Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Where does the Moral Compass Point?

 "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Another big question that has come to my mind is this: Who decides what is moral and immoral. Is morality a construct of society, is it hardwired into our brains or is it something used universally to balance our actions?

In the case of privatization who decides what is "morally" right and wrong? Corporations are being portrayed as the bad guys but are they really bad guys? In their opinion privatization must be a good thing regardless of how much money it's going to make them. What about students? Why do we feel (if we feel anything at all) so infuriated about it? Is there an immediate distress caused to us? I think there is in the form of tuition hikes and increased strain on the education system however I believe in Darwin's theory of evolution as do most college educated students...so can this whole situation be viewed as a form of evolution? Is a "thinning" of the herd what is needed? Is nature trying to maintain balance...or is greed the root of all evil.



I think that this issue should be viewed by everybody from all perspectives. There may be many positives to privatization, now that may just be the business major inside of me talking but regardless is it a lesser evil than it's being conveyed as? The government doesn't have enough money, and if they give more money to the education system it will be a good thing, right?

When I think about people arguing that the state and fed need to spend more money on education I always have this same thought play in my head, this image...

You're driving to school, you're a commuter, and you hit a pothole...and another pothole, and another and another. What do you do? You get mad, you blame the Government. You say, "Why can't they fix these potholes, they have enough money to do it. Why don't they give more money fix the roads and potholes in New Brunswick?" It's like a paradox. If the Government were to give a lot, a lot  more money to the education system then I feel like us, the students, would find something else to complain about. I don't know if that makes sense to you but if it does, and you can grasp the gist of what I'm trying to explain then you may have a slight understanding of how I feel....
stuck.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Research Topic #2

After today's class discussion my interest has been aroused. I think I'd like to research and write about the effects of protest in a college environment. How the school acknowledges student protests and whether they are able to truly have any effect on the subject in question. I think it would be cool to interview some deans and faculty and learn their opinion on the effectiveness of collegiate protests and if they themselves lend their alleigence to the student body when and if they do protest. I also want to know how truly willing the general student body at Rutgers is to really protest. Is protesting something that has lost it's appeal for students in the 21st century. Can students coordinate using social networks and technology to make an effective protest and demand what we want and how willing are we to do it? I want to know how many people wake up everyday and ask themselves what they are going to do about something that they want changed. How many students know the proper methods to actually inhibit a change? Are there channels through which students can voice their opinion effectively in lieu of protesting. Can students acquire what they want to achieve without protesting like..what are the methods that can be used and will be heard by the faculty and deans.

Monday, January 23, 2012

What do I Want to Research? #1

Well I'm not really sure as to what I would like to research yet, there's a multitude of ideas brewing inside my mind but I think I have narrowed it down to one idea that might be the one I want to do. Collegiate protests are an interesting topic and I think that Privatized higher education is going to cause a lot of unrest among the college students across the nation. I would like to research the effects and causes of protests and if they are efficient or not in what they are trying to accomplish and whether or not they benefit the students in anyway or if they are just a waste of time.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Blogging?
This is my first attempt at ever doing a blog. The fact that Rutgers is the reason why I'm using a blog for the first time is pretty interesting. Anyway this is just a test post so let's see how it works.