Acorn

Issue date: 11/8/06 Section: Opinions

Last week, I witnessed something great. I stood with 75 Rutgers University students protesting Governor John Corzine's budget cuts that have increased the cost of a higher public education in our state.

Some of the students standing with me couldn't graduate this year because Rutgers had to cut back on the classes offered and the students could not complete their graduation requirements.

Some of the students spend over an hour en route to class because Rutgers had to reduce the number of buses that transport students to their classes on other campuses.

Some of the students are thousands and thousands of dollars in debt because on top of all the budget cuts, tuition to the public university was increased by 8 percent.

After listening to a round of speeches about the harms of the budget cuts on students, the small mob marched through campus, straight to the office of Rutgers University President Richard McCormick.

Eventually, McCormick and some others came out to address the ruckus that had formed in his waiting room. Some of the students seemed surprised that he had come out himself.

Some of the organizers of the rally hadn't expected anything more than a spokesman, and they jumped on this opportunity to speak to the man himself, and didn�t to leave until they scheduled an appointment to sit down and address their specific issues at length.

I sat in the waiting room, watching all of this happen and suddenly, an idea struck me. I turned to the closest RU student and innocently asked, 'You mean your president doesn�t have an open hour?'

The more I talked to the students, and the more I listened to their complaints, the more I realized how happy I am that I go to Drew.

We spend a lot of our time here complaining. There's nothing to do. It�s too small. The Commons food sucks.

However, when it comes right down to it, we are all damn lucky to be here and it's time we started acting like it.

I wake up every morning and go to a class where my professor knows my name, and not just to take attendance. I know most of the students in the room with me. As for the students I don't know, I'm sure to find out that we've got at least two friends in common, and that I will be running into them on campus soon.

For some, this close community seems stifling, and it's true--there is very little anonymity here. But for those that don't demand the comfort of a 20'stranger buffer zone everywhere they go, the small population can be downright cozy.

When students go out to the occasional party, they usually either know the host or will know at least one other person there, which makes for a much safer party environment. Hell, it might actually be fun to go out and party with people you know.

The only real downside to a small student population is that it is much more noticeable when students don't participate in something.

This can lead to added pressure placed on students to join clubs and fill leadership roles that they wouldn't necessarily be available at a larger university.

So Drew forces students to be more active, and take on more leadership responsibilities. How awful!

The size can also lead to more collaboration between clubs and organizations.

Competing for the same audience can be tough, but if students co-program, they can attract an even larger audience, and enrich each other's presentations at the same time, adding dimension and variety to the issues that are being addressed.

Another benefit to having such a concentrated student body is that individual feedback ends up meaning a lot more.

Drew students have faces to the administration. We are not simply statistics and percentages, but people with voices and concerns that need to be addressed.

As a result, the administration clearly makes a point of making itself available to the student body. President Weisbuch has his weekly open hour. We have access to their phone numbers and their offices, and we don't have to take a bus to get there either.

Even more than voicing our complaints to the administration, Drew students have an ability to initiate change with an ease that state school students can only dream of.

The Presidential Initiative Fund was hundreds of thousands of dollars allocated to do precisely that.

Clubs can organize events and instead of having to completely wallpaper sides of buildings to make sure students pay attention, they can strategically place a few flyers in the highly trafficked areas and still reach the majority of the student body.

I know I'm not the first person to say this, and I probably won't be the last, but part of the reason students here complain so much about not having anything to do is because it is easier to complain than actually get up and do something.

I'm not saying everything here is perfect. The quality of performers can always be improved, and does anyone know a sports team or club that would say no to more funding? Clearly, there is always room for improvement.

My point is simply that not only is Drew not as bad as people often make it out to be�it�s actually a pretty amazing institution.

It is a university where the thing that stops students from making an impact isn�t lack of support from the administration. It isn�t a lack of clubs or organizations.

At Drew, the only problem students encounter when trying to make a difference is the students themselves, and that�s no problem at all.

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