I’m offended. There has been a threepart series in the Clarion that has basically added to the overwhelming misconception on campus that students are apathetic and that activism on campus is “a joke.” It’s a slap in the face to all the students who do care and who do act on issues they are passionate about.

And by propagating the sentiment that students are apathetic, how do you expect students to react? It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that students won’t act if they are told that apathy is the norm. How can you say that students are “disinterested” when the Chancellor’s Roundtable this past week was full of students concerned about the new presidential appointment, and when there was a follow-up protest from students on the same issue?

How can we discount the efforts of the Latino Student Alliance who have gone out to register the Latino community to vote? How can we say members of DU Environmental Team are apathetic when they have been working (with results) to increase recycling on campus, or those in the Undergraduate Women’s Council who have made sustainable and successful efforts with “The Vagina Monologues?” We have students initiating art shows, participating in local peace demonstrations, doing service here and abroad, and voicing awareness on everything from disabilities to HIV/AIDS.

We cannot use numbers for one event like “Pack the House” to gauge interest and involvement. Truthfully, we don’t have large groups of students participating in one event; many are doing smaller events through the organizations they are involved in. And yes, communication across campus may be to blame for that. True, sometimes our students are choosing to do their service and involvement off campus and not participating in AUSA or rioting against the chancellor. Could that also mean that students are ultimately content with DU, and think their efforts are best served elsewhere-or maybe that some do this because they want to and actively seek out recognition for these efforts?

So the next time the Clarion wants to exhibit activism or the lack of it on campus, let’s portray a more accurate picture by interviewing more than the senate president and a couple of professors. There is activism out there if one is willing to seek it out, and if we stop creating a helplessness attitude on this campus that students are apathetic.