Our Voice
The kick-off of The Big Read on Wednesday has raised awareness about the reading habits of GCSU students and Milledgeville residents alike. By reading the same book, people are brought together by a common thread, a topic to discuss.
This comes with the advent of the idea that fewer people are reading for pleasure. Reading is seen as a chore, something we have to do. We can blame the sheer amount of reading for classes to turn anyone off from the printed word, but we can still lament its decline. More people are choosing to watch TV, check Facebook religiously, sleep a little (sleep?…who needs sleep?), anything but read a bunch of tiny words on a sheet of paper.
We at the Colonnade have noticed the same slump. Every week, we recycle the leftover papers, and are disheartened by the amount that is left at the end. Some locations run out of papers, while others are still essentially untouched.
We can only guess to why this is. We try not to lose faith in humanity every time the supply of papers at some locations is as pristine as it was at distribution. Maybe you’re all busy, or you picked up your paper somewhere else.
That is not to say that GCSU students are uninformed. They’re not entirely apathetic, and definitely not illiterate. The fight to save GIL Express is just one example of how public outcry can make a difference, and the hype about the presidential election evokes strong opinions from students.
But occasionally we see a ray of light when we hear that someone looks forward to reading the Colonnade. We also enjoy getting letters to the editor, votes in our online polls and comments on the Web site. This way we know someone is paying attention. And that’s part of the free press: providing a public forum for debate. This can’t happen without your readership and responses.
We can only hope that reading the Colonnade has the same effect as reading the same book: bringing people together. With some common knowledge, you can unite with other people, whether through political discourse or literary analysis. Love it or hate it, at least you have an opinion.
That being said, we encourage you to take the time to participate in The Big Read, and while you’re at it, pick up a Colonnade as well.
Send your responses to Colonnadeletters@gcsu.edu
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 3 2008. Filed under Our Voice.
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