The other day I asked one of my
professors why my grades were not
what I wanted them to be. My
objective was to exhibit the true
concern all good students are
supposed to possess in expectation of
the old “Let’s talk about how you
study” rhetoric.
My expectations were shattered.
“Rizzo, no one has ever forced you
to make the effort to achieve the
quality of work you are capable of, ”
he said.
I thought to myself, “Who are you,
the Omniscient?” and proceeded to
conjure up numerous barnyard
descriptions for this man.
To prevent myself from saying
something I might regret, I politely
excused myself, conceding that
greater effort on my part was in order.
Stepping out his door, I tightened
the cinch on my backpack and started
to recite my favorite repertoire of foul
verbiage, when suddenly I was struck
with the impact of what this man had
said.
He was not interpreting my study
habits, he was diagnosing a disease.
Not an isolated incident, but an
epidemic. The disease: ambivalence
of the mind complicated by apathy of
the soul. The afflicted: Everyone.
Some terminal, some suffering from
milder infections.
However, I do not exclude myself
from the ailing masses. No, no, senor.
I am self-admittedly as afflicted as
the most terminal case because 1 have
been exposed for at least the last four
years I’ve been in school. Prior to
these years, I was listed among the
more mildly infected. But I am not
alone.
Safely speaking, 18,000 people,
roughly 50 percent of the people
enrolled at my university, pay upward
of $6,000 every nine months to live in
a city they care nothing about.
During these nine months (and
sometimes twelve) they do as much as
possible to accomplish as little as
possible while convincing their peers
they are doing as much as possible to
accomplish as much as possible.
These people are referred to as
college undergraduates.
Pondering the origins of this
ailment, I decided it was possible,
even likely, that it was manifested by
an educational environment.
Eavesdropping on some
conversations around campus
produced sufficient proof of this
theory. - -
However, the origin became
augmented following further scrutiny.
I realized this affliction is not
confined to the student body of this
university, or universities across the
nation, but it extends to the entire
population of the United States.
The culprit contagion is leisure time
— that sacrosanct activity that people
since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution have striven so hard for.
However, complications result
when leisure time is optimized at the
expense of academics or some other
form of productivity. I decided this is
the root of the ambivalence in today’s
United States society. People proving
their success by doing less and less.
But who should bear the blame for
this misconception of priorities?
Much of the world’s economy is
dependent on people striving for more
leisure time. From vacations in Europe
to home-delivered rental videotape
players, and from fast-food to instant
coffee, advertisers tell people that
doing as little as possible is the essence
of “the good life,” between doses of
rose-colored sitcoms.
As a result, the students groping
around campus and excelling at
leisure activities are convinced that
when they get out of school they will
be offered a $50,000-a-year salary
just for waving a sheepskin around.
Right, and there really is a Santa
Claus.
What I think the ailing masses need
is two heaping spoonfuls of self
initiative followed by an injection of
self-confidence, or, as my Dad used to
say, “a swift kick in the lazy butt. ”
I’m not implying immunities to this
ambivalence don’t exist — if such
were the case there would never be a
Nobel Prizer winner, diseases would
go uncured, and many people would
never get out of bed.
At any rate, if you suspect you are a
carrier, or just want to avoid becoming
one, take action. The next time
someone suggests a pitcher of beer in
lieu of that boring lecture, reach for
that bottle of self-initiatve, get two big
mouthfuls, and say, “After class. That
beer’s not going anywhere. ”
Robert Rizzo is a senior
journalism major.
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