In this issue:
-What are we fighting for?
-A last resort
-More importantly...

::WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?::

Over the past month, I had an interesting experience at my school. It all began with finding out that one of my professors was getting fired. Now, this is one of the most involved, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable teachers I'd ever had in my life. I was surprised, puzzled, and a little upset that he was leaving.

Apparently, I wasn't alone.

As I spoke to more and more people, I realized that everyone had the same concerns. The Environmental Science department was down to only three full-time faculty members, which was barely enough to make the program worthwhile. And the administration was cutting it down to two? It just didn't make sense.

On top of that, I can't say enough about how good this professor was. No one knew his students better. He was the epitome of what a small school has to offer. Yet they were getting rid of him. There HAD to be a reason why.

So, I did what seemed to be the only reasonable thing to do. I wrote a letter to the dean of our department, expressing my concerns and asking why this was happening. I forwarded a copy to other students, encouraging them to write their own letters, in hopes that the department would understand how much this professor was appreciated.

It worked...kind-of. They DID write letters. But rather than trying to understand the situation, it seemed like they were rallying their forces. Before I knew it, there were a dozen angry letters waiting to be sent, and hundreds of signatures on a petition. They were ready to fight.

But who were we fighting against? What were we fighting for? To keep our professor around, no matter what the reason the administration had for firing him? That didn't seem to make much sense, either.

It suddenly occurred to me that this was probably a reflection of what goes on in real life. On one side, you have some kind of bureaucracy, calling the shots. On the other side, you've got the activists, making a commotion. And both of them are so busy fighting each other that no one really knows what's going on.

By the time I sat down with the dean, I learned that it was the President who decided that our professor should go. She encouraged me to meet with him the next day, and warned that he did not take well to confrontation from people who were not familiar with the situation at hand. Unfortunately, I'd heard that there were a few angry Environmental Science students ready to storm the meeting and curse him out---not exactly a mature or effective way to handle things. There was even talk of protesting. Things were about to turn ugly.

Luckily, a few of us convinced people to hold back their letters, petitions, and profanity until we met with the President and got his side of the story. It turned out to be a complicated situation, with many twists and turns, but it all came down to one thing: enrollment. Less and less people were entering the Environmental Science program, which spurred a series of decisions, including our professor being fired. No amount of protesting, petitioning, or cursing could've changed the enrollment numbers at the root of the administration's decision.

::A LAST RESORT::

Watching everything unfold showed me that environmentalists are often quick to jump on the activism bandwagon, even if it's not the most effective way to go about doing things. In fact, sometimes extreme measures ruin any chance for mutual communication and understanding. If those students had shown up at the meeting and picked a fight with the President, they might've sealed our fate. Any chance for convincing him to change his mind, if there was any, would've been shot.

My own personal opinion is that activism is a last resort, second only to violence in self-defense, when communication and diplomacy have proved impossible. The last thing I wanted to do was come head to head with the administration and try to force them to do what I wanted them to do, whether it's by protesting, signing a petition, yelling, boycotting, or whatever.

What I DID want to do was to try and understand the situation as objectively as possible. That involved hearing both sides of the story, and remaining open-minded. Only then could I determine what's the most effective way to go about doing things.

In this case, if we REALLY wanted to change things, we, as students, could've taken steps to increase enrollments and recruit more Environmental Science majors. But even THAT would only be treating the symptoms of an even GREATER problem--an increasing apathy towards the environment, a sentiment which goes above and beyond the situation at our school.

::MORE IMPORTANTLY...::

While struggling to figure out what to do in this situation, I realized that the deeper question is: why don't the majority of people care about the environment?

Maybe it's because most of us grow up seeing the environment as something to be used. Don't get me wrong--the environment IS something to be used, just like lions use it, birds use it, and trees use it. But it's ALSO something to be nurtured. You can't survive if you don't take care of the things that take care of you.

More importantly, I think most people DO sense that we're NOT doing a very good job taking care of the environment we depend on for, well, everything....But they ignore that "nagging feeling" because we've been taught to ignore many, many things that don't fit in with the rest of our lives. My best guess is that one of the most effective things to do, if not the most crucial, is to help people get in touch with that "nagging feeling." That's why I admire the work of Daniel Quinn, who's managed to swerve so many people's defense mechanisms and helped them come face to face with that feeling that something just isn't right.

Once people can admit to themselves that something's wrong with the way we're doing things, a journey begins that's different for everyone. For me, it involved studying environmental science and starting this website. God only knows where it's going to take me 10 years from now.

To be honest, I don't know if I'm being very effective right now. What I DO know is that I'm not settling for just making things less bad. I'd rather spend my entire life trying to change things than succeed in making them a little less bad, even though I get more than a little bummed out every once in a while.

Even when I do get discouraged, there's a quote on the wall right next to my desk from The Lord of the Rings that offers a small reminder of what I'm doing:

The rule of no realm is mine, but all worthy things
that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care.
And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task
if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair
or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.
For I too am a steward. Did you not know?

Till next month,

-Krystle C.

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