My Education.

I have a 10-page Philosophy of Science paper due on Tuesday and I’m not even half way done.  I don’t consider myself one to make excuses, but I’m sure this appears close to being one.

Over the past week and a half, I have been involved in the student/faculty/staff protests and my activism became a priority over my studies.  Personally, my fight has been about the educational rights of every single student at this university.  UCSD is a public institution and is partially funded by the state, and it is the function of the state, as Aristotle would say, to educate the people.  Education is a right, not a privilege.   The purpose of the March 4 protests across the state was to send this exact message to state government whose budget cuts are threatening the sustainability of the public education system.  With the UC Regents’ exorbitant fee hikes, an education at a UC institution becomes a class-distinguishing good available only to the wealthy.  And as minorities, who are a statistical majority in the lower-income class, are already underrepresented in the system, the fee hikes would make it less likely for them to afford a UC education.  Socioeconomic inequities are undoubtedly a significant factor in the disproportionate racial demographics across all UC campuses.  And it is undeniable that students are significantly impacted by the environment in which they receive their education.  Unfortunately for the minorities on this campus, the lack of a sense of community has recently been aggravated by ignorant actions of certain inconsiderate students/organizations.  I have noticed that there are a number of students and faculty members who consider our outrage to be an overreaction to a few jokes made in bad taste, but this view stems from a selfish complacency and mocks all of those who refuse to accept infringements on their right to education.

Every single time I have attempted to work on my paper, I found myself making very little progress.  On many occasions I felt a bit delusional from feeling as if I had some higher-calling, as if society really needed me.  My academic responsibilities as a student became trivialized, and, admittedly, I allowed my emotions run wild.  Seeing so many of my fellow students carrying on unaffected, not to mention hearing people mock the black community’s hurt, I began to reevaluate my role as a student at this campus.  As a philosophy student, I have always been taught to inquire further into the exact meaning of things, to examine the unavoidable implications behind every assertion, and it is apparent that I carry that practice beyond the academic world.

If at any point in the future I find myself in another existential crisis, I hope I can return to this moment and reexamine my struggle as a emotionally-charged (perhaps confused) student, making all attempts to fulfill self-conceived (perhaps ill-conceived) societal obligations.

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