OK, so maybe I’m writing this instead of actually doing work during the last week of classes, but after a semester of reading articles like this, I feel it needs to be said.
I am highly disappointed in the work of former Copy Editor and Undergraduate Council President Ryan Hawthorne ’08. After reading his past two articles, I have received a very bitter vibe from his writings and ask that he take them somewhere else. Complaining is one thing, but think about this: the majority of people who read The Poly only grab it for the Sudoku, comics, crossword, and incident blotter. I’ve heard stories of writers doing investigative reporting back in the day, and ask that if Hawthorne is going to complain about things like committing to too many things in one semester (which is his own fault and shouldn’t require others who may not know him or care about him to hear his bitching—just suck it up and be a man!), he should look into doing a study of campus and to see if the typical student feels overworked during the school year.
His most recent article, describing a disheartening involvement with Public Safety, failed to even mention the idea of bringing the matter to Director of Public Safety Jerry Matthews, or even the student representative in the Senate’s Finance, Facilities, and Advancement Committee to Public Safety. As a student leader, one should not “hope” that an issue will be addressed; a leader should tackle the issue at point-blank range, actually solving the issue instead of idly complaining about it. I’m aware, this puts me in an ironic state of being hypocritical, but seeing as though this is how “leaders” like Hawthorne work, perhaps it may actually catch their attention. Besides, as I mentioned before, it’s very unlikely that this will be actively read unless the reader is in a very mundane class.
In this respect, I would have to presume that Hawthorne is applying the same principle to the Undergraduate Council, the body for which he is a “student leader”. The UC as a body is dying due to a real lack of purpose and definition following the revival of the Student Senate. That should be the issue to focus on, not the planting of trees. But I digress. The point of the matter is that complaining will only get you so far. It is the physical action, like that of Poly members staying until 6 am when they have class projects and tests to take care of the next day, that defines the dedication and upholding of the position of being a “student leader.” I would like to end with a phrase used by former Grand Marshal Carlos Perea ’07 on his agendas: JFDI. Just Focus and Do It (Although some could find another euphemism for ‘Focus’), and although it may not have been too apparent in his term, a couple of Senate members did ‘focus and do it’, so at least something is done.
We as students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are called to change the world, but we’re not going to change it sitting in our dorms in front of our laptops. Go out there and change it, no matter how much it takes. If you’re going to change it, realize it’s your world; use it!
Michael Battista ’08
CSYS
