Being Heard

Mark Twain once said, "Our opinions do not really blossom into fruition until we have expressed them to someone else." These beautifully spoken words have prompted me to persuade this campus to get involved in this publication, the Weather Vane, to make changes where they see necessary and to be heard.

It's undeniable, everyday each and every one of us makes some sort of complaint about homework, the cafeteria, coaches, professors, dorms, finances, the government, or boredom; the list goes on. In fact, some of the more common complaints heard around this campus involve the very opinion pieces and letters printed in the Weather Vane. But how many of us actually do something about the complaints we make; where's the initiative to be heard or to make change?

A perfect opportunity to be heard arises this coming Tuesday. Our second "EMU Town Meeting" will give the opportunity many have been waiting for to speak out. Loren Swartzendruber himself will be answering questions about the campus. I encourage every EMU student to attend and pose questions for our fearless president.

For starters: a complaint about the heaters in the dorms. Rather than continue to pressure resident directors and the phys plant to make a change, let the entire campus know what the problem is; write a Letter to the Editor here at the vane. The pressure that public knowledge of a problem creates is immense; this is where a movement begins. How many times do we hear news or opinion pieces that create change? Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with Deep Throat? Jane Akre and Steve Wilson with BGH in our country's milk supply? Der Spiegel and the Flick Affair?

Contrary to what many think, the Weather Vane is read. The campus readership of the Weather Vane is debatable, but the volume of constituents, parents, alumni, faculty, and family that read this publication is enormous. In the first nine months of this year, our website received more than 55,000 off-campus hits. That's more than the entire population of Harrisonburg; we are being heard!

So send in a letter, raise some questions, turn heads, and let your opinion be heard. If you have a problem with what's going on with this campus, let it be known. If you have a problem with what this publication is printing on a regular basis, let it be known. Better yet, become a columnist and write regularly for the Weather Vane. The bottom line is, we all have opinions; speak up and be heard.

Cheers,

Jake