No Thanks, I'm Full

In a time of protests and riots, it's always been something to read about in newspapers and talk about with people as equally ignorant to the actual cause that is being protested about. I mean, unless you're in the belly of the beast, you never really know how they feel or what they are truly fighting for. We can only sympathize and move on with our routine lives. It's easy for us on the outside to talk about what is happening when we are just being fed the media's distorted and biased perception of an event. And yet, 97% of us are ok with that. We don't question. We are perfectly content with not fully knowing. We will let the really passionate protesters speak for the majority and hope that their small act can snowball into something bigger, possibly leading to change (and it has in many places which is why the world is in such turmoil). Most of us though, don't want to bank on the risks they are taking. Or the consequences that may come because of their actions. And yet, I give props to the people out there who are supporting their cause with such intensity.

Am I saying that what is mostly happening around the world is a good thing? No (but also yes...it's complicated so we aren't going to get into it). It is never right for innocent people to pay for the views of the few. Am I an expert? No. Far from it and while I condone standing up for what you believe in and trying to alter your future, it shouldn't be at the expense of innocent bystanders; aren't they the people you are hopefully going to help? Yes, future generations are important, but what and who is the immediate cause? You. And Them by default. But not when you take things to the extreme.

What caused this post might you ask? As I sat in the Canteen about 20 minutes ago, doing homework in preparation for my midterm tomorrow, I heard whistles. And clapping. And yelling. And the grand feeling of something big about to happen. AUBG had just released their deal to make meal plans mandatory for students, and well folks, students weren't too happy about it. Petitions have been passed around and signed and a mass protest planned. Which was today. Which I forgot about. So as I sat obliviously doing my homework, the passionate protesters of AUBG overtook the Canteen and began to shout. Posters, a megaphone, a shirtless boy with body paint, and about 200 students wanting their voice to be heard by administration. It's valid. Meal plans should be a student's choice.

For the first 15 minutes they shouted "No meal plan" and "Let us choose" and phrases of such nature. It was loud and there were a ton of people. The Canteen is a fairly confined space so the sound just bounced off the walls and reverberated in the floor. The energy of this group pulsed through my body. People flooded tables and shook chairs and slammed tabletops. It was quite the production. But the cool thing about accidentally being in the middle of all this was that they really cared about what was going on. The cause just coursed through the crowd and it was a small glimpse of what people all over the world have been doing for the past year and a half. It was exhilarating, what they were doing, and I applaud their courage for standing up and demanding their collective voice be heard. There is a small group meeting with the Provost and we will truly see how dedicated the university is to its students and what they think.

As I sit in the now empty Canteen writing this, everything has died down and it's almost like nothing happened. But for those of us who stayed, there is a hint of rebellion in the air. And that will eventually make all the difference.