In the black and white world of newspaper journalism, it is the columnist’s role to be the critical voice of the paper. Here on the Forum Page, column-inches are intended to challenge the status quo, and provoke discussion about the school, the city and the nation.
This quarter I’ve found plenty of fodder about national news, between the misdeeds of government officials to misinformation about our generation. The Daily’s editorial board had a field day criticizing the City of Evanston’s prohibitionist tendencies and discrediting the claims of disgruntled aldermanic candidates. But in terms of campus issues, my complaints about Northwestern have been pretty minimal, and the most fervent grumblings I did hear were downright petty.
We had to wait in line at Norris University Center for Kanye West tickets. The school is run like a corporation with too much concern about the bottom line. And, speaking of institutional greed, vending machine prices went up a dime.
From my perspective, it was worth the wait to see the biggest name in music here at NU. The school’s massive endowment has brought students a wealth of resources, offering significant return on our tuition investment. And I have yet to understand the selective penny pinching of students – there must not be much pocket room in those Citizens jeans.
While any bureaucratic institution has its setbacks, I’ve been pretty happy with NU. Granted, by speaking out, students do show a healthy interest in campus life – something that doesn’t happen at many other schools. But I also can’t help thinking that some of the debates sound more like whining matches, and people fail to recognize how good we have it.
The value of my college experience became most tangible for me at the end of the summer, when I was offered a job after an internship. The position would have started immediately, and while I could have enjoyed an unexpected year of salary, I would have had to balance work with my final quarter of classes, and essentially sacrifice my senior year.
Thinking about the value of my college experience in monetary terms offered an interesting perspective to what I already knew – some things are not worth a monetary tradeoff. Admittedly, a $35,000 entry-level salary is barely equivalent to the cost of a year’s worth of classes. The friendships, learning experiences and personal freedom that come with college life increase this value exponentially.
Before this column starts sounding like a Master Card commercial, I’ll get to the point. It’s okay to have qualms with the school’s organization, administration or classes. But it is a waste of time and energy to dwell on the minor issues. Because even with its flaws, you probably value your Northwestern experience more than you think.
