The frustration of limited parking availability, the disappointment of Campus Center cuisine on the weekends, a lack of entertainment to fill a typical Saturday night — aside from these miniscule complaints surrounding college life, Otterbein students tend to submit to a trend of authoritative acceptance.
Despite the fact that Otterbein is collegiately classified as a small, private liberal arts establishment, the students within this college campus are surprisingly unmotivated to participate in any kind of political protest or to fight for their rights.
Throughout its history, Otterbein has produced its fair share of students eager to participate in controversial demonstrations.
On Jan. 20, 1969, Ohio State University’s student newspaper, The Lantern, published an article documenting the protest of students from various colleges throughout Ohio.
Four hundred and fifty students from Otterbein, Oberlin, Kent State, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati protested alongside the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam.
Anymore, it almost appears as if this motivational mentality has diminished over the years.
I am in no way insinuating that Otterbein’s student population should immediately purchase plane tickets directed out east to stage political protests on the streets of Washington, D.C.
However, what I am inquiring is when was the last time you, as a college student, stood up for something? When was the last time you acknowledged your entitlement to certain rights or recognized that some of your rights were being infringed upon?
Or maybe you are saying to yourself, “I would stand up for something, but nothing political affects me right now.” Chances are there is, and it’s called subsidized loans.
Consider the following information from businessinsider.com:
- Two-thirds of the student population will graduate with substantial loans (approximately 1,778 individuals of Otterbein’s student population).
- Today, college is 400 percent more expensive than it was 30 years ago.
- Student loans have nationally exceeded credit card debt, placing a $1 trillion burden on college graduates.
- Total loan student debt is increasing in the United States at a rate of $2,853.88 per second.
If this is not a situation pertaining to you, consider yourself fortunate, but for two-thirds of Otterbein’s population, this is our harsh reality.
So why do we simply accept the thousands of dollars of debt we are dealt as college students?
How do we convince ourselves that a 400 percent inflation in college tuition over the past three decades is OK?
To decrease the urgency of this situation, most college students simply ignore it, leaving the debt as something to “deal with later.” On a global standpoint, the United States contains the second largest quantity of colleges and universities in the world. So, with such a vast amount of students, why not advocate for a change?
Circulate a petition, support a financial cause or do something to stand up for our fellow students, our generation and our future.
