A new semester is well underway for me here in Williamsburg. If you ever visit, you will get a great feeling of respect across campus for the historic town in which we are blessed to learn. The mere fact that freshmen and seniors alike covet classes in the Wren Chapel proves how we value this great tradition.
But, sadly, in this same holy place where Thomas Jefferson so famously studied, my peers feed media encouraged sex addictions, fuel their bodies with alcohol (irresponsibly) and sell their minds out to TV show after TV show. The overwhelming attitude held at W&M is that intelligence is revered when paired with a certain acceptance of moral relativity and immoral carelessness.
And therefore, I am glad that the closing of last semester is far in the past and the ending of this semester is a good look into the future. I will emotionally prepare myself this time around.
The last day of the semester, “blowout,” is an excuse to do many obnoxious things, the first of which is coming to class drunk. Imagine a 300-person room at maximum capacity in which the majority of people are drunk. This is what my microecon class looked like at 10 a.m. that Friday.
I sat down to listen to the last 50-minute lecture before our final, but I was incapable of focusing on the professor because of a boy two rows in front of me: a drunk 18-year-old college freshman staring at internet porn videos. Looking. Smiling. Pointing. Laughing.
Haha. LOL. Isn’t that funny?
Yeah, so funny I was tearing up. I have never felt such an urge to act out violently against another human than in that classroom. Ever. But, I didn’t do anything. And neither did anyone else. The entire class chose to ignore and laugh. Because, after all, this is the way college is.
I am far from believing that life should be taken seriously all day everyday, but I do believe there are serious choices we make in our lives. There are choices that can bring us to a better state of enlightenment and self-control. And, there are choices that, well, cause us to be stumbling drunk, looking at pornography in a public classroom in front of 300 peers.
I refuse to believe that we will be able to continue to ignore, laugh and turn our heads from such obvious violations of human morals. We will reach a tipping point.
Posts
I agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm even sickened when I see people on Facebook during class ... not as bad, but it's like, why not just stay in your dorm room if you're not going to respect yourself enough to absorb the information that's being handed to you?
But seriously, that is sick ... that tradition itself is sick! I tell you ... I've been in college for four months now, and I still don't understand why people drink ...
This was a great post, though, Liz -- I think I'll follow you! :)
- Cassy
liz i love blogging. and you.
ReplyDeletei think you're already making totally legit points in beautifully phrased language. keep it up girl- let <3 rain down on da burg :)
I agree with you like 70%
ReplyDeletebut...
you never really define human morals...
completely moral people drink, and some probs look at porn....
(not in a classroom at 10am) though
yay - you're blogging!
ReplyDeletei would argue that a completely moral person would NEVER look at porn. in addition to removing something private and sacred, sex, out of the bedroom and into the sight of others, it also objectifies both the viewer and the subjects. the former makes his or her sexuality into a *mere* plaything, losing an integral part of his or her personhood, and the subject becomes a collection of body parts.
ReplyDeleteplus, it's gross.
Yes, porn is gross.
ReplyDeleteBut, what can we define as COMPLETELY moral.
Perhaps I was wrong in my original statement.
For me, as a christian, I regard the only COMPLETELY moral person as Jesus. Since we are human, our morals can never be "perfect" but we can strive to make them as perfect as they can be, which can mean a wide range of lifestyles since different people, societies, and religious traditions define morality separately.
The one thing I believe all moral traditions hold firm is to love your neighbor as yourself.
In the grand scheme of things porn isn't nearly as bad as hate, murder, war, greed, judgement,................
Besides, Songs of Solomon bring an intimate bedroom scene into the bible.
I would disagree with "in the grand scheme of things porn isn't nearly as bad as...." The grand scheme is God and to him it is all on the same level. Sin is sin is sin is sin. So looking at porn and murdering someone are on the same level. They are equally disgusting and wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to me that these are the things you see here. I have seen my fair share of "college," but I have also experienced some of the greatest joy here, sometimes with the people who make poor decisions.
ReplyDeleteBlowout is William and Mary's carnivale. Our Mardi Gras. I agree that it is incredibly disrespectful, but this is by no means the only time and place these events have shown up in history. Look to Renaissance Italy for festivities of the same genre. I'm not condoning it, just pointing out that this has happened for ages and will continue to happen for ages.
Here's to your finding an outlet.
Drunk microecon porn boy is making the porn other people's problems and temptations, so I think his actions make for a couple strikes against him...
ReplyDelete