Pointless College Stories II: Fish Makes a Stand
In reviving the meme that word_geek started last year, I figure that it is only fitting that the first story I will relate took place during my tenure at the McKeesport branch campus.
One of the last semesters I attended McKeesport coincided with the emergence of new recycling efforts. As if overnight, trash cans throughout the campus spontaneously spit out a diminutive blue offspring whose sole purpose was to house used paper. To exacerbate matters, only certain types of used paper were considered valid trash for these coveted new receptacles. While many took this in stride, I was rather put off with the change.
Not that I was lazy. Far from it. I was put off by the fact that we were segregating our garbage. In an environment where diversity is supposedly cherished, we deign to place one sort of refuse over another. And while I was not what you would call a political being, I felt obligated to state my case to the student government.
So I prepared a short argument and attended their next meeting. Once the floor was open for new business, I presented my case. My remarks began by addressing the high ideals of diversity that college in general aspires to and slowly moved on to bring this gross hypocrisy to their attention. I think they were moved by the professional eloquence I brought to my case. I say this because even though many cracked a grin when I finally got to nub of the matter, I think still managed to convince them of my rationale even if only on a peripheral level.
While moved, the organizing body remained intractable to my plea... I considered a grass roots protest effort but could not muster enough support from my colleagues to attempt it. It is a shame too, because we could have used a lot of paper in the process.
Thus ended my only attempt at engaging the student body of the McKeepsport campus behind a common goal. I had one other dealing with student government, but that was at the main campus and story for another time... equally pointless I might add.
One of the last semesters I attended McKeesport coincided with the emergence of new recycling efforts. As if overnight, trash cans throughout the campus spontaneously spit out a diminutive blue offspring whose sole purpose was to house used paper. To exacerbate matters, only certain types of used paper were considered valid trash for these coveted new receptacles. While many took this in stride, I was rather put off with the change.
Not that I was lazy. Far from it. I was put off by the fact that we were segregating our garbage. In an environment where diversity is supposedly cherished, we deign to place one sort of refuse over another. And while I was not what you would call a political being, I felt obligated to state my case to the student government.
So I prepared a short argument and attended their next meeting. Once the floor was open for new business, I presented my case. My remarks began by addressing the high ideals of diversity that college in general aspires to and slowly moved on to bring this gross hypocrisy to their attention. I think they were moved by the professional eloquence I brought to my case. I say this because even though many cracked a grin when I finally got to nub of the matter, I think still managed to convince them of my rationale even if only on a peripheral level.
While moved, the organizing body remained intractable to my plea... I considered a grass roots protest effort but could not muster enough support from my colleagues to attempt it. It is a shame too, because we could have used a lot of paper in the process.
Thus ended my only attempt at engaging the student body of the McKeepsport campus behind a common goal. I had one other dealing with student government, but that was at the main campus and story for another time... equally pointless I might add.