lagoon of happiness." College is and always will be a microcosm of the world. The best education you will receive comes from dorm life, not the classroom. Look at people (other students, teachers, and townies), listen to them, learn from them, not just the good, but the bad, indifferent, and the outright stupid. From them you will learn how the real world operates in a small, controlled setting. People aren't just one big happy family. We have wars, disease, famine, genocide, but we also have love, faith, charity, and tolerance. Your reaction to this situation is a good sign for you. You're on the right path, and this lesson will hopefully stand you in good stead. Remember people are stupid, that's why insurance companies thrive. It's why we cheer a baseball player making millions to play a kids game, but scream if a neurosurgeon makes half a million. It's why college kids show up to parties in racially insensitive attire and wonder how some people get offended. I am not shocked by this, but I am glad you are. There is hope for the future.

 

[Jon]

TCERT - rough week? OldSchool hit the nail on the head.

Well the actions of a few bad apples may cause the students as a whole to "look bad" to the town... it will pass. The students who did the actions need to step up, apologize, and take responsibility for something that they did... even though they probably didn't intend for it to be hurtful, it was.

 

[TheDoll]

wow, i was going to begin typing like i knew something, and then read what osmedic had to say. thank you for your insight. i'm sure that i will return to this post to reread it from time to time. thanks again, oldschoolmedic.