Thursday, October 26, 2006
Dear UWM Students:
Dear University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Students,
In the last week, you have heard that your former student body president received a check for $10,000 from your housing council. There is outrage amongst yourself in Facebook groups, on Fark.com and seemingly everywhere else. You don't understand how it happened and whether anyone is going to do anything about it.
You got exactly what you deserved.
You can whine, you can complain, you can try and oust your leaders and you can do anything that will make you sleep at night, but there is nothing that you can do that will fix your problems--because you didn't care when you elected your leaders last April, and you only care about it when someone does some shady business.
In about a month, when all of this will disappear from the newspapers and radio shows, or the next grand debate about Jessica Simpson's boob job, you will seemingly forget that this event ever took place. You will continue to lead your shallow lives and not care about what every aspect of university governance is doing--or not doing.
Tuition will skyrocket next year. Classes will be slashed out of your timetables. Jim Doyle will give one last no-bid, or bid-rigged project, to UWM or another UW campus on his way out of the Capitol in December for his campaign donors. Meanwhile students and tax-payers alike will get royally screwed.
You will get what you deserve, because you don't care about the process that sets tuition. You don't care about the people you elect as your student leaders. You don't care about what they do and how they spend your money.
All you care about is who McDreamy is seeing in Grey's Anatomy or whether Rob Jeter will be named Horizon League coach of the year. Whether Kevin Federline's rap album is a historic accomplishment, or complete failure. At some point in time, you will debate whether to go to Florida or Mexico for spring break. (You will pick Mexico because the drinking age is 18.)
Your senseless view of reality is jaded by pop culture, and meanwhile there are people that are taking advantage of the situation. You cry after the fact, but you won't hold yourselves accountable to your inaction.
You got what you deserved, whether you like it or not. You can cry, you can moan, you can organize protests, but you failed yourself.
Sincerely from the great, and scandal-free, UW-Green Bay,
Jon Hayden
Labels: Election 2006, UW System
