We have many different kinds of people here at Hopkins. Amongst these people is a diverse blend of personalities and preferences. The quiet academes holed up in the library. The boisterous Greeks that associate under their eponymous letters of organization. Amongst all these different types, there is an amorphous group whose charge of duty is to provide "a school unity and spirit."
The recent H-Fest reminds us of the very bizarre purpose these individuals try to accomplish. For those of you who stayed off of the beach that Friday, the H-Fest was a confluence of the "cheerleaders," our food service providers and DJs. The event was respectable, with a fair number of students coming out to participate. However, the entire event came to symbolize and embody the challenge of trying to unite a student body that is inherently diverse. Why do we even try? Why do we continue to attempt to be like other universities and institutions that bare little similarity to the Hopkins demographic?
The main "power" of these organizations only comes from their delegated authority of appropriation given by the "administration." Beyond this, these organizations must rely on certain student propaganda and participant gullibility to sway the undergraduate population into unified events. Many events have been a mild success; however, the vast majority of programming seems to be a dismally attended failure. My proposition is this: Let the organization and students you distribute the money to freely associate and unify within their own conscience without the interference of "official events." The total lack of unified school events would be a non-existent impediment to the social venues open to John or Jane Undergraduate. From the aforementioned fraternities and societies to socially and politically active clubs, the opportunities for us undergraduates to participate in social and political causes are virtually unlimited.
Why do we continue to buffer funds and distribution to functioning organizations through a programming board whose function is vestigial at best? It seems to be such an irony that they assume students at Hopkins, admitted for their intelligence and creativity, cannot determine independently on how they want to participate and interact with others. The students of Homewood are not sheep, and thus the social board organizations are an unneeded shepherd.
Abolish the programming board and restrict the role of Student Council to administrative petitioning and its club appropriation functions. We, as independently reasoning students, do not need your mass events and token association propaganda. The law of man is that people will find something to meet their needs. Just as the shortcomings of viable administrative events has led to our present situation, the total abolition of these futile events would not restrict the social options for students at Homewood.
The independence of social activities at Hopkins would be a proud new alternative model for universities. So what if we don't have Division I football or some other such event to unite at? Why do we even need such official social events when independent activities abound? The pride of Hopkins lies in its creatively independent students and academic reputation. Let us transcend the social barrier with that same charge of individuality and create a new, unique model for student life.
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