Protest and Prospective

I am not sure if there is controversy with Howard Zinn that makes this quote suspect- but I like the spirit of it. The state of the world bums me out these days. I know that tradegy, inequalities, and social problems have been affecting our world long before now, but as an adult working in Higher Education I see it through many different lenses. I am privy to student thoughts that are not only impacted by what they learn in the classroom, but also the things they disagree with that their peers voice. I get to see visual displays of support for different things and disrespectful disagreeent with some of those thoughts. I see students realize things and learn things from their peers- seeing those different perspectives for the first time. I see programs and speakers that we as an institution fund reach students at new levels. I also see students who cannot see another perspective no matter what the College or their peers try. I see students hurt by hate speech and disrespect for cultures that other students just do not understand. 

My heart breaks for students who cannot find their niche on campus, they cannot find themselves represented in the staff, faculty or other students and that leads them to see their education as not worth the time and they leave. I see students florish in an environment on campus, but come back fom breaks after seeing an unsupportive family and struggle. 

I wish that more humans were worried about the state of humans. We all deserve respect, safety and trust in our law enforcement, enough food to eat, shelter from storm, support, love, basic health care, this list could continue all day long. I wish I could feel confident in our world to think that could be achieved. I wish that I could protect some students from the evil that they experience on campus and off. 

I am fortunate that I work in Higher Education and I can be part of trying to expose students to things. I am glad that I can learn fom them and hopefully they can feel supportive vibes I send their way everyday. I learn something new everyday about another culture, another student struggle, a joy, I get to see them run to my office after being on academic probation and show off their new test scores. I have to try to focus on the good we try to do and those moments that bring a smile to my face to get through the negative parts and the sad days. And I have to remind myself of those students who call four or five years after they graduate to apologize for destroying a drinking fountain or being a pain in the rump while they were students, or to thank me for something they experienced while on campus. Those students learned things while they were in school outside the classroom-they were exposed to things and even if it took a while-they learned. I have to hold on to those moments to get through the low times. 

It is easy when I think about the mircocosm of higher education to represent the bigger picture. It is not as easy to see things when you look at it through a world wide lens. It is hard to see the light when the news is dominated with few stories that describe joy or change that makes a difference. Perspective can be both a help and a hindrance when thinking of the state of the world. I am thankful to be employed, have a home, eat everyday, not worry about clean water, calling the police in an emergency, or health care-but having a global perspective makes hearing of those without those things even harder.