Binghamton is in a state of disarray. At the close of my third year, it’s been hard to pinpoint a time since August 2008 when we were in worse shape than we are now.
I guess the basketball scandal wasn’t anything to write home about, but people knew who we were, campus spirit was at its highest and Tiki Mayben was rolling in crack money, living the good life.
Look at where we stand today. We’ve had what was essentially a pointless, 10-month long search for our next president, a proposed SA Constitution that didn’t pass, a Downtown scene that has taken blow after blow and Jesus trucks driving around telling us that the world is ending in three weeks.
So what’s my motivation? With one year left, what can I do personally to better the state of the University I see before me?
Well, it’s a broad-based question with an open-ended answer. But in order to answer it, it’s important to understand the concept of cause and effect.
In all likelihood, you can’t do something that will cause a serious, immediate rift in Binghamton’s tectonic plates. A small fish in a pond of 14,000 just isn’t going to have that impact.
But if you get the idea in your head that you might be able to do something, that could cause someone else to do something, which could eventually make its way up to someone that can actually make a difference — then you’re off to a good start.
Alright, that’s pretty ambiguous. Let me give you an example.
Take me. In my first year here, I couldn’t have done anything more to make less of a difference. I wasn’t involved in any campus groups, I was taking 13 credits that spring and left my room only to go to class, dining halls and basketball games.
And aside from that basketball team, I had no interest in the other goings-on around campus.
It was terribly unfulfilling, and coming off being a super stud in high school — yeah, that’s right — it was an awakening.
Sophomore year rolled around and I decided to get real. I joined an a cappella group, started writing for Pipe Dream and did everything I could to achieve “Baller Status.” But that’s exactly what it was, self-promotion. I did it all for me, to further my own cause. My consideration for this University was still low.
As the months rolled on, I started to gain a real sense of what was going on around here. I initially just wanted to entertain through song and prose, but I saw that there was more to it than that. I started to believe that as an opinion writer and a singer, I could improve things.
I wasn’t quite sure how, but I knew what I was doing had an impact, if only on one person at a time, if only for one hour in a day. Ask yourself, are you doing things that you feel can make some sort of difference?
I know I still have a ways to go before I can jumpstart some real improvements to this place. Hopefully, taking over the editor’s seat for this lovely section next semester will give me a boost. Until then, I want to wish you all luck on your finals. Come back in the fall ready to work. I’m going to try my best.