It seems as if MSU students are all talk, no walk - some stumble. Well, at least almost no voice. That's right, most of you are part of the silent majority.
In an effort to offer students an opportunity to voice their concerns over the new noise policy that can lead to jail time, ASMSU hosted a forum Thursday night in Wonders Hall Kiva. But while ASMSU officers, police officials and two city council members attended to hear about campus concerns, only a handful of students showed up to the forum.
And most of those students were from MSU's undergraduate government.
If students aren't willing to take the open invitation to fight the new East Lansing noise ordinance, then they should be willing to abide by it.
That's right - pass the bail bucket.
We've religiously criticized the decision to jail those who wish to partake in a little extra Spartan merriment.
But it's hard to continue such an argument when only a few take action. Students had an excellent opportunity Thursday to display activism, but by not showing up to the forum, they only confirmed their own apathy.
The five-week-old ordinance, which mandates jail time and fines up to $1,000 for severe party noise, has garnered plenty of complaint on campus.
Many students were angered the policy was passed in August when most of the student population was not present to have a voice on the issue.
A group of students even organized a petition campaign to force a referendum on the issue, which would give East Lansing voters the final say on the ordinance's fate.
City council members, police officials, campus leaders and ASMSU members finally made discussion possible between themselves and students. They took time out of their days to attend the forum, which was known of a week in advance.
It's unfortunate that students missed such a great chance to have an impact on our community. An open forum for peaceful discussion is a better way to make waves than by burning couches and tipping cars.
Maybe students are tired of fighting the noise policy. Maybe they just don't care because East Lansing is only a temporary community for them.
Maybe they had other plans Thursday night.
But despite having the floor, soapbox and bullhorn, they didn't step up to the mic.
Students will now have to live with the consequences of their own apathy. The forum was probably one of few chances for students to have a say in a policy that directly affects them.
It wouldn't have taken much for students to make a case.
All they had to do was show up Thursday night and voice their opinion.
But since only 60 people were willing to do that, the entire student population will now have to deal with potential jail time and sky-high fines for noise violations.
So, the next time you talk the talk, do it quietly.
