I’m proud to go to a school where so many people seem not to care. At Pepperdine, there are social justice folks, Campus Ministry people and Jumpstarters. Recently, the debate over Reach OUT recognition has gotten even more people talking. But there are a lot of people who aren’t saying or doing anything. They may seem apathetic, but they’re not.
Remember the SGA elections last fall? No sophomores and no seniors ran for senate seats. Remember how women were going to vote on a name for the eatery in the HAWC? It’s called the HAWC Café now. Remember how the athletics department gives away free stuff for attendance at games? A moderate turn out is still an event worthy of coverage in the Graphic.
All these things are evidence of the great number of students uninvolved in campus life. This is not apathy. It is caring about things not programmed by Pepperdine, and it’s commendable.
These seemingly apathetic people are skeptical and realistic. Sophomores and seniors, at least, don’t really believe student government does that much. Last fall, they decided they weren’t going to waste their time sitting on committees, even for a paycheck. Or, better yet, they couldn’t be bothered to vote. If they are who I think they are, they probably don’t know that no one ran for these positions and aren’t reading this article because they have better things to do. Again, it’s not that they’re doing nothing. Everyone is always doing something whether they like it or not. Simply because that something isn’t expressed in campus activity doesn’t make it lesser than.
Besides, withdrawal from and even ignorance of school goings on is praiseworthy. This is an acceptance of the way things are. If you’re not bothered that much by things around campus, why do anything about them? Unlike those frustrated and busy people we all know, these seemingly apathetic folks are well enough just where they are. Instead of constantly striving to perfect everything around them, they abide imperfection and live their own lives regardless.
Simply because these individuals aren’t organized and vocal doesn’t mean they’re callous and cowardly. They may care about other things more (imagine: issues more important than campus politics) or they’re evaluating what they should care about at all. These are honest positions that clever leaders have recognized.
In 1969, Nixon gave a speech about the “silent majority” of Americans, those who weren’t publicly protesting the Vietnam War or sharing their views at all. He appealed to their realism over the idealism of the “vocal minority” in achieving “peace with honor” to end the war. Time magazine declared Middle America, or the silent majority, Man of the Year in 1970. Taking this recognition in stride, only 47 percent of eligible voters showed up in the 1970 midterm elections.
I find that figure encouraging. That tells me that 53 percent of Americans didn’t care who won the elections. If they found out who won, it wouldn’t make or break their day. They probably spent their days working, eating and watching TV with their families. Perhaps they even actually talked to them. They had come to peace with what they reasonably could and could not do, and they were content.
Then as now, the vocal minority would have you believe you must be loud and proud to be a contributing member of society. This is not so. There are subtle, even silent ways to add value. The silent majority at Pepperdine have more time to spend with the people right in front of them, perhaps even befriending their roommates. They can also afford to explore Malibu and LA in a non-task oriented, do-or-die senior year bucket list fashion. They may even have time to read, write or draw for pleasure. Plus, the beauty of staying out of things most of the time is that people actually pay attention to you when you get involved — if you do.
