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1999 |
A redheaded stranger quotes Chuck D
O P I N I O N
Matt Romano Is Managing Editor of The Auburn Plainsman
Like many other white, suburban adolescents, I went through a phase where I rebelled from my Willie Nelson upbringing and started listening to rap. Naturally, I chose Public Enemy as my favorite. Nothing drives a 12-year-old white kid's dad crazy like the pounding rhythms of militant black men coming from the upstairs bedroom. It was my pre-pubescent way of standing up to authority. As Professor Griff and the S1Ws would say, if they could talk, it was how I would "fight the power." We have a situation at Auburn that faintly resembles the situations every adolescent went through in the days of budding peach fuzz. How does one stand up to authority? The powers that be at Auburn have grossly misrepresented what the bulk of Auburn is about. So why not do something about it? Why not stand up to the "authority?" The only answer I ever hear from those who care enough to talk about the situation is "we can't do anything about it." Why not? Surely it means enough to us. Back in our parents' college days, it was a common occurrence for students to come together and speak out for what they believed to be right. Well, the protesters of that generation are in charge now, and I for one don't particularly like the way they are managing my school. While in no way is this an endorsement for free love, flower power or rampant drug use (they all happen anyway), it is an endorsement for some "call to arms." What ever happened to college-aged people's passion and zeal for the way of life they so desperately want to live? I'll tell you what happened. We got complacent. Think about it. Look at the classes you've taken at Auburn. How many of those consisted of no more than pure memorization and regurgitation? It's not the professors fault; the mere magnitude of class size dictates that it be that way. It's hard to have a discussion about the Spanish Inquisition with 300 hungover 20-year-olds. In our testing, we are rewarded for not questioning the professor. Yes, there are some exceptions, but a majority of classes most of us take are sit down, take notes and regurgitate it all on the test. Don't ask, just do it. I'm just as guilty as anyone. This is the attitude we have in class and this has become the attitude we have in life. We are told time and time again that nothing can be done. After a while, we start to believe it. Don't like what the administration is doing? Sit back and let it ride. Don't like that one man essentially controls the school? Sit back and let it ride. Don't like that our school is known for buyouts by the athletic department? Sit back and let it ride. Don't like the fact that programs are being cut, quality professors are leaving and talks abound about the University potentially losing its accreditation? Sit back and let it ride. Don't like that your future may be scarred because a certain few "leaders" ran your school, where you dedicated four years of your life, into the Alabama ground? Sit back and let it ride? I don't think so. Something can be done. Someone can make a difference. Whether it be a letter to the editor, a column in a paper, a camp-out on a president's lawn or a thousand or so students marching up to Gov. Don Siegelman's door and telling him what they think, something can be done. Something must be done. I know the students and alumni of Auburn care enough to take a stand. Auburn is a special place. It will always be dear to my heart because of the good times I've had, the lessons I've learned and most importantly, the people I've met. It has had a major part in shaping who I am and who I will be. In my four years here I have seen myself return to the solid roots my family instilled in me as a young child growing up on the outskirts of Atlanta. I have returned to listening to Willie Nelson, much to the pleasure of my father. In my mind, "The Redheaded Stranger" has regained its place ahead of "Fear of a Black Planet." All that said and done, don't let it sway you when I, a redheaded stranger in my own right, quote Chuck D in saying, "Don't believe the hype." Something can be done before it's too late.
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