May No Act of Ours Bring Shame

For the glory of old State,

For her founders strong and great,

For the future that we wait,

Raise the song, raise the song.

Sing our love and loyalty,

Sing out hopes that, bright and free,

Rest, O Mother dear, with thee,

All with thee, all with thee

When we stood at childhood's gate,

Shapeless in the hands of fate,

Thou didst mold us, dear old State,

Dear old State, dear old State

May no act of ours bring shame,

To one heart that loves they name,

May our lives but swell thy fame,

Dear old State, dear old State."

If you don't immediately know what this is, I'm pretty sure you're at the wrong school. When I think about all the Penn State stuff that I have, I realize I might like Penn State too much... I mean, who really needs a Penn State sweatshirt, two Penn State crew necks, two Penn State mugs, numerous (I seriously have no idea how many) Penn State shirts, a Penn State water bottle, a Penn State binder, Penn State folders, and Penn State parents. Yeah, I'm not really sure I could've gone anywhere else.

But despite all this Penn State pride, there's always that one piece of history that makes any of us falter. I am, of course, talking about Jerry Sandusky and the failure of Penn State faculty to act when told about his sexual assaults. It can never be justified and it will always be a mark on Penn State's reputation. Penn State should have been a powerful example of why sexual assault claims should be investigated. 

But of course this world isn't perfect.

In light of the recent Lawrence Nassar conviction, Michigan State University has come under scrutiny for failing to fully investigate the numerous complaints that were issued against him years prior to 2016. A very quick summary of Nassar: He is a renowned physician who also was a physician for the Olympics gymnastics team who was accused by 156 women of sexual assualt; he has been sentenced to 40-175 years.What I can't comprehend, and will probably never comprehend, is why no one legitimately investigated him. Penn State's controversy was not that long ago...

But the purpose of this post isn't to lambaste the University. Instead, the focus is on the students of Michigan State. College students and their desire for expression have become something of a controversy, since they trivialize serious issues or promote a closed-minded collection of individuals. In fact, every year Forbes releases an article about the "Most Ridiculous College Protests."

The students at the college created a congregation to support the sexual assault survivors. It was initially going to be a protest for the president, Lou Anna Simon, to resign. However, it was changed to become a message of support. While both messages seem equally viable, I really have to say that I think the support for the sexual assault survivors is an incredible route to take. It changes the overall mood of the students from negative to a positive one. The article quotes a student, Mackenzie Mrla, who says "We're not going to choose what our university did and be silent. We're going to choose to use our words for change. We need change." First of all, this quote cuts deep. If Mackenzie's parents were ever to put something up on their refrigerator, it should be this quote. That first sentence of this quote perfectly conveys the maturity and bitterness of the students at MSU. 

We are the true representatives of what it means to be Spartans. Let’s leave this University better than when we arrived. #TimesUpMSU pic.twitter.com/5SB0OSNr1c

— Noah Isaak (@noahisaak) January 27, 2018

By refusing to kneel to the criticism the college has been receiving, but instead using this opportunity to create a message of support and togetherness illustrates just how powerful student expression can be. These students didn't bury their heads in shame. They're not letting this define MSU. They're creating their own message. And it's a message that is vastly distinct from that of the faculty. These college students are practicing a freedom of expression. I think if they had our alma mater, with the line "May no act of ours bring shame," no one would argue that the MSU students are bringing shame. If anything, they're restoring any credibility the college has at the moment. Not every student gather exists because Millennials are overly sensitized. Not every student gathering exists because "oh it's been pretty quiet recently, so we better protest something." It's not like every single protest is just picking a slip  of paper out of a hat, in which the topics have been decided by using Ctrl-F "Cringe" on Tumblr posts. And even if they were, I think the importance comes down to one question: Even if only one out of every 50 protests is about something serious, and even if only 1 out of those every 50 protests actually accomplishes something, isn't it worth it?

Ok, so it absolutely makes sense that a college wants to shut down student gatherings since it has a reputation to uphold. But, the issue of free speech will always rise up in these types of conversations. In fact, Pennsylvania legislators met last week to see if there is a need to ensure that PA colleges don't exert too much power in controlling speech. Even if you don't go out and shout and scream about issues (I know I'm not one of those people), I think we all could still recognize the frustration of an institution imposing regulations that prevented protests. And if you are one of those protesters, keep shouting.