A little less pessimism and a lot more optimism please
By: Taylor Forsberg
Issue date: 10/21/09 Section: Opinion
Students this semester seem to be seeing their bank accounts as half empty (or maybe even empty) as opposed to half full. I know I am.
With budget cuts, class cuts, and a hike in tuition costs it is hard to find positive attitudes around campus. Fliers and posters decorate the campus with words like "unfair" and urge students to dress in black to represent school mourning.
I'm not saying that students shouldn't be upset or even outraged at the politics behind their education, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't speak out about where our money is going. Everyone has a voice and I encourage people to let it be heard. But what I am trying to say is that for every negative sign I saw posted on campus I could probably make 100 signs of something positive.
Sometimes the things we speak out about don't have to be downbeat and depressing. How about the fact that we go to such a great school?
I've been a student at Stanislaus for two years now and I never knew that we rank so highly amongst other universities. In fact Stanislaus ranks 16th among public universities and 45th overall in the U.S. News & World report's national rankings "Best Universities-Master's West" Category. That survey was gathered from more than 1,400 colleges and universities in the U.S. I couldn't find that hanging from a banner in the quad or written in chalk outside my class buildings.
I heard that from one of my more excited professors, and like a lot of the students in my class, I'm sure some of you reading this don't think that's too impressive. So I'll give those students something positive to think about. How about just the fact that you are able to read this, something as simple as reading, and people take it for granted every day. There should be posters and signs everywhere saying, "If you can read this be happy, life doesn't suck too bad for you."
So I challenge anyone reading this to just put a post-it note in your car, on your binder, or anywhere your likely to look at the end of the day, and remind yourself of all the positives in life-so that when you set foot off this campus at the end of the day you can smile.
It's hard to find reasons to smile among all the negativity but I promise there are positives anywhere if you look for them. Just look.
With budget cuts, class cuts, and a hike in tuition costs it is hard to find positive attitudes around campus. Fliers and posters decorate the campus with words like "unfair" and urge students to dress in black to represent school mourning.
I'm not saying that students shouldn't be upset or even outraged at the politics behind their education, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't speak out about where our money is going. Everyone has a voice and I encourage people to let it be heard. But what I am trying to say is that for every negative sign I saw posted on campus I could probably make 100 signs of something positive.
Sometimes the things we speak out about don't have to be downbeat and depressing. How about the fact that we go to such a great school?
I've been a student at Stanislaus for two years now and I never knew that we rank so highly amongst other universities. In fact Stanislaus ranks 16th among public universities and 45th overall in the U.S. News & World report's national rankings "Best Universities-Master's West" Category. That survey was gathered from more than 1,400 colleges and universities in the U.S. I couldn't find that hanging from a banner in the quad or written in chalk outside my class buildings.
I heard that from one of my more excited professors, and like a lot of the students in my class, I'm sure some of you reading this don't think that's too impressive. So I'll give those students something positive to think about. How about just the fact that you are able to read this, something as simple as reading, and people take it for granted every day. There should be posters and signs everywhere saying, "If you can read this be happy, life doesn't suck too bad for you."
So I challenge anyone reading this to just put a post-it note in your car, on your binder, or anywhere your likely to look at the end of the day, and remind yourself of all the positives in life-so that when you set foot off this campus at the end of the day you can smile.
It's hard to find reasons to smile among all the negativity but I promise there are positives anywhere if you look for them. Just look.
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