I should be happy.
Here we have this brand spanking new set of very bright, veryshiny, high-powered lights to greet us at our Homecoming. Verybright. Extremely bright. In fact, from where I sit in myapartment, I can look out my window and see them shining in. Cometo think of it, I don't even have to look. They light up the room.But I should be happy. They're in the interest of Ball State,designed for our pleasure and convenience. Designed for ourfootball team.
Yes, indeed. They play football. We watch. Around $370,000 fornew lights.
But I'm overstepping my bounds. We didn't pay that money, afterall. Nope, not a cent of it.
Most of it ($100,000) was donated by a private couple, to be puttoward our brand new lights that obscure the night sky for twomiles in every direction. And if our wealthy fans want it, we'llgive it to them, won't we? It's not as if that money could havegone toward something more important than football.
I'm sure a few of you are smiling and saying to yourselves: "ISthere anything more important than football?"
On this night, of all nights, I suppose not. It's hard to arguewith football fans, let alone Homecoming-crazed, wild-eyed footballfans. In the face of something as steeped in tradition andsurrounded by wild partying as Homecoming, tiny inconsequentialthings like light pollution, wildly misspent funding, privateinterests and school-sponsored laziness fall by the wayside. I'msure most of us have spent between a tenth and a quarter of amillion dollars to make sure our friends don't have to get out ofbed as early, right? That is, after all, the given reason for thenew lighting. Someone wanted games to be hosted at a moreconvenient time, and someone else had the cash to pony up for it,and like so many people in this world, they were so thrilled withthe idea that it COULD be done, they didn't bother askingthemselves- or anyone else- if it SHOULD be done.
Didn't even make a dent, did I?
Go on, then. Go enjoy yourselves. I'm just going to sit here alittle while, in the glare coming through my windows, and wonderwhere the stars went.
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