Well, here we are, half done with our sophomore summer. I had wondered what the focus of the campus would be during this term, considering only a quarter of the students are here. Would it be the heat? Would it be the difficulty in studying when there is so much other stuff that could be done? Maybe it would be the construction that we've been dealing with for the past couple of years.
I was prepared to deal with each of these problems. However, it would appear that the theme of the summer of 1993 is just how many things on this campus are horrible, and why none of us should be able to sleep at night knowing that everything around us is not perfect.
Before anyone decides to get upset, let me first say that I do not think everything is rosy on this campus. There are problems all around us. Hey -- there are problems everywhere! If somebody out there knows where I can find a place where everyone is happy, give me a map and let's go.
Why don't we all rent a boat for three hours, hope the weather gets rough, and we can end up on a desert island all by ourselves? That way, we can make our own rules and make sure they are enforced. Then we can elect the Professor to be president, and maybe the Skipper can be our ambassador to the real world.
Of course, Mary Ann will be chief justice, since everything on our island would be fair. But what if she turns out to be pro-life? Well, let's put Gilligan and Mr. Howell on the court too and let them battle it out.
Now that we've established ourselves in what we believe to be a utopian society on an island, no one will expect any problems. Nevertheless, they will arise. What will we do? It will, of course, depend on the situation.
For instance, what if Ginger is so jealous of Mary Ann that she decides to carve "Actresses are Great" on every tree? Well, this would appear to be an act of vandalism, so she must be punished. She has a point, though. Actresses can be great, and since she's the only actress on the island, she must be oppressed. Well, we'll let that one slide.
The point of this analogy is that there are going to be people who are upset all the time, and this is okay, but it doesn't have to be the focal point of every day of our lives.
Wouldn't it be nice if we looked at a few of the good things about Dartmouth (that is, if we can find any)? We are at one of the best schools in the world. We have freedoms that both students and adults in other parts of the world can only dream about. It hasn't snowed all summer.
There are those who like to spend all of their time finding out what's wrong with our society. Within this group, there are those who like to complain about it and there are those who like to do something about it. On the other hand, there are those who pretend that everything is wonderful. These groups can go ahead and do whatever they want to do -- I could use more stuff to talk about.
I just don't want to look back on sophomore summer wondering what it could have been like if people had tried to enjoy themselves more. Look around you, but see the glass as half full for a change. And maybe, just maybe, we can all find something good to talk about.
