By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor’s Note: The Editorial Board of the Cento is composed of members of the staff and does not reflect the opinions of any one individual on the staff. The Editorial Board represents the voice of the Cento.
For Centre, last year will always be referred to as the year of “The Thrill.” As the hosts of the 2012 Vice Presidential Debate, our campus suddenly exploded into a frenzy of excitement during the month of October and the few weeks leading up to the event. The campus teemed with eagerness and energy with events like the Student Government Association Carnival- all showing the high level of anticipation the students were experiencing. When the calendar finally showed that long-awaited 10.11.12 media trucks and Secret Service descended upon the campus, bringing a world of opportunities for students.
In the haze of the next 24 hours, the average student was transformed into any number of new glamorous positions. Students found themselves tweeting directly for the Twitter Company, chatting over coffee with high-profile politicians in the Media Hall, stepping onto the media van for C-SPAN, or landing face-time on any of the major network that were holding live broadcasts across campus. Yet, after the arguing came to a tenuous end and the cameras finally faded, the magic of the Debate seemed to be over in the blink of an eye.
The political fairytale was over and it was time that every Centre student return to their regular lives, as if the Debate had never happened. But as Centre fell back into its pre-Debate rhythm, a new feeling began to creep across the campus. It was the feeling that there is only a finite amount of energy on campus and it had all been spent on the Debate.
It was difficult to find the energy and motivation to truly concentrate on that Biology 110 paper after being a part of a Vice Presidential Debate? There emerged the crippling thought among students that if one’s activities can’t compare to the hype and adrenaline of the Debate, then why even bother in the first place? Needless to say, there was a rampant outbreak of apathy in Centre students. This phenomenon was seen mainly in extracurricular activities and student organizations.
With an extreme inferiority complex, club programming grinded to a halt. The Centre Democrats and Republicans for instance seemed to have used all of their political stamina during the Debate since both organizations lulled in their activities post-Thrill. Front and Centre felt the same pressures with their documentary on the Debate. After hours of filming during the duration of the event, very little has been heard from them since. Campus event attendance felt like an all-time low as convocation capacities were barely filled and Norton Center events had surplus of tickets for several shows. It seemed, last year, that the only place you could find students was tucked away in their rooms on a Netflix binge, hopelessly procrastinating their work and daydreaming about the bygone excitement of the Debate.
The lull seemed to become more of a frightening change in culture. After all, this group of unenthusiastic and uninterested young adults couldn’t possibly be describing Centre students, could it? Surely not – students at Centre are known for being curious and inquisitive, passionate and interested, desperately seeking a way to involve themselves in the events and decisions of the college. So who then are these apathy-infested drones on campus that are trying to pass as dedicated Centre students?
It was far too easy to get sucked into the lull that followed the “Thrill in the Ville” of the 2012 Vice Presidential Debate. It was even easier to get trapped into this cycle of apathy and maintain it.
As the Editorial Board, we say enough is enough. Without our drive and dedication and our persistence in both academics and extracurricular activities we cease to be Centre students. If we keep this pattern up, might as well just be absorbed by Transy. But we are Centre students and we are better than that. Luckily this year has already seen an improvement with inventive and creative new programs and organizations. It seems that the presidents and members of many student organizations are waking up from the haze of last year and calling their groups to action.
With work, Centre can be more than “that little school in Kentucky that hosted the Vice Presidential Debate twice.” It can become that little school in Kentucky where “The Thrill” of student involvement lives on everyday.