By The Beacon Editorial Board
Eleven days ago, UP students sophomores Kevin Hershey and Adrienne Shelnutt took the initiative to join in the national protest of the School of the Americas in Georgia, a trip that they personally fundraised.
This week, senior Leslie Eddy almost single-handedly invented and organized the week-long educational health care event on campus.
All these students showcased the drive and resourcefulness of UP students to persevere beyond boundaries and expectations.
We at The Beacon applaud their passion and encourage more students to follow in step with the examples set by these students.
Instances of students breaking out of the so-called UP bubble, living their lives beyond their next final or round of beer pong, go back much further than two weeks.
Two years ago, then-UP-student Wyeth Larson and a handful of other dedicated students brought Focus the Nation to UP, where politicians, professors and students rallied across the nation in the largest campus teach-in on environmental awareness in U.S. history.
To say that UP is a campus low in student activism is an unwarranted claim, if befitting for a number of students.
But even so, is this really that unexpected?
As young college students, we often have ambition without direction, and it cannot and should not be expected that every student is as self-driven as the next.
After all, how do you find your own drive or discover what brings you alive?
The secret is that even if "average" is the best description of your academic performance, a strong work ethic and a desire to see a project through is all you need to get started.
At UP, a liberal arts education offers more than a holistic education and job flexibility. It offers opportunities for leadership and guidance from sources as varied as professors to fellow peers.
At the end of the day, skills like organizing, planning and work ethic extend beyond the mere pursuit of a grade.
In their own ways, programs like ROTC and the Moreau Center immersions both aid students in recognizing the value of service.
But at a university where the safety of students takes precedence over visceral exposures, students should not expect to be offered the fullest spectrum of possibilities and opportunities for personal growth and revelation.
Such initiative often involves accepting risks, both real and perceived. In the end, you shouldn't solely rely on UP to offer every life-changing experience, as Shelnutt and Hershey likely now know firsthand.
American author Howard Thurman once said "Don't worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."
If the example of these students says anything, it's that this is one of the best times in your life to take risks and come alive.
And more often than not, change only happens in a moment of crisis. But what better crisis to be in than in this pivotal transitional point in your life?
You can either rise to the issues or retreat from them. The issue for you is how to come alive. Go for it.
