The Observer, October 14, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 7
Free Speech Zone: Students should not fear change, challenges
To the editor:
Last week's Observer had not less than three articles explaining how students fear change here at this university. As a student, I am ashamed to see that. It is my belief that changes occurring currently at Case are for the better. It seems that people feel these changes will weaken the academic integrity of our school and reduce us to a level of state schools. However, this is not true. Academics can be paired with school spirit and overall enjoyment of the collegiate experience. If anyone looked in the infamous Princeton Review report on happiness of students, they would have found several top-ranked private universities among the happiest.
Furthermore, I can almost guarantee that those who wrote last week's articles on the horrors of school spirit are forgetting the essential goal of college: to challenge our views. I suggest that perhaps a majority of those Case students who haven't looked up from their video games since they moved in seven weeks ago get out and see what is going on at Case athletic events, the pep rally this Friday, or other events across the campus.
How can so many be quick to bash the school's newfound spirit without even seeing if they find it enjoyable or not. I was almost sure college was supposed to expose us to new things, and let us decide if we liked it or not. In simply dismissing sports, SAGES, or other activities that should make you proud to be a Case student I fear that many of Case's students are losing an essential part of their college experience. While we are here to study and get a degree (or two) we are also supposed to push the envelope, try new things, and heaven forbid maybe even embrace changes that are improving your life – and undoubtedly the quality of Case's reputation.
Adam Rupe
Undergraduate Student
