Complaining just for sake of it
Jeremy Slater
Letter to the editor
Another issue of The Observer, another batch of startling philosophical insights into the human psyche. Needless to say, I await each new Viewpoint section of The Observer with breathless anticipation, because, as a typical Notre Dame student, I'm utterly incapable of believing anything that hasn't been handed down to me by the Church or the Administration.
The Feb. 14 Observer certainly didn't disappoint in this respect. Let's recap, shall we? Don't break parietals, women shouldn't wear revealing clothing, students shouldn't have sex, nobody's signing our damn petition and the Keenan Revue is "harmful." Does that about cover everything?
And I'm paying how much a year to attend school with you people? Instead, I'd like to propose a few different suggestions for improving life here on campus. I didn't get any of these suggestions from Sunday Mass or a ResLife meeting, but maybe that's why they're so useful.
Assert your independence. This isn't Bible Camp, this is training and experience for the real world. And if it's not, I'm wasting my time and money here.
Wear clothing that you like, clothing that makes you feel good about yourself. Don't let anybody tell you differently or project their insecurities onto you — ever.
Be with the person you love and don't let society or this school dictate the details of your relationship. Make your own decisions because you want to make them, not because du Lac is threatening you with possible expulsion.
Think for yourself.
Choose your battles wisely. Not every little thing needs to be offensive. Realize that everybody has different tastes and stop trying to create wars in order to make up for the general air of boredom and apathy on this campus.
Most of the time, the best course of action is to simply live and let live. Deal with it.
And finally, there's a big difference between trying to seriously open up important lines of discussion and simply complaining for the sake of complaining. A lot of my new letter-writing buddies in the Viewpoint section need to figure this out.
And yes, that does make this letter hypocritical. Thanks for asking.
Jeremy Slater
senior
off-campus
February 14, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, February 15, 2001
