The WashU Bubble

The following commentary was provided by a member of the Washington University Alumni Council

With Commencement now behind us and the summer in full swing, I wanted to reflect a little on the “unique situation” of our particular Commencement. Despite where you stand on the issue, what we should all be able to agree on is the popping of the Wash U Bubble that took place by all the student activity. Many agreed with the protest and many thought it disrespectful, but to come to either conclusion required engagement with the issue and familiarity with the material, namely the work of Phyllis Schlafly. I do not pretend that this is the first time the bubble has been popped; I have been at Wash U long enough to see the campus during the primary season as well as an election itself, and I know full well our political capabilities. This “popping” however goes beyond politics, I believe that the popping that occurred in respect to the Schlafly issue (though close to home with it involving our election) required a far more intense engagement with the issue than mere politics of an election year requires. For us, to hear the latest political news is as easy as turning on CNN or Fox or even just going to yahoo.com where the news ticker on the side lets us know what the three remaining candidates have said recently. But Phyllis Schlafly is not in the public’s eye, and hasn’t been for some time now. That means that for people to understand who she is and what she represents they have to do more than turn on the television, they have to actually do research. And that is exactly what many people began to do, from both sides of the issue.

The bubble will be something to work against in the future and perhaps a site like this can help in the effort by engaging the alumni population of Wash U on issues that may not directly address the WUSTL community. I know that after four years of desperately trying to increasing attendance at my group events and four years of going to very few forums outside of my own, that this is a tricky issue. Perhaps the answer is in relating national and international issue to the Wash U community, one example that comes to mind is the excellent work of the green groups this last year in raising awareness of sustainability issues. Perhaps another part of the solution is distancing the forums from the lecture hall experience; this has been accomplished with the addition of sustenance and audiovisual aids. Yet another solution is doing just the opposite and collaborating with academic departments to make the events mandatory for students in specific classes.

But these solutions don’t really get at the heart of the issue, the idea that our community is only concerned with our community and that only issues relating to that community are important to us. Hell that is even true when looking at the popping of the bubble in regards to the Schlafly honoring, students protested because it had to do with our school and our commencement. But on the other hand this view has the unfortunate side effect of being too pessimistic. To be concerned with something that involves our schools national reputation is much more of a bubble pop than to not care at all. In reality it is the apathy of students that we must work against the most. And in regards to apathy, appealing to what interests the apathetic is the best way to work against that apathy. Therefore the solution is just what was suggested above, appeasement.

So to conclude I say thank you to those who continue to struggle against that bubble and work to make Wash U a less apathetic place. The job is difficult and the rewards are small but when something like the honoring of Phyllis Schlafly comes around, the results are obvious.