There seems to be a general sense of apathy among students on this campus. Nobody is really willing to stand up and take charge to create any significant change. This is not to suggest that the student body should wildly riot in protest, but it is to argue that students should be less content with, “that isn’t going to change,” as an answer.

When the announcement was made that graduation was being pushed back a day, the senior class put together a petition, and began to rally as one voice in an appropriate manner, but when met with resistance from the Board of Trustees, everyone turned into an obedient golden retriever and backed down.

There has been a recent change in the tuition price here at Saint Anselm, and no it has not been reduced. The overall cost, including room and board, estimated personal and book costs, and transportation costs has pushed a single year at Saint Anselm College to be over $50,000. Now this news was slipped under the radar with little to no attention. The total increase from last year will be $1,312, as stated in a recent Crier article.

While this financial information was not sent out to students, the breakdown of the tuition increase and the other various costs each student is required to pay was published in the Crier and still there was little response. Now, the editorial staff of The Saint Anselm Crier is not so ignorant as to believe that every student diligently reads every article in every issue, or even most, but that is part of the problem too.

The student body seems genuinely uninterested in the on goings of this college, and discussing the affairs of the world. There is an air of complacency on this campus; if there has been an attempt then that is good enough.

There were two emails sent out to the senior class in the last few weeks asking for input from the senior class on how the change of date for commencement has impacted them. After the second email, one student responded. Earlier in the year when the freshman class was sent a similar email asking about how they felt about the new Quantitative Reasoning requirement put in place by the school, there were three responses. Freshmen were also asked in person about this matter, and many gave one or two word answers and went on their way.

This student body cannot be bothered to have a conversation about the choices that are being made for them and that impact their lives.

There has been a significant amount in the news lately about freedom of speech due to the Charlie Hebdo controversy. While the school does not, and of course should not, allow for hate speech, the students do have the freedom of speech here. There will not be bombs dropped on Alumni Hall if students demanded to know the minutes from the Faculty Senate. No one will be killed if student’s made moves to seek changes in the college bylaws, and no one will be arrested if, heaven forbid, someone challenged where the athletic teams sat in Davison.

The students at this institution for higher learning need to show that they are capable of thinking beyond what video game to play or what movie to watch. Prove that the outrageous amount of money being spent to be at this college is not a waste and that this student body has opinions, and the ability to exercise a freedom that many people are not so lucky to have.