It is ironic that one of the first things on my mind after the recent BFS protest is apathy. Yet it is very clear to me that somewhere between the point where people form opinions and the point where they do something about those opinions there is a great craggy precipitous trench. So, I have pondered where this apathy, disinterest, or whateveryouwanttocallit comes from. This should be important to anyone at the Colleges, because apathy not only affects student activism, but it also affects other forms of involvement in the campus community.

Due to a misunderstanding, an incomplete draft of Professor Stevens’ article was published last week. We print the final version below, at her request.

As a newcomer to the Claremont Colleges, I first thought it was business as usual. You know, the old boy network of interlocking board memberships, the taint of commerce wafting through the halls of academe, the students intuitively opposed. They feel the Ellen Scripps of the San Diego Zoo and numerous parks and preserves from California to Michigan couldn’t possibly support a biotech industry training facility on her land.

After spending the first two years of my collegiate life anxiously awaiting the completion of the Smith Campus Center, I was tremendously disappointed with the finished product when it finally opened last year. I had been hoping for a dramatic improvement over the makeshift student center that operated from 1997 to 1999 in Walker lounge and fishbowl, which, although cramped and removed from much of the campus, had a very friendly, communal atmosphere.

By now, nearly every member of the Claremont Colleges community is aware of the controversy surrounding future uses of the north campus property. Since the Policy Council (the board chairs and presidents) approved the founding of the Keck Graduate Institute as the newest member of the Claremont Colleges and in January 1997 decided to site KGI on 11.4 acres on the southwest portion of the north campus property, many voices within the colleges and community have spoken either in opposition or support of the plan.

Have you ever wondered what prompts President Bush to ignore the California energy crisis? Have you ever questioned from whom he was receiving counsel from on the matter? The answer to both of these questions is simply–Texas.

The President’s ear on energy matters belongs to gentleman Texan, Kenneth Lay, chairman of Houston-based Enron, the nation’s largest energy merchant and a key player in California’s current energy debacle.

So I was listening to the Clash like I always do, getting whipped up into a revolutionary fervor, like always, when it hit me–the baseball Duke Gray threw at me, that is. "Hey dickwad," yes, my roommate actually says dickwad, "write an article for me this week." The baseball hurt. A lot. But I still said yes. Why? Because I have opinions. Opinions up the ass. Oh, wow, I probably shouldn’t have said ass. That’s right, I’m from Chicago.