Like most other Cal Poly students, I was relatively uneducated about the budget cuts going on at the state level and within the CSU system before I wrote a recent article. Last spring I didn’t even take the time to educate myself on the college-based fee raises and thus didn’t even take the time to vote.
In my interviews with students, I wanted to find reasons they were or were not protesting or being politically active in some way. In most of my interviews, students had little to no idea of what was going on.
In all my interviews with the faculty and staff here at Cal Poly, I asked why they thought there was so little protest or awareness here on this campus. In an with a staffer who has been working here for more than 15 years, they observed that Cal Poly has historically been known as an apathetic campus.
In fact, she pointed out that it wasn’t until recently that Cal Poly had a young Democrats booth set up during open house.
It makes me wonder if that is always how it will be. The University of California system is going through the same problems as the CSU and they have had protests on top of protests. Is it the area or the people that make the culture?
In the critical and unprecedented time that we are in, life is financially tight. Maybe it is true that we aren’t just feeling it right now because this university is protected by staff who care, and by smart financial planning. However it will not always be this way, things could get bad or worse.
If they do get worse and the times comes for students to make their voice heard, will they do it? After doing this article I can honestly say I do not know.