Last week I was doing some reporting on one of the feature pieces in this issue- an interview with Dr. Daniel Maguire.
For anyone not familiar with Maguire, he is a Theology professor here at Marquette who has gained a reputation as quite an outspoken fellow. An ex-Jesuit, Maguire now claims to derive inspiration from a number of world religions and insists Jesus did not come into this world to serve in Christians’ atonement.
(Without stealing Maguire’s mantra, I will just say that he and I differ on almost every issue and tangent addressed in the 45-minute interview.)
But at the end of the interview, Maguire said something that startled me, because it was something with which I agreed. In far more words than this space can host, he alluded to people who do not realize their positive skill level or potential because they are blinded by societal stereotypes.
This seems to be a recurring theme on campus.
Some students will settle for mediocrity, because they are meeting the “normal expectations” and do not realize they could possibly achieve more. They will not try to gain entry to a higher level course; they will not generate change within their student organizations; they will settle for the “college student” stereotype that everybody else sets.
Perhaps what strikes me the most are students who do not believe they have anything valuable to say. They cannot speak up in class or they do not find a forum in which they can release their concerns about the university.
Perhaps this is the unfortunate effect of a campus culture in which a different opinion is sometimes viewed as heretical and an outspoken student is considered a bigot.
The Warrior is taking special strides to rid the campus of this problem. First, its existence as an alternate voice sets the scene. We exist to host the perspectives not commonly heard and to staff the students who want to serve this mission.
Next, we have an opinion page that will be happy to publish pieces written by students and other members of the Marquette community.
Thirdly, there is the “Post it!” section, where the non-serious thoughts of students can get some gametime as well.
We hope this issue will help move the campus more towards taking stands, speaking out and not being afraid of the limits society may set.
After all, when we speak out, you may be surprised who has something valuable to say.
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