This school year started off with a bang. There were tons of cool activities on campus to entertain and enlighten students. There were also tons of flyers to promote all of the different activities plastered on all of the bulletin boards, vying for the attention of students. They advertised things like International Chocolate Day, Town Hall Meetings, and Premiere Week. The flyers were deemed harmless enough by the powers that be, but not by certain students.

Flyers were snatched down and thrown in trash cans or on the floor next to where they were originally hung. The Advocates 4 Better Government flyers, promoting an open forum to discuss same-sex marriage, caused a good deal of subversive scribbling. Someone went so far as to write "sick" on nearly every flyer on the ground floor and in the ST Building. Campus Crusade for Christ flyers magically began to appear in front of them or where they used to be. Even some teachers did not want them posted on the boards outside of their offices.

Flyer

It seems a little extremist to remove, hide, or deface an organization's flyer whenever you come across one because you don't agree with their message. There are multiple non-sociopathic ways to share your views with your classmates. Unless you're ashamed of your views or don't consider yourself capable of defending them, there's no reason not to proclaim them aloud, particularly when the flyers you're vandalizing promote a forum to do just that.

What does it say about this generation when students feel the need to roam the halls of an institution of higher learning looking for flyers that oppose their beliefs? It makes them seem like children throwing temper tantrums because Mommy says it's time for bed in the middle of a Rugrats marathon.

People are supposed to come to MCC-Penn Valley to learn and to expand their horizons. You are here to exhale all the crap that your parents spoon-fed you and inhale information so you can form your own opinions. Sadly, a lot of people do not realize that when they form their own opinion, they are also provided with the power to share it in as many productive ways as they choose.

It's one thing to feel strongly about something, but it's another to cross that line that separates passion and bigotry. If you do not agree with gay marriage, then discuss it with anyone who wants to debate or commiserate. If you feel that your religion does not get enough attention on campus, then start a club. There are many ways to get your point across to the student body that are constructive and will not land you in jail.

The fact that the most controversial flyer was the one asking students to come and share their opinions and beliefs with the public is ironic. All anyone had to do was look past the picture and actually read some of the text to know that all the club wanted was for people to get off of their lazy asses and think; to show up with an open mind, listen to both sides, share their views, and go home. This is what every college student should be doing in the first place.

For a related cartoon, click on the picture above or here.

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