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Older generationsoften claim our agegroup is apathetic. Evenpeople within our owngeneration reiteratethe same. To many, weare the laz ad selshingrates often synony-mous with college stu-dents. At Berry College,this sentiment is pro-

claimed frequently bystudents and faculty.

Are people concerned thatBerry students are apathetic inthe sense that they dont actu-ally do anything? Or is it moreof a concern about the way stu-dents seem to live life as if on acouch, going through the neces-sary motions?

Berry students are quiteoften involved in many differ-ent activities offered on campus,so a sese of motvato s de-nitely at the core.

The question is, are we reallyas apathetic as we seem? Notreally. The truth is that Berry

students are much too over-involved. Obviously, participat-ing in numerous extracurricu-lars has beets. Studes showstudents that participate inadditional activities have moresuccess in other areas of theirlives. However, is it providingtoxic consequences?

When at a liberal arts college,your hands are in everything,so t becomes qute dfcult tohave an opinion on anything.Over-involvement causes com-petition among different groupsand organizations, forcing peo-ple to deal with bias that pres-ents itself in these situations.

Trying to keep out partial-ity and favoritism while alsostriving to be politically correctwithin the college system shutsout opinions. This may not seemlike were losing anything too

special. Its just a word: opin-ion. However, that word is theonly thing that brings peopletogether in certain groups, andits the only word that separatesout unique ideas.

Without this word, all theactivities and all the group ide-als fall apart. Thus, the studentswithin the groups appear veryindifferent.

We allow ourselves to bedominated by different areas ofour lives, such as the groups weinhabit. Almost instinctively, we

desire this control.It is easier to be controlled

passively than it is to take ini-tiative. This is the reason thatwhile so many Berry studentsare involved and helping out inthe community, they continue to

be passive and appear unin-terested when it comes to stat-ing opinions on controversialissues.

Studets ma seem lke thedo not care, almost to the pointthat the are beg selsh, butsaying that is ignoring the con-siderate and compassionate sidethat Berry students do have.

It helps to remember, how-

ever, that when a person appearssnide about an issue, its notalways because they do not care.Sometmes, ts because there stoo much on their plate.

Studets do eed to meet half-way. If students take just a bitoff the proverbial plate, they canfocus on what matters and not

just what is expected. Althoughwe are in the age group whereit is seemingly acceptable to bemore unresponsive, it will onlymake situations more produc-tive when there is concern andpassion in everything we do.

Learning to become empow-ered in our opinions and not justload our calendars with thingsto do wll ot ol beet otherpeople but also ourselves.

OpiniOnSpAGE 4, CAMpUS CARRiER JAnUARy 21, 2010

Cmplicatins fm student ve-invlvement

The Carrier editorial reflects a consensus of the The Carriers editorial board.

signed[un]

The Carrier Editorial

Kle Pst

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Nathan VandeVen

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the CARRIeRBrry Collg

Recet of Georga College

press Assocatos SeorCollege General Excellence

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Campus Carrier490520 Be CllegeMt. Be, GA 30149

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The Caie is published weekly exceptduring examination periods and holidays.The opinions, either editorial or com-

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With every new year comesnew opportunities and freshexpectations. By now, most New

years resolutos are therdying stages, clinging desper-ately to their last few momentsof viability. Try as we may, mostof us just cant seem to shake that

bad habit or start a healthy one.(On a side note, The Carrier staffwould like to express our pridein our adviser, Kevin Kleine, whois on the fast track to a life with-out nicotine after more than twodecades of keeping Doral ciga-rettes in business.)

So, a effort to make ever-one feel better about their failingresolutions, Ill examine some ofthe more hgh-role falures of2009.

Lets begin at the top. Presi-dent Barack Obama vowed tothe country that the infamousdetention center at GuantanamoBay would be out of operation by

Ja. 20 of ths ear. As ma ofyou may have noticed, yesterdaycame and went, but Gitmo is here

to stay.i earl 2009, Tger Woods

vowed to return to golf in a bigway, after a knee injury side-led hm for much of the 2008season. Little did we know howbg Woods would be 2009.The new york post recetl broketheir own record for consecutive

back-page stories on one subject,24. The revous record holder?

The Se. 11 attacks o the WorldTrade Center. Last year, it wasntWoods driver that got him intodeep rough, but a bit of a wander-g ee. Luckl for Woods, 2010s the year of the Tger the Ch -nese calendar.

Jon Gosselin probably hadplans to continue cashing in onhs full quver of chldre 2009.What he didnt bank on was ahighly-publicized split from wifeKate and the end to one of thehighest-rated reality shows of alltime.

Kate reportedly has signed anew deal to continue exploiting, Imeandocumenting, the lives of

her eight children on TLC. Johns2010 wll lkel cosst of qute afew guest appearances on Enter-tainment Tonight and, prepareyourselves, an appearance onABCs Dacg wth the Stars.I hear theyre doing a deadbeatdad edition.

Shortl after 2009 bega,NFL quarterback Brett Favreannounced his retirement (again)from football. The papers weresigned, tears shed and the Hallof Fame clock had begun tick-ing. But, like many of us, Favre isnot one to fully commit to a Newyears resoluto. Favre returedto the huddle as a MinnesotaViking late last summer and is

now leading the Vikes into theNFC Championship game. I fullyexpect Favre to make the samemistake as many unhealthy Amer-cas wll make 2010: recclga old resoluto. Some ledgeevery year to work out and gett. Favre tells us ever ear hesgoing to turn into an old, fat slob.But he never seems to deliver thatclosing score.

As you can see, it isnt uncom-mon for resolutions to fall by thewayside. Whether its an unfaith-ful golfer, a wishy-washy quar-terback or a president who cantquite make good on a promise,there are plenty of examples out

there of resolutos goe sour. Sodont get down on yourself. Lookat it this way; if your resolutionfails, youre really the only onewho has to know about it.

Have a great year, BerryCollege.

KyLEr PoSTEditor-In-Chief

New yeas eslutin hall f fame