It's the end of the semester. It is almost over. Just a week left of finals or a few projects to wrap up.
Many of us will be running out of here. We've got big things going on — summer trips, internships or even jobs for a few of the graduates.
A week from today, I will walk across a stage to receive my fake diploma, if everything goes according to plan.
MSU has been a life-changing institution in my life. When I came here, I was a silly freshman, the way most of us are. It took me a while to find my way — adding or dropping a major here and there, and picking up a specialization along the way.
So what makes MSU special? I mean, is there any reason to encourage new students to attend?
MSU is a big place. And I mean big. It has more than 35,000 undergraduates. But somehow, you always seem to run into friends you met in the dorms from freshman year every few months or so. It's the kind of place you can lose yourself in if you want, but if you want company, it doesn't take long to find some.
Who will ever forget walking from Wonders Hall to Akers Hall for a class at 8 a.m. in 6 inches of snow? Or trying to get from the Communication Arts and Sciences Building to Berkey Hall in 10 minutes for another class? There are few other places on Earth you will have to brave the kind of winds that rush across Munn field or the stifling heat in your dorm room.
More than anything we've ever learned in a textbook are the memories and feelings we will leave this place with. I can honestly say those feelings are mixed for me. I got to celebrate every Spartans basketball win, but felt completely let down when I learned former MSU President M. Peter McPherson was going to help the Bush administration with the war in Iraq.
I got to meet the most random and diverse people in the dorms and become good friends with them. I also failed a class for the first time in my life and had to learn how to deal with not having a perfect report card.
And then I joined The State News, and my involvement with this university went up. Now, I was part of an organization whose major goal was to inform the student body. It has been amazing.
From reporting on the economic affairs of Old Town Lansing to uncovering the arts scene here at MSU, I've learned a lot. I saw a riot and experienced what tear gas feels like firsthand.
In my time at The State News, I've reported on a lot and seen even more. This semester, as the opinion editor, I've had to form opinions on so many issues in East Lansing.
And like I said, I learned more than you'd imagine.
I never realized how much power ASMSU has. You might think the undergraduate student government is a joke — and this semester, it has been. The way Student Assembly removed Great Issues, lost minutes to the meeting and then reinstated it, claiming nothing ever happened, was an eye-opener. ASMSU controls $1.3 million of your own money, from your own pockets (or maybe your parents'), and if you don't start caring, you're letting that money go to waste.
Most recently, there was an epic Young Americans for Freedom-sponsored event, with five Chicano/Latino protesters arrested. Our school has joined the number of others who have had similar reactions to Chris Simcox president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, but what is it all for? Yes, of course, it is a great ideal to protest a man who stands for racism, but you lost a lot of your own integrity in the process.
Unfortunately, I won't be around to find out if those issues ever are resolved. Obviously, there is a lot of tension on this campus. What we all need to do is sit down and discuss these things like the grown-ups we will soon become.
If we can't even debate political issues in a civil way now, what does that say for years down the road when we are in charge of this country?
Like it or not, we are responsible for the country's future. Think living in Michigan doesn't matter? It does. We are a key state in the country. And many of us will be leaving to find greener pastures in another state.
So basically, we need to grow up now. We need to take control of this campus. We need to get along, even if it is just to tell each other what is wrong. Then maybe we can fix it.
MSU is one of the best places on Earth, but it can easily be the worst. I'm graduating with many of my own goals unfinished. So, now I pass the torch to you.
Jacqueline WayneGuite is the State News opinion editor. Reach her at waynegui@msu.edu.
