By Dana Crane and Kiel JohnsonHow we interact in our environment reflects the virtues we wish to uphold. Two weekends ago in one of the dorms this virtues seemed to be guided only by ignorance and selfishness. This may be an over-statement, but the evidence is appalling: someone went into a dorm and purposely left on all the showers and a stove. The attack could have been aimed at throwing a competition: forcing this dorm to waste energy during the start of the Eco-Olympics, or it could have been to make a statement that the Eco-Olympics are trivial. Since the prize is a party with the President it is hard to imagine someone sabotaging just to win. Whatever their reasoning the message was the same.
This attack was waged on two fronts. The unattended stove could have easily led to a fire and done untold damage to dorm and its inhabitants—this violation of personal safety is a blow against the trust we hold as a community to keep each other safe. The attack also made an ideological statement. The Eco-Olympics are the first time the entire campus has been asked to work together to investigate our connection to our resources and avoid wastefulness. By purposely wasting water and electricity the culprit is making the statement that this connection is insignificant. If this was the case any environmental action would be impossible. This attack should be taken seriously and make us question what would prompt such an action.
This person wasted energy while attacking the very values of what it means to be a community. A foundational value of any community is the interdependence of its constituency, which leads to the necessity of being mindful of each other’s personal rights. This incident is not only an embarrassment to the majority of us that share a respect for each other’s right to freedom of action, but a disappointing illustration of a deficiency in our common social upbringing. Our society teaches us to each strive for individual success but this lacks an appreciation of an individual role within a community. It is one thing to choose not to participate in an opportunity to do good, but it is the work of an egotist to ransack the good efforts of peers.
There is no doubt that 99.9% of people at Lewis and Clark would condemn this act of defiance and ignorance. However it’s very hard to deny that such an act characterizes at least a minority within our student body—it is hard to imagine someone doing this without at least believing their friends would get a kick out of it. It is difficult to imagine how the college environment, which is built on integrity and education could breed such blindness. However, we must forgive this crook because at the roots of the attack lie unawareness. This is what the Eco-Olympics and going to college is all about. This attack is a reminder that we must make sure that society provides an opportunity to make real connections with the sources of life that we depend on.
In order to avoid destructive mishaps such as these in the future, I urge you all to get outside and observe what surrounds and supports you. Then look inside at what it has created, and consider the relationship between the two! You are a product of your environment and it continues to be the source of every new cell in your body, idea in your brain, and pulse of your heart; respect it thus!
This attack was waged on two fronts. The unattended stove could have easily led to a fire and done untold damage to dorm and its inhabitants—this violation of personal safety is a blow against the trust we hold as a community to keep each other safe. The attack also made an ideological statement. The Eco-Olympics are the first time the entire campus has been asked to work together to investigate our connection to our resources and avoid wastefulness. By purposely wasting water and electricity the culprit is making the statement that this connection is insignificant. If this was the case any environmental action would be impossible. This attack should be taken seriously and make us question what would prompt such an action.
This person wasted energy while attacking the very values of what it means to be a community. A foundational value of any community is the interdependence of its constituency, which leads to the necessity of being mindful of each other’s personal rights. This incident is not only an embarrassment to the majority of us that share a respect for each other’s right to freedom of action, but a disappointing illustration of a deficiency in our common social upbringing. Our society teaches us to each strive for individual success but this lacks an appreciation of an individual role within a community. It is one thing to choose not to participate in an opportunity to do good, but it is the work of an egotist to ransack the good efforts of peers.
There is no doubt that 99.9% of people at Lewis and Clark would condemn this act of defiance and ignorance. However it’s very hard to deny that such an act characterizes at least a minority within our student body—it is hard to imagine someone doing this without at least believing their friends would get a kick out of it. It is difficult to imagine how the college environment, which is built on integrity and education could breed such blindness. However, we must forgive this crook because at the roots of the attack lie unawareness. This is what the Eco-Olympics and going to college is all about. This attack is a reminder that we must make sure that society provides an opportunity to make real connections with the sources of life that we depend on.
In order to avoid destructive mishaps such as these in the future, I urge you all to get outside and observe what surrounds and supports you. Then look inside at what it has created, and consider the relationship between the two! You are a product of your environment and it continues to be the source of every new cell in your body, idea in your brain, and pulse of your heart; respect it thus!
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