Student Apathy
Dublin Core
Title
Student Apathy
Subject
West Chester University Quad Angles
Description
A letter to the editor of WCU's student newspaper discussing the concern of student apathy on campus.
Creator
Maria Skarbo
Source
Quad Angles, WCU Special Collections Library
Publisher
WCU, Vietnam Digital Oral Histories, Spring and Fall 2022
Date
March 7, 1972
Contributor
Brenna McGowan
Rights
Used with permission of WCU Special Collections
Format
JPG
Type
Text
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Student apathy
To the Editor: I am a member of the WCSC Students for Peace who, last week, held a Seminar on War open for participation from the entire student body, it seems to me that the number of concerned students was approximately ten. 1 have seen such disinterest in many facets of other activities at West Chester but this lack of interest did not really impress me until the seminar. As a working member of the seminar 1 can say that a lot of time and effort was spent in the seminar's organization by a number of students. Furthermore, the people that came here gave up their time to speak on a subject of importance that more than ten students should have been interested in. My concern is not so much the work put into the seminar but the attitude of the students toward the program. There was very little interest on the part of the students and I think this is a shame. As college students, we are preparing for adult life and if so few of us are interested in a subject such as war, I hate to think what our future society will be like. The apathy on this campus is so that even the guests of our seminar commented on it. They could not believe the vast conservatism on this campus nor the great hypocrisy of the majority of students. I believe that the general mentality around here is so low that the kind of stuff taught in the classrooms isn't going to do a bit of good until the students adopt a new value system. The students here just don't give a damn and their stupidity, shallowness, and false sense of social status are growing instead of diminishing. Don't tell me that the students don't get a chance to be involved since West Chester offers nothing to be involved in. This seminar was a chance to learn, and to learn something relevant to our lives. It gave the students a chance to listen and to talk to people about the pro's and con's of war, focusing especially on Vietnam. Very few students participated in these functions and all I can say is that they either do not care or that they do care but do not have the time to want to do something. Neither is a valid excuse for this indifference. It is also believed that this newspaper prints items of importance at the college. Although Quad did publish a schedule of the activities, they did not concern themselves with the aftermath of the seminar by presenting articles on the actual functions of it. If this program is not considered a matter of importance, then this newspaper has the wrong sense of values. This would not surprise me though, since the value system around here includes little outside of parties, booze, and popularity. I would, although, like to thank the people who financed our program and also the people who worked with and participated in it. Maybe a few of us learned from the seminar and perhaps the others will one day listen when they come out of their childish world of selfishness.
Maria Skarbo
To the Editor: I am a member of the WCSC Students for Peace who, last week, held a Seminar on War open for participation from the entire student body, it seems to me that the number of concerned students was approximately ten. 1 have seen such disinterest in many facets of other activities at West Chester but this lack of interest did not really impress me until the seminar. As a working member of the seminar 1 can say that a lot of time and effort was spent in the seminar's organization by a number of students. Furthermore, the people that came here gave up their time to speak on a subject of importance that more than ten students should have been interested in. My concern is not so much the work put into the seminar but the attitude of the students toward the program. There was very little interest on the part of the students and I think this is a shame. As college students, we are preparing for adult life and if so few of us are interested in a subject such as war, I hate to think what our future society will be like. The apathy on this campus is so that even the guests of our seminar commented on it. They could not believe the vast conservatism on this campus nor the great hypocrisy of the majority of students. I believe that the general mentality around here is so low that the kind of stuff taught in the classrooms isn't going to do a bit of good until the students adopt a new value system. The students here just don't give a damn and their stupidity, shallowness, and false sense of social status are growing instead of diminishing. Don't tell me that the students don't get a chance to be involved since West Chester offers nothing to be involved in. This seminar was a chance to learn, and to learn something relevant to our lives. It gave the students a chance to listen and to talk to people about the pro's and con's of war, focusing especially on Vietnam. Very few students participated in these functions and all I can say is that they either do not care or that they do care but do not have the time to want to do something. Neither is a valid excuse for this indifference. It is also believed that this newspaper prints items of importance at the college. Although Quad did publish a schedule of the activities, they did not concern themselves with the aftermath of the seminar by presenting articles on the actual functions of it. If this program is not considered a matter of importance, then this newspaper has the wrong sense of values. This would not surprise me though, since the value system around here includes little outside of parties, booze, and popularity. I would, although, like to thank the people who financed our program and also the people who worked with and participated in it. Maybe a few of us learned from the seminar and perhaps the others will one day listen when they come out of their childish world of selfishness.
Maria Skarbo
Original Format
Paper
Files
Citation
Maria Skarbo, “Student Apathy,” WCU Vietnam War Oral History Project, accessed November 18, 2024, https://nunncenter.net/wcu-vietnam-war/items/show/65.