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The Exchange of Ideas

The University system is a breeding ground, often in more than one way, that allows everyone a voice and equal platform. As students, our different backgrounds and hopes are all cast into a melting pot of ideas that must surely bubble and froth with the emergence of opinions.

By the time students arrive at university most are fairly articulate in their views or are becoming so. Many have strong political affiliations and are devoted to one religion or none at all. On the surface, students come to college to take class and graduate but this is not the essence of college life by any means. The relationships and exchange of personalities and ideas are what gives us real life. Good friends, late nights and intriguing professors allow us to become something more than just a beaker into which politicians and TV can pour their convictions.

Student politics, in the form of groups and organizations, is a preamble to the connections we must foster in our careers and private lives. The ability to lead, assist and contribute to a cause that we agree with is not only fulfilling but can have far reaching implications. It is with politics that change occurs. Students often change regulations and express grievances through committees and in a democratic manner. Soon enough, the realization that teamwork and diplomacy trumps kindergarten-style brute force, dawns upon students.

Discussion of important topics takes place on all college campuses between all walks of life. It is not, or at least should not be, in the spirit of redundancy but in the awareness that we are the future stewards of human civilization and should take that role seriously.

Disagreement is the most crucial part of college development. How boldly we challenge the views of other in a respectful way determines whether we will be heard or simply ruled out. On the other hand, the tendency to stay quiet and not opine a view can be equally detrimental to oneself and detract from the conversation overall. We all have strong views on certain topics that others may be wholly ignorant of. It would be regrettable, in this age, to hold knowledge within and never allow others its fruits.

Student politics is an initiation into the matters that concern us as a society. It emboldens our characters to be whatever it is we chose to be. What we take out of our time in student politics will surely help us form objective opinions and discern more acutely in later life. This frenzy of ideas is at the heart of a health democracy. Being an informed voter or a prudent candidate is in the best interests of the country and, in fact, the world. With better decisions and more interaction we make the world a place in which everyone and everything wants to live. This may be a lofty goal but humans have always aspired to reach that which is unattainable.

Learn more about this author, Uhuru Uhlanya.
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