In the past, I've been accused of being too negative with my column, and it's been suggested by a number of people that, if I don't like Ball State University, I should just transfer and stop bothering people. Firstly, I wasn't aware that this little corner of the Daily News was such an obstruction to the educational goals of this school and its 20,000 students. Secondly, I'm graduating in two-and-a-half weeks, and I'm just not convinced that all of my theater, English and Honors College credits would count at Taylor Upland. But underneath the petty arguments that take place on the online Daily News Forum grumbles a troubling philosophy, and it must be caught, shot and killed before it poisons another mind against the benefits of a liberal arts education.
I'm disturbed by the "like it or leave it" mentality so often scrawled across the responses to the columns in the newspaper. Flagrant disregard for spelling, grammar and language mechanics aside, it would seem that if it doesn't call for the undying loyalty of each person toward Ball State athletics, it advocates the dismissal of everyone who disagrees. And the problem isn't that we in the world of the written word have boiled Ball State down to a staggeringly simple dichotomy of sports and anti-sports (Though I guess I'd prefer a greater awareness of what rests outside how many times stories about athletics have made the front page while Martin Luther King, Jr., didn't get anything on the anniversary of his death. I don't like it either, but what do you do?). The ultimatum, "If you don't like it, you should leave," stands in direct defiance of the goals of Ball State as an institution dedicated to "education redefined."
A column ran last week supposing that Ball State's success was linked to the success of its athletics. The economics seemed to check out, but the idea necessitates the unified jumping in of an entire school, and, true to our Midwestern values, chances are pretty good people will want to be sure of such a proposition's practicality before handing themselves over. Can we really trust that the sacrificing of a number of Thursday and Saturday evenings will bring Ball State the notoriety it needs as a school on the go?
Instead of looking toward an uncertain future based on ticket sales, why not build a more certain future on the things in which we excel? Ball State is nationally recognized in architecture, education, nursing, business and telecommunications, among many other competitive programs. These are fields that require innovation for their success, and we are near the top; we're sitting on a gold mine of ideas. The future of this school rests in the programs that look toward the future. Our school pride should rest there too.
The same innovative thinking that spurs on the nationally recognized programs of BSU asks to be fed by challenge; it does no good to "like it or leave it." Ball State is a liberal arts school; intellectual as well as physical diversity is paramount. The ideas with which we disagree are the very same that sharpen our minds and prepare us for a changing world.
Do you know what? I don't like the smoking ban. I blanch every time I see another news article on a Ball State athlete getting arrested or otherwise screwing up publicly. I think the building where the arts majors spend the most time is the perfect place to display nude photographs. And I'm resolute that people at this school worry too much about shutting others off when they get offended and don't worry enough about keeping themselves in line.
And do you know what else? I love Ball State for all of the times my schooling has offended me or made me uncomfortable. I love Ball State because it has given me an education that allows for questions and disagreement. This is a good school and will continue to be a good school as long as we are active, as long as we are free to say, "No," and free to ask, "Why?"
Write to Joel at jtmiller@bsu.edu
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