So, since I don't have anyone to reply to, I guess I'll just have to go on my own little rant. Excuse me if I disturb anyone with what will probably be a very random diatribe on anything that comes to my mind.
First, I just want to make my opinion known on this whole tuition thing. I'm all for students protesting the tuition increases. I mean, if you have something you want to say, you have every right to speak out, whether it be out against Moeser, the BCC, Jen Daum becoming SBP, your roommate stinking up the room with his dirty laundry, or whatever.
However, I do have a problem with protesting for the sake of protesting. These people just get on my damn nerves. People come here and they get so rolled up in the whole "we are the most liberal university on the face of the planet" mindset, and they start protesting the fact that the sun sets in the west and not the east, that we have to go to class five days a week instead of four, and that the UNC basketball team can't seem to carry a lead through an entire game. Granted, this may give you some sense of accomplishment, but it isn't going to change things. At all.
The same goes for the recent tuition increases. Face it, Moeser doesn't give a flying flip what we think. How many people do you think checked "yes" for a $400 increase on his little survey? Did our SBP's vote against the increase do any good? Nope. Did any of the protests do any good? Nope. Kinda makes you feel a little impotent, doesn't it?
I'm not saying that we shouldn't protest at all. I just think that we should choose our battles carefully. Fighting for risers in the Dean Dome was a productive battle. Fighting to stop an inevitable tuition increase is pretty pointless. Whether we like to admit it or not, Chapel Hill is pretty damn cheap for the tuition we are receiving (BTW, that's why there are so many out-of-staters here). So I wouldn't be surprised if I'm paying an extra grand or so by the time I graduate, and you shouldn't be either.
Anyways, that's enough about tuition I guess. Just one little tidbit, however. Supposedly the recent tuition increase is meant to increase teacher salaries at UNC. Now, the year after next (what will be my senior year) our academic calendar is going to be shortened by about two weeks. Does anyone else find it funny that we are going to be paying more tuition for higher teacher salaries when they are going to be teaching less?
Adam Shupe has only protested for one thing since coming to Chapel Hill: for the ice cream to be put back in Chase. And not that nasty yellow yogurt either. He wants the real stuff back. Those who agree or disagree with any of the above, email him at shupe@email.unc.edu.
