EDITORIAL: Get Off the Couch

“We may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all-the apathy of human beings.” – Helen Keller
Enter the land of plenty in the land of plenty in the land of plenty: The University of Miami, in Miami, Florida, in the US of A. By modern standards, this place is more conducive to satisfying a young person’s needs than just about anywhere. Theoretically, we should be able to achieve self-actualization a lot easier than the average Joe – we’re in a well enough financial position to be able to enroll in a private university, which gives us a bonanza of other outlets for our intellectual, social, and physical needs. We’ve got support services out the wazoo, the facilities to compliment them, and the people to back them up.
But with comfort comes responsibility. The physical and even psychological supports that our lifestyles allow are not only privileges, but also obligations. Put quite simply: get off the couch.
Get out of the mall and into the UC. Get off of the beach and onto the Yearbook. Get away from your television and get onto an intramural team. Go Greek. Go pre-law. Volunteer. Work. Best of all, join our staff.
“Slums may well be breeding-grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium.” – Cyril Connolly
Diverse though UM might be, a great many come from middle-class backgrounds, or higher socioeconomic status. It is the nature of a private university. And a great many students take advantage of the resources and opportunities that surround them here – certainly, not everyone is apathetic.
But too many are. The Hurricane is an excellent example. UM’s School of Communication enrolls 1000 students; there are sixty students on the staff of the school newspaper. How do these communication students expect to get a job in the real world? Writing experience is about as essential as a degree to get a job after college. It is certainly an asset for graduate or professional schools. Yet our staff reflects a mere six percent of the actual students who say they are interested in journalism. At the most recent editor-in-chief elections, which theoretically should be a highly contested race for a highly sought-after position, only two candidates even took initiative to run.
More than just journalism students should be writing, though. Do you have a love affair with our sports teams? Find events in the news interesting? Are completely obsessed with a particular kind of music or theater? Let the world know. Best yet, write about your gripes. Opinions mean nothing if nothing is done with them.
We’re not advocating anything near social isolation or communal conformity. But integrating your personal interests with extracurricular or scholarly objectives makes great things happen. If you don’t join the Hurricane, make sure you’re doing something. Give the school everything you’ve got. We promise the return will be greater.