As a college student, have you ever asked yourself why you pay so much money in tuition fees, yet you walk into a classroom and you feel like a wild animal being tamed in a Zoo because of all the rules you must abide by?
You might wonder what I mean by rules and regulations: let me elaborate. Set aside the prestigious private school reputation Saint John’s has; why am I paying $28,000 a year in tuition to walk into a classroom and receive what looks like a list of rules given to inmates in Rikers Island.
Here, I have enlisted three rules that, as a student, drive me up the wall. I hope this gives you a better understanding of my theory:
1. Not being able to form my own groups for in class group assignments.
2. Not being able to decide for myself how many classes I can freely miss while keeping up a good average.
3. This one seems to really push my buttons: not being able to use the restrooms unless given permission!
I mean what are we, still in Elementary school where I have to raise my hand in order to leave the room? Should I be given a hall pass and expect to see a hall monitor in a college building?
If we are such helpless students, then maybe we should not ask professors if we may use the restrooms, instead ask for their assistance in wiping and washing hands!
This makes me feel that although we are finally adults and are consistently told, “you’re hitting the real world,” that instead we are incompetent humans that cant even use the restrooms when mother nature calls, unless of course we are given permission.
Although we must understand that sometimes people with so much freedom can take advantage of certain situations, I still strongly believe that we, as adults, and with our own money at that, have the right to make our own decisions.
Take for example, when I receive my paycheck and go out to buy clothing, the lady at the counter does not tell me the rules and regulations in order to buy apparel from that particular store, does she?
How about Lady Gaga, clearly no one tells her what she can do with her money that’s spent on horrendous clothing, now do they?
Therefore, as students we must speak up! I mentioned several times that we are adults; the youth of the future, and we must put a stand to what happens with our money. If we don’t say what goes, who will?
