There doesn't seem to be much for protesting anymore. People seem to be connected to an individual slant on anything that might affect them. "I think they're idiots," says a graduate student in response to the protesters who have barricaded themselves in the Graduate Lounge at UCSC. "I'm not down with budget cuts either," the graduate student continues. "Like, at all! But I want my graduate lounge. I think they're really annoying."
Is this what it has come down to? A non-protestor is unified in thought to protestors, but finds them annoying because suddenly his graduate lounge is unavailable? I find this type of selfish, materialistic behavior the sad fact of my generation. We seem to be unwilling to stand for anything that will come between comfort and ideals. Maybe, 90's apathy was the most we could do to put a hand up to the system. "I don't care about Bosnia. Check out my plaid, man!" Now the paranoia of post 9-11 Bush-era beware-the-terror tactics have doused any potential flame for anyone even close to the fence to start jumping. We've replaced "I don't care" with "I want my graduate lounge, iPhone, and Lil Bow Wow."
It could be argued that protesters could have used a better location that would not obstruct graduate students from study. At the same time, it's not like people can't hit a library. If the protesters had chosen a more traditional academic building, police would probably have been involved, whereas the Graduate Lounge is inconsequential to academic boards, and definitely a nuisance that can be tolerated. In my opinion, it was a good location to not only make a visible outcry, but also affect those who have lost the will to protest. Who knows? After students, such as the one in the interview, are annoyed enough, they just might raise a beef long enough to actually join in on the concerns they also share. It's either that or protesters need to be handing out free iPods and copies of Lil Bow Wow to get any kind of action.
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