What’s Wrong with You People?

As I sat down to write my last piece for this semester, I

reflected on the past five months of columns and responses. Now,

I’ll admit it’s my first time as a columnist, and maybe my last

considering how many times my editor actually had to “edit” me (he

calls it editing, I call it censorship, whatever). The truth is I

only took this job because I wanted to increase the number of

e-mails I get that don’t relate to increasing my penis size or

decreasing my debt. With the exception of a few people who don’t

read well and completely missed my point, thus making them write

angry e-mails and some infrequent fans here and there, I saw very

few new messages in my inbox.

You see, I spent the past four years in the Associated Students

of CSU realizing just how truly apathetic you are. Then I thought,

“they can’t be apathetic about everything, maybe they just don’t

care about ASCSU.” So I came to you this semester with a broad

range of topics: school pride, sexual orientation, abortion, gender

identity, sexual assault, etc. I know that you read them, because I

saw you. And I know that you had an opinion that was different than

mine, because I heard you talking to your friends. So, why then,

did you not make your voice heard? Is it because you think that

your opinion is not worth being heard? Or is it because you are

just plain lazy and don’t care?

If it’s because you think your opinion is not worth hearing, get

some self-esteem counseling. But if it’s because you are just lazy

and apathetic, which I assume is probably more the case, I would

highly suggest you rethink some things.

Right now, there is a student organization controlling millions

of dollars in student fees, creating programs to ship you home

drunk from the bars and training the leaders who will take their

place someday. Is that enough to make you care?

How about the fact that some members of this student

organization are not only paid, but they also receive “A” parking

permits and this year have been flown to California and Texas (with

your student fees) to do “research.” Caring yet? How about the fact

that there is an underpaid and under-appreciated activity

programming board that works very hard to bring you concerts,

late-night events, sneak-preview movies, traditions and more, and

you still don’t care? Last year only 17 percent of you cared enough

to vote in the ASCSU election – what’s wrong with you people?

On a more national scale, there are a whole bunch of old

Caucasian men and a few minorities here and there who are

controlling your entire government. They regulate where, when and

how you get to go to school. They regulate when you must give birth

to a baby and when it’s still early enough that you can have an

abortion. They keep track of every gun you own and where and when

you do and do not get to use it. They are allowed to invade your

privacy to find out if you are a terrorist, and they decide who is

eligible for welfare programs and financial aide. They decide whom

you are allowed to marry and whom you are not allowed to. And for

the most part, they decide when we go to war, with whom and why.

But I guess you don’t care about any of that because the nationwide

voter turnout for young adults age 18-24 is the lowest number among

participating voters. On average, 54.6 percent of college students

registered to vote and 24.7 percent, reported that they actually

voted. Again, I ask, what’s wrong with you people?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I commend the 17 percent who voted in

the ASCSU election and the 24.7 percent who voted in the national

election. But where are the rest of you? I don’t care if you don’t

want to e-mail the editor or me with a response to my columns. But

when you are not using your voice to effect change in a university,

county, state and country where I live, and where your voice

affects me, that’s when I start to care.

Melissa is a senior majoring in English. She ran for ASCSU vice

president last year and lost. Her column runs every Tuesday.