Editorial
Respecting others goes a long way
October 1, 2009
Forty-one years ago, in 1967, Aretha Franklin sang the words “All I’m asking, is for a little respect…” Her version was a landmark for the feminist movement and was considered a desperate plea for men to view women as equals. Now, in 2009, we can look on her song and view it in a different light. Once again her words are a desperate plea, but this time we interpret them in a much broader spectrum: common respect towards other humans.
The Student Voice feels that UWRF students are becoming increasingly disrespectful to their peers and professors.
Every 50 or 75 minutes, depending on the weekday, the hallways of every academic building become clogged with students trying feverishly to get to their next class, to the cafeteria or to their individual rooms. This sudden surge of bodies leads to inevitable traffic jams in every stairwell, especially in KFA. But the bulk of these congestions could be avoided if students would simply cool their jets and wait until they got outside to bust out their cell-phones and start texting their friends. Far too often, members of the Student Voice editorial board staff observe a person walking aimlessly down the hallways, or on the sidewalks outside, heads hung low with their phone brought close to their eyes, texting. These walking accidents swerve around the walkway, cutting people off and causing everyone around them to move out of the way or risk getting hit. Students need to pay attention, keep moving and step off to the side if they intend to slow down or stop.
Students also need to turn off their cell phones in class. We have all been in a classroom sometime when a random, muffled ringtone pierces the lecture, deflating it like a Firestone tire. Unless you are waiting to hear back about a cancer test or a relative who is on their death bed, there is nothing that is so important you need to have your phone on and answer texts in class. You are here to learn. Stop wasting your tuition dollars by not paying attention. Our professors have all reached an admirable level of accomplishment. They deserve our respect. So respect their cell phone policies, and their decisions about how to run their classes.
As the technology age pushes forward, it seems that human interaction is the first casualty. A culture of drive-thrus, online shopping and texting has deprived newer generations of the necessary socialization tools to interact with other humans. As a result, respect is becoming a history book term, not a standard code of conduct.