[4125] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: assimilation
rjbarbal@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (rjbarbal@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Mon Nov 1 03:50:16 1993
> When I first came to MIT I had this theory about how I could change
> things, and later on I thought I could at least make a difference in
> some areas, but I spent some time thinking today, and what I came up
> with was "Wow, I've been fighting about hese things for a year and a
> half now, and if anything has changed it completely eludes me."
When I first came to MIT, a certain member of the ODSA informed me,
"MIT will not change. Students must adapt to it, or they do not
belong here." As recently as a year ago, I believed her lie, and
she was one of the few people I had ever loathed.
But I myself have proved her wrong at least one hundred times. MIT
will change, but people need to advocate the ideas that will make it
change for the better, strive to teach others those ideas, and work
toward realizing those goals.
Before I came here, campus-wide recycling did not exist. Drug use was
at its highest since the '60s. Handicap access was non-existent. The
suicide rate was skyrocketing. "Date rape" and "sexual harrassment"
were terms that had only just started being discussed. And MIT HAS NO
PROBLEMS was the charge the all-evil Administration shouted at anyone
who tried to talk about any of these.
Over 3 years later, and after thousands of hours of students' hard
work, that lie has been proven wrong. It has been difficult. MIT
still has many problems, but the Administration is not evil, and is
willing to listen and talk and work toward solving our problems.
Those few people who still think that MIT can't change are finding
that they themselves are the ones who don't belong here.
> Giving up sort of disgusts me and I kind of despise myself for it, but
> god, it's a lot easier.
Don't quit. You may not see the changes you bring about while here,
but they will occur in time. It is hard, and you may give up a lot
and be badly hurt, but you'll recover and some day you'll know all
you've done has helped many others.
