SLUHstrong

I had hoped that the livestrong craze had finally died down. I have nothing against donations to charity; I would just prefer that the donations are motivated by a genuine interest in the charity instead of participating in a fad. I understand that it started among actual Lance Armstrong fans, in support of him and his charity, but it quickly became the cool thing to do. And now I doubt whether the majority of those that wear those little yellow bands really care about Lance Armstrong or his charity at all. I know, it's still great for the charity, but fads are really annoying nonetheless.

Of course, my school (esp. being comprised of a good portion of very wealthy people) was very susceptible to the fad. There have been yellow, pink, orange, and red "rubberbands" swinging on the wrists of my classmates through the halls throughout the semester, "supporting" various causes. Now we have two new colors, blue and white (our school colors, for the ignoramus). The blue says "SLUHstrong", and the white, "LiveSLUH." This doesn't have any specific charity associated with it to my knowledge, just extra funds for STUCO (at $2/band (minus having them made which I believe was ~$1.85)). And lots of people were dishing out the $4 for the two pieces of plastic. I would guess that anyone who bought the Livestrong bands also bought the SLUHstrong bands. I have no idea how many more converts to the fad were made through this ploy.

One might accuse me of not having school spirit. If school spirit means submitting to peer pressure and becoming one in a crowd, then I don't want any part of that kind of school spirit. Of course the same kind of peer pressure was present when we were ordering our class rings last year (esp. when the few who chose not to purchase one became known). Class rings and letterjackets are both part of the SLUH tradition, not a fad. So I do have a class ring and a letterjacket (both purchases were made before my current beliefs/opinions on animal rights and poverty were formed, respectively, though. also the importance I put in tradition has probably lessened some since then, as well.). I am not objecting to the expression of school spirit or identification with the school through symbols, just doing so with this passing fad.


I've noticed that in my recent posts I've been unusually critical and opinionated. I apoligize to anyone reading this who goes away more disgruntled than usual. It may just be the mood I'm in, or that the direction of this blog is changing. This blog's contents and purpose will change as I do. Hopefully this doesn't mean that I'm becoming more critical/bitter overall. I think I'm just using this blog more to vent now (and the rest of the time I'm relatively less opinionated, or at least less vocal about it). I know that this blog has been immensely helpful to me to think out things and express myself. While I may be writing more in the form of a journal or diary of personal thoughts, I'm thankful for input when it does come. Blogs, after all, are "essentially a contained, ritualistic dialogue between voyeurs and exhibitionists." That is one thing that makes me question why I blog. Is it in order to be understood? Or am I trying to understand myself better? I think as long as I keep the active understanding as my primary concern when writing, I can continue to keep writing with a clean conscience. So thanks for reading; I'll just keep talking.