I say pass the budget cut.

On Monday, Penn State students were asked to walk out of their classes and attend a rally on the steps of Old Main in order to protest Tom Corbett’s proposal of a 50% education funding cut. According facebook over 800 students were supposed to be in attendance. There were only about 300 students and faculty on the steps of Old Main during this protest.

Eight hundred students is only one out of every 50 Penn State students. Only 2 percent of our student body cares enough about this budget cut to do the simple, non-committal action of clicking ‘attending’ on facebook. That’s sad. What’s even worse is that less than 300 students even showed up to the event.

So why is everyone in an up rage about the educational budget cut? It seems to me that if less than 300 out of over 40,000 care, this proposed budget cut isn’t really that big of a deal. If I was a legislator and heard about this walk out, where less than one percent of the student population showed up, I wouldn’t be too concerned that I was making the wrong choice.

That wasn’t the point of this protest. Students were trying to show the government that we care about our funding and that we need it, but this protest probably did the opposite. It showed that we don’t really care.

WE ARE… all talk.

Today in our small class, we had a decent amount of students raise their hands when asked if their Penn State experience could end if this proposed budget cut is passed. I love Penn State and I’m already struggling with the idea that freshman year is over and I’ll have to go home for the summer, but I get to come back next year. I don’t want tuition to go up, but whether it does or doesn’t, I’ll be back. I’ve heard many conversations about how students won’t be able to come back to Penn State if this is passed, but are there really only 300 of them? That’s what legislators saw on Monday.

If students want to do something about stopping the rise in tuition, then we have to do something about it. It’s called active citizenship, and we’ve all learned about it, yet it seems we’re still waiting to actually do it. Why?

They say college kids get stuck in their own bubble, which we do. This legislature affects our bubble, and we still aren’t acting.

Why weren’t you at the rally?

Wasting My Time on the Internet

I’m not going to lie. I started this assignment by visiting dictionary.com and staring a definition I already knew: Rhetoric – the ability to use language effectively. My blank stare then turned to the class page, just to, once again, read the requirements and tips. Still without an idea, I did the next best thing I could think of. Use the internet to procrastinate. Somehow I managed to find the >next blog< button on blogger. I browsed through enough blogs and mindlessly skimming a few entries until I came to a conclusion. People who like to craft, like to blog. I understand why. After finally finishing a laborious and beautiful and handy craft, it must be shared with the world, hence all the blogging. The problem is… THEY’RE ALL THE SAME! Give or take a button here, a scarf there, maybe even a pattern variation or two.
      


What’s the point? Obviously I see the point, I myself will soon have my own passion blog which will, to others, seem to be about absolutely nothing, but I mean the real, deep and meaningful point. This wasted web space isn’t being used to touch souls or dramatically change the course of the world. It’s being used for enjoyment, not that having a place to relax or be entertained on the web is a bad thing, but how much of it do we need? Anyone can pick a random topic and then ramble on and on about it. But it’s the important issues that are missing from my random blogger search. Where are the blogs that are trying to get me to stop polluting? What about the political issues that rile up my own beliefs and make me feel like I should call a congressman? Or anyone? Where are the blogs that make people think?
      


The textbook was right to mention that recent technological advancements haven’t made people more active citizens. The book mentions that people use the internet to see what they want when regarding an issue. Meaning people choose websites that agree with the opinions they already have. Why visit a website that challenges my opinion? That makes me think? But not only is the internet allowing people to avoid contviction, it allows people to completely avoid news, issues, and conflicts. Not only are citizens not active by not speaking out, but it’s possible to completely avoid everything. Google is my homepage, I check my PSU email and ANGEL, get on facebook, and maybe youtube. That’s normally all I will visit during a day on the internet. No news, no politics, nothing that challenges me to think, or changes my life. I’m not an active citizen. I’m closer to 19 than 18, and I’m not even registered to vote. I know I’m not the only teen in this position either. Technology makes it easier for news to be spread around and for some people make their lives as an active citizen easier. For others, technology gives a complete escape. It’s my job as a part the next generation to stop being oblivious and to speak up. Everyone has been taught in class how to use and interpret rhetoric, so why not use it to be an active citizen? Answer: There isn’t a reason not to.