| Summary: | Lessons on the road of life A VA I RY RIDICULOUS LIFE JAMES VAIR Can you feel it-- the change in the air, the upbeat conversations across campus, the sudden shift toward op-timism? Yes my friends, it's almost that time again: spring break. Although Concor-dia's spring break, or "Mid- Semester Recess" as it is of-ficially listed on the academic calendar, may seem to occur oddly early in the midst of our frozen tundra compared to other institutions, this time of the year things always feel electric. I can hardly believe how quickly the semester has just flown by. Before I blink again, it will be graduation. I truly love the trans-formation that happens on campus this time of the year. Winter can seem like a huge, oppressive force, dark and never-ending, sucking the life from everything in its path. But somehow spring break changes all of that: There is light at the end of the tun-nel. Spring break offers fun, an exciting change of scenery and new things to do. Although this year I'll be gone again with the choir on tour, in years past spring break was synonymous with a family road trip. While typically our destinations re-volved around visiting the same extended family, road trips were al-ways exciting. spending hoursend up at in the car withnotion. very little scen-ery was always enjoyable (but I totally understand why the idea can be truly repulsive to others). My yearning for the open road began when I was re-ally little. Dad used to work for Hormel, and part of his contract stipulated be-ing transferred every 16-18 months, meaning that we were constantly on the move. While we often lived far away from family or friends, we never flew anywhere. Instead, my family depended upon a steady fleet of high-mileage, late model Buick or Oldsmo-but it always seemed like an abstract concept that would never happen. My love for the open road has remained just as strong to this day. There's a certain comfort in it, knowing that no matter what I'll eventually end up at my destination. My typical long-distance drive is my drive home, and I try and savor the time spent in the car, reflecting and checking in on how things are going in my life. For that brief five to six hours in the car, time kind of slows down. Things that once seemed vitally impor-tant just fade away, and it can really help to put things into perspective. Perhaps that's why I en-joy spending time in the car: that forced disconnection from the hectic demands of the day. Over spring break I hope that you get that oppor-tunity. Spend some time with yourself and your thoughts. Evaluate how things have gone so far and where you want the rest of the year to go. Time is running out, so be sure to make the most of it. bile sedans. Some of my earli-est memories are of trips in those cars: my mom buckling my sister and me into the cav-ernous backseat and letting us take turns picking sing-along tapes to listen to as we sped across the Kansas or Nebras-ka prairie. When we'd run out of tapes, my Mom would tell us stories about crazy things that happened in her child-hood or we'd count telephone poles. Or we'd just sit in really There's a certainsilence, listening to Forcomfort in it, know-the rhythmic hum some reasoning thh at no matterof the engine or the the prospect of W at I 'll eventual•' Ywind whipping past my eSti-the windows. While some of our trips were short, we did do some long-range excur-sions even when my sister and I were really little. Es-pecially considering the long distances and our young age, this must have been quite the undertaking. I can remember driving from Wichita, Kan. to Denver, Colo. to visit one of my mom's childhood friends, or trips to the Black Hills to meet up with vacationing family. Despite the distance, I never really minded spending six, seven or even eight hours in the car. I always enjoyed the ride. I knew that we'd get to our destination eventually, o East, young man! KATELYN'S CORNER KATELYN HENAGIN So, my dearest Cobber children, I feel like on this day there is something that must be said. I live in East complex. I know, I know, there's a certain stigma, but unless you live there, I do not think you understand the glo-ry of the building. I recently left Brown hall, which in my opinion is a really confusing building. I more or less only loved Brown for its quirki-ness (similar to a manic, pixie, hipster girl), but after a while, even the most loved quirky thing can make you want to punch a light post. The differences between Brown and Hallett are vast-- vast enough for me to de-scribe to you in this article. I would also like to debunk the idea that anyone who does not live there is not welcome; we certainly are not going to beat up a music student, nor is anyone going to get mad about you not being athletic. I mean bro, seriously the last time I ran was when Nutella was at Energy. I would love to let you think we are always bonding, and singing kumbaya, but that would be straight-up lying to you. I think East complex has a very indepen-dent nature, one that encour-ages you to go out and do something-- to make friends with people beyond your floor. How can't you when you have to walk a block to get anywhere anyway? I love that people have no problem leaving East to go hang out with someone. I feel like people are really friendly and have very close relation-ships, but I do not see the atmosphere of people being debilitatingly attached. This may be because it seems like quite a few upperclassmen live there and have a differ-ent lease on life than in other dorms where it is primarily freshmen that are very intent on having close relationships with everyone nearby. They want to go beyond where they live and connect with people who have similar interests, rather than similar locations. The fact that Hallett and Erickson are two differ-ent dorms also has to do with this, since the dorms are connected, and rather than bonding with only 250 students, you have 500 to choose from. There are also the friends you make when you leave at 10:15 for your 10:30 class, the people who eat dinner that same time as you and the people who are leaving the library at midnight just like you who have to make the same trek you do. Bonding is inevitable on that walk. The crazy tree is nearby and super fantastic to take pictures on or close 1):; and the dorms are close to the Jake, the other fields and the business school. A pick up game of soccer, football or an impromptu photo shoot is never out of the question. We also have a huge parking lot. Huge. Unlike parking on the west side, which is a joke to begin with, you will almost always find a spot. Lastly, I love East because, while I moved in randomly a short while ago, I have not been ignored or left out. I was welcomed with open arms which is just fan-tastic. So never fear: East is not that scary. No one there is mad about you visiting if you're from Livedalen or Hoyum, and we would love for you to visit. THEATRE B PRESENTS Frozen by Bryony Lavery February 2 - 25 716 Main Ave, Fargo Thur. - Sat. at 7:30pm $5 Student Thursdays! tip ASL February 10 701-729-8880 WWW.THEATREB.ORG the majority comes from. Yet year after year, the college pres .- ents us with this information, and similar declarations (here's looking at you, computer sci-ence), with little to no context. It's unrealistic to expect that students hold the final say over any of the financial deci-sions the college makes, but as a form of oversight for large decisions (and they seem rare on campus), I can imagine few barometers better than student response. As well as being stu-dents, we are also adults, and the withholding of informa-tion that seems so common-place is belittling, and it only conjures up images of secrecy and backroom politics that build distrust between students and the administration of the college. Instead of reserving this information, the college should be aware that we stu-dents want to be informed of the reasoning behind these decisions. Just as we are curi-ous about the world we live in, we want to be educated and informed about the decisions that govern Concordia. Transparency and the 3oK excuse BY PATRICK ROSS Opinions Editor In this week's Student Gov-ernment elections, two candi-dates listed SGA transparency as a platform goal. It's easy to see why. Transparency is the new buzzword. We want to feel connected with where our money is being spent and whether those decisions are going to positively affect us. However, at Concordia, these connections are cloudy at best. The root of the issue is what I call the 30k excuse. It's the idea that we've invested a large sum of money and feel a sense of ownership in our education-- the end result being that we want to know how the money is used. You'll hear people talk about it all the time: "I pay $30,000 dollars to go to this school, and (insert com-plaint here)." The 30k excuse doesn't translate perfectly into the real world; there are very few situa-tions where you will pay such a large amount of money to an institution that will so thor-oughly influence your day-to-day life. However, the same idea shows up in any large purchase. If you buy a house or car, you expect a full report on what you're getting for your money. When we plunk down that kind of cash to the school, we view it as a con-tract between the school and the students, and we expect to have some say in how it's used (whether this is ever truly car-ried out is a different matter). This is why when students receive an email from the president stating that tuition will increase for the next year (making it, specifically, the $37,860 excuse), we expect an explanation. However, this is rarely the case. Instead, we are offered the reassurance that Concordia "will continue to be one of the lowest priced private colleges in the region" and that the increase will "as-sist us in funding strategic in-vestments in the quality of the academic program, and we will continue to grow our financial aid resources." Yet, reassuring this is not. In truth, it's vaguely worded nonsense to the average stu-dent that spurs more fears than anything I would rather have a breakdown of where the tuition increase stems from than warm, empty platitudes. To an extent, this information is available if you know where to look and who to ask. On a seemingly annual basis, The Concordian will address the in-crease and try to explain where FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2012 OPINIONS 9 CONCORDIAK1 It's not an altogether uncommon occurance, but something about it stopped me in a new way the other day: I saw some-body throw a plastic bottle in the trash because the recycling bin was all the way across the Maize. And it wasn't the moral outrage that stopped me (being an ardent environmentalist and loyal supporter of SEA, the indignation I feel when people fail to recycle is perhaps often disproportionate to the crime). No, it was something else. It was the fact that the offender in question did not take the time - truly only about four seconds' worth - to walk a few more steps to the appropriate receptacle. I do not believe it is too gross a platitude to say that even the most industrious among us is not occasionally guilty of laziness. And I am far from the exception. Perhaps my greatest transgression in the realm of the faineance is my tendancy to ignore emails because I don't have enough time to answer or, more likely; becaiise the thought of forming an adequate response feels too daunting to take on until later in the day. But its a problem. And while some things, like recycling a single bottle or responding to email, may be trifles in the "big picture," apathy and failure to act can be toxic when it comes to other issues. If nobody cares about the plight of the environment or of their fellow human beings, how can we ever hope to make progress? Putting in the effort to change our actions may not produce observable results now, but if we act only for the short term, what hope is there of even having a "long term" to worry about? Perhaps I have too much faith in humanity, but I do not be-lieve that laziness about the big problems we face today is born out of true malevolence. No, I think sometimes laziness is born from a feeling of helplessness. Problems like war, famine, inequality, or sickness seem so incredibly daunting that it's easy to falter in our belief that mere work can overcome them. And if the force of one lone person can't move a mountain, what is the point in pushing at all? The thing is, we can't afford to see our problems in this light. Getting up off our butts, walking across the Maize, hitting reply - these little steps are what will propel us into a successful future. It's easy to get discouraged, but that's not an excuse. Because the little actions of little individuals do matter-in both a positive and a negative way. In "Life and Limb," a marvelous essay about Tom White, a runner who learned to run again after having a leg amputated, author Bruce Barcott describes how White learned the neces-sity of not putting off the vital task of changing the liner on his prosthesis during a race. "Do it now," White learns to tell himself - and when that isn't enough, a fellow runner is there to say, "Oh my God, just change it. Suck it up and do it." Like White, sometimes we just need a mental push or even some not-so-gentle external pressure to overcome the laziness that is so easy to excuse. Perhaps calling it "laziness" is not quite fair, because at times there are real, legitimate obstacles . between you and the completion of a task that, while small, may seem absolutely insurmountable for your energy level at the time. All the same, it is of utmost importance that we learn to push through, to take just one step further. Because, as White learned, taking that first step is often essential to ever being able to take anymore steps. Without that first step, we may never be able to heave ourselves over the little bumps in our road and make it to our desired ends. So whether it's recycling, writing a paper or attempting to end hatred and hunger, the important thing to remember is this: do it now The extra step will take so little effort, but it will be endlessly worthwhile. Word to your mother, Mary Beenken, Editor-in-chief - Editorial - Just one more step
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