Speaker calls for change and civic duty

The message of change has been rampant as the presidential election surges forward, but the students and faculty of CGSU have their own message of change.

All last week, Dr. Harry Boyte, leader of The Civic Agency Initiative, delivered moving lectures about campus community involvement and viewing politics from an older perspective. Boyte’s speech, given during Constitution Week, highlighted GCSU’s recent induction into The American National Civic Agency and the forward initiative of the American Democracy Project, proving youth can make a difference in government.
“Government is not them, government is us.” Boyte explained while addressing the preamble of the constitution.

With such diversity at GCSU, and a yearning for involvement in society, Boyte believes there is an untapped potential in the higher education realm.

“Society has underestimated the capacity of education; there is a plethora of knowledge to learn in college, but not all of it comes from text books,” Boyte said.

Students and faculty in the audience absorbed the message of unity and the central theme of vitality with intrigue seeing simultaneously how government should interact with society and the present reality. In such a landmark election, the youth of society is left to decipher the message of change for themselves.

“The concept of the lecture seemed good,” Grad student Jamie Gerece said, “but people our age rarely have the time or will to dedicate to making change.”

College students are a generation learning how to claim political power, but without proper motivation and opportunity, many are lost to political apathy.

“I never had a strong introduction to politics, I understand that they are important, I just don’t see my role in them.” freshman Dylan Greenway said.

While some students choose the passive route to understanding the complicated world of politics, others peruse it ruthlessly.
“It is our duty to change politics,” freshman Caitlin McCourt said. “Our opinion does matter. I think people should get involved with politics now and obtain the experience because one day it will be our generation’s turn in office.”

The cry for change rings through the political domain stemming from the grass roots of community nectivity of a nation.

“Society has become too individualistic,” Boyte said. “We have lost the vitality of community.”

He seemed to embody the spirit of the 1930′s he admired, which was a time when hope for a better future was renewed and change was more than a mere possibility.

GCSU’s involvement in student driven politics and service projects serve as a primary example to community outreach and a struggle to connect with the world outside of campus.

Boyte’s lecture served to inspire its audience to think differently and consider community over the individual. Citing history as a reference, and youth as a catalyst for change, Boyte urges the students of GCSU to reach out to the community. As the election approaches, college students across the nation prepare to take the initiative and cast their vote for a better future.

“Profound change can take place in culture if people create that change,” Boyte said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 26 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry