Chico State: A campus divided

Depolarize Chico is a group in town that tries to build understanding and dialogue during a time that politically divides the community, according to its Facebook page description. While this is a city organization, it’s important to recognize how divided the Chico State campus is. Off campus, all Wildcats can unite as a member of the Chico State student population, but on campus, many students never talk to each other and frequently stay in their comfort zone. Campus Republicans and Democrats don’t tend to host forums where they can speak to each other and members can have a dialogue with each other. Similarly, students from drastically different majors tend to ignore each other.

At Chico State, it can be easy to drown out the noise pollution of tabling clubs on campus. Students should spend more time speaking to each other and get out of their comfort zones on campus. College used to be a space for students to grow and learn about viewpoints different from their own.

In the age of social media, it can be easy to ignore issues that students don’t want to dwell on. Millennials are often perceived as apathetic and lack the desire to grow as people. Students need to spend more time developing themselves into productive and informed members of society and less time wasting their parents’ money by getting drunk on Burnett’s and ditching class to nurse a hangover.

Even if general education classes can feel like a waste of time, students still have to take the courses. Students should take a moment to speak to their professors about the course and actually attempt to learn something.

At Chico State, Wildcats may prefer to slip into routine and focus on what’s comfortable but they shouldn’t forget the importance of growth. While it’s naïve to think that every student can come together, hold hands and sing “Kumbaya,” college can be a place for intellectual stimulation. Depolarize Chico may focus on the community as a whole, but Chico State is far from connected.