Last night I had a dream that took place on Cornell University’s campus. And then this morning I read a bunch of articles about college kids in AM New York, or as I like to call it, “The Paper.” Makes sense, this is the time of year when kids go back to college. And I don’t doubt that there is some subconscious part of me that wants to be back at college.
A few quick comments on what I read about college kids. Actually, I have to narrow the scope. The articles I read were focused on New York City college kids.
First article: Columbia University students are not protesting like they did back in the 60s and 70s (who’s doing anything like they did in the 60s and 70s?). And on the rare occasion when students are protesting, it is without verve and fang. Picture kids peaceably sitting on the quad holding up spray painted sheets and not doing much else. The article goes on to site several historical Columbia University protests and how they received nationwide attention. Why did people pay attention? Because the students refused to be ignored: they got violent, shouted, and said fuck the police.
The article then suggests that the stakes are too high for kids to be real protesters anymore. As in, the responsibility of paying back student loans and a super competitive job market put students in a position where they can’t afford to take any risks that might have future repercussions. I doubt being arrested on Columbia’s campus for saying suck my dick to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going to keep you out of Harvard Law or that analyst position at CSFB. Nonetheless, while the too much risk explanation is plausible, it’s not the truth. The truth is the kids at a school like Columbia are huge pussies.
When an entire student body fully embraces a gang-of-assclowns band like Vampire Weekend, as the Columbia student body did, it’s not saying much for their character and conviction. You might invoke the cliche say, they don’t make students or rock bands like they used to.
I’ve gone on too long. One another quick tidbit about the second article: Some of the most expensive and luxurious dorms in NYC cost a single student 24k for a year. What? That’s insanity. I wouldn’t be out protesting either if I had a flat screen TV with 145 channels in my room.
One Comment
I am glad you have finally come around about Vampire Weekend. But you see, that’s what the assclowns at Columbia relate to. Simple pleasure, rich-kid nothingness. These kids don’t want things to change…they might have to actually WORK for a living if things CHANGED.
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