April 21,1999
Meredith Hemid
Campus Extras
11
Founder of Earth Day expresses continuing concerns
Gaylord Nexson
The WiWemess Society
For today’s college students,
there has always been Earth
Day. Growing up, almost all of
you participated in school,
scout or community activities
that marked this occasion.
But as recently as 1969 there
was nothing called Earth Day.
As a U.S. Senator. I was dis
mayed the Senate and the rest
of the political establishment
were simply blind to the envi-
ronmenial deterioration all
around us. 1 could count on one
hand the number of Senators
who would have described
themselves as “environmental
ists," and I was searching for
some way to change that.
From my travels around the
country. I knew Americans
were much more aware of and
concerned about the state of the
environment than the political
establishment- Finally it
occurred to me that if we could
organize a huge national
demonstration on behalf of the
environment it might force the
issue onto the nation's political
agenda.
After proposing the idea in a
1969 speech in Seattle, I sent a
letter to every major college
newspaper and took other steps
to spread the word and won
dered if it would catch on.
The public response was
overwhelming- On the first
Earth Day—Apr. 22, 1970—
some 20 million Americans
took part in a wide range of
activities. Just as remarkable
was the fact that I did not orga
nize all this; students and
teachers and other citizens felt
strongly enough about the
planet's condition that they
rushed to suppcHl the cause.
American Heritage Magazine
called Earth Day “one of the
most remarkable happenings in
the history of democracy.” I
never dreamed that 29 years
later Earth Day would still be
going strong.
Will the new millennium be
good—or bad—for our plan
et's health? The answer
depends in large part on the
generation now on our college
campuses. I believe most
young people understand the
importance of environmental
protection and what we need to
do to be responsible environ
mental citizens. The key ques
tion, then, is: Will your genera
tion act on this knowledge and
commitment? If you do, you
will be remembered as the gen
eration that made the critical
difference.
The key challenge for you is
to forge and maintain a sustain
able society: one that meets its
own needs without depriving
future generations of the
chance to meet their needs. No
country has managed to
achieve that goal. We are all
consuming our capital and
counting it on the income side
of the ledger. That is not sus
tainable. What is our capital?
It’s our resource base: air,
water, soils, forests, rivers,
oceans, minerals, scenic beauty
and biodiversity. Take that base
away-all that is left is a waste
land.
We have only one planet.
Nothing could be more impor
tant than making sure it is a liv
able planet. Through commu
nity work, political activity and
lifestyle decisions, you have
the power to sqve Earth.
Opinion: My grades are my business
Kathy W. Baili;y
Guest Writer
Have you ever noticed that
the only time some students
stop to talk to you is when they
are interested in your grades?
How does that make you feel?
How often do you ask other
students about their grades?
You may be wondering what
harm there is in a.sking. For one
thing, grades are a private mat
ter between the professor and
the student, and, for another,
asking others about grades is
rude and demonstrates a lack of
concern for their feelings.
Posing questions about a
person’s grades puis that per
son on the spot: she must
decide how to handle the situa
tion. Many of u.9 hesitate to say,
“I don’t share my grades,”
because is sounds snobbish.
However, it is rude to pul
someone in that position in the
first place, regardles of
whether she made an A or a C.
It is, in fact, an invasion of pri
vacy. No one else besides the
student and professor should
know—unless, of course, a stu
dent volunteers to share her
grade.
Asking the insensitive ques
tion contributes to a competi
tive atmosphere- [f one student
asks another about her grade.
she is probably making a com
parison- By asking, the ques
tioner makes herself look inse
cure in her own performance,
or, even worse, eager to feel
superior. Asking fellow stu
dents is not necessary to make
such comparisons.
If a student wants to know
where she stands in relation to
her classmates, she can ask her
professor to provide her (or the
class) with high, low, and
median scores; many profes
sors already do this. This infor
mation allows students to see
where they stand without com
promising other students’ pri-
vacy.
Perhaps you are thinking, “If
someone doesn’t want to tell
me her grade, then she doesn't
have to.” If so, consider that
not all people respond to ques
tioning as you would, and
some may feel pressure to
share. Sharing grades should
be strictly voluntary. And if
you choose to share your grade
you shouldn’t expect the other
student to reciprocate.
You may wonder why I care
so much about privacy of
grades. I developed this con
viction after a few students
whom I barely knew began to
ask me, “What did you make?”
In my days at Meredith, I
have been made uncomfortable
several times. Although 1 like
to share my accomplishments
with a good friend, theses stu
dents never bothered to get to
know me. They only wanted to
know my grade.
If you are in the habit of ask
ing other students about their
grades, please be aware that
your questions can be embar
rassing and even painful to oth
ers. If someone asks you about
your grades, don’t feel you
must apologize for refusing to
share.
Nosy students need to learn
that the question “What did
you make?" is rude.
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