This past Wednesday my old conservative counterpart from last year, James David Dickson - former editor-in-chief of the Michigan Review - had a column in the Michigan Daily. Title: “A Case for Apathy.” Let my own post title here speak for my opinion on his thoughts.

He argued that apathy is not necessarily a vice and is to be expected of students. He says we shouldn’t expect our peers to be activists and shouldn’t hold up the politically aware college kid as the golden ideal. Fine. But we should hold up the apathetic student as the norm? Not at all.

Colleges are a four year long reprise from the grip of apathy which lingers just beyond graduation as students melt into suits and cubicles. College is the place to experiment with new ideas and idealogies. Apathy is inexcusable.

I’m not asking for a 40,000 student march or anything of the sort. All I ask is some attempt at student engagement even if it’s only around the Xbox talking with roommates. We don’t all need to be in the Diag. Only enough of us to get everyone else to consider joining in.

~Ryan Werder