Editor,
I read about the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and am at once enthralled and saddened. I am enthralled that ordinary people are standing up and fighting for their rights in a peaceful and objective manner. I am enthralled that politically enslaved people will soon have their freedom, and will live to celebrate it.
But, at the same time, two observations sadden me.
Firstly, that the next generation of our nation of the people, by the people and for the people abstains brave civil responsibilities to our government like those of the Africans – those of cynicism and critical thinking. We are no longer active participants. I see our tuition rise consistently and the General Fund likely to be hugely cut. Our young brothers and sisters in the UK have recently risen to fight these trends, but it seems above us. We have forgotten how to voice our distaste. We turn to name calling and anonymous Internet postings. We don’t vote. We take for granted and do not exercise our freedoms of press and speech.
Secondly, I mourn our nation that fights for democracy but will likely not involve, hardly publicize, the democratic revolutions taking place in Africa. We enter wars under official reasons of spreading and entrusting democracy to populations subject to singular and unjust rule, who are not free. Yet, we ignore the legitimate attempts of indentured populations that have taken up the fight for their own liberation.
Tunisia and Egypt deserve our support and admiration.
As a student body, I only ask that our opinions become action – that someway we use these foreign examples as inspiration to shape what affects us on a personal level. We should fight deliberately, peacefully and objectively. We should fight for our General Fund. We should fight for student debt relief. We should fight for rigorous course work and renowned professors, simply because we deserve better.
We deserve the education our parents intended for us.
Sam Irons
UNM student
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