Opinion: Wake up, Ducks. And, no, I don’t mean for ESPN’s College GameDay.
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As early as 1 a.m. on the chilly morning of Oct. 22, a flock of Ducks fans began to gather on the campus Memorial Quad for ESPN’s College GameDay. College GameDay is a weekly event hosted by the popular sports news network during football season, with commentators traveling to select schools. The early birds at Oregon’s own GameDay event grew in numbers, hundreds huddling together like hard-hat-laden penguins for warmth as rain poured down on their ponchos and homemade signs.
For many students, this event was much-anticipated. “I remember watching the last College GameDay in Eugene live and thinking how much fun it would be to make a sign and get on TV,” said Quinn Doherty, senior. “I got my signs ready and then stood in line at 3 a.m. and waited [for] the broadcast to start at 6.”
Readers, before I lose the attention of a more like-minded audience, this is not an article about sports. Trust me, I consider myself more a football denier than a fan. Sure, I’ve gone to games, but I also go to class — and I hardly learn much of value or enjoy my time there, either. It’s just what students do!
This sheeplike sentiment, it seems, is normal. Unlike Doherty, many students attended GameDay purely for FOMO-related reasons.
“Everyone was saying it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn’t want to miss out,” said Olivia Schafer, senior. “I was having so much fun there until I realized I woke up five hours earlier than necessary and I just wanted to go back to bed.”
When I woke up that morning — with eight hours of sleep in my system, mind you — to dozens of social media posts showing students out in the rain holding picket signs and chanting, my first thought was, “Oh, no, I’m missing the revolution!” Unfortunately, this was not the case. Instead, I was missing some guy named Lee Corso that no one there could actually hear and also the sickness that surely infected attendees of this cold, wet, alcohol-fueled event.
Once I realized students had been standing the entire night for such a cause, confusion set in. All this time, our campus has been capable and willing to organize themselves — clad with self-made signs, rain gear and sleeplessness — for a common purpose? And it was to watch old men talk about football?
On some level, I get it. This is a tradition and this is a self-proclaimed sports school. It’s fun and an excuse to be out with friends and drink Four Lokos and get on TV. But surely there are more important things to be protesting than UCLA.
As I write this, Oregon’s midterm election polls for Governor and the House teeter between Red and Blue. Our liberal, hippie wonderland is no longer — we now live in a swing state. This is a difficult fact to accept knowing women’s bodies and clean energy are on the ballots. It’s even more difficult to accept young people, aged 18-29, typically make up less than 13% of voters in midterm elections.
The amount of apathetic young people is concerning. Too often I hear students say they are “not interested in politics.” When I hear this, I hear they are not interested in people.
This, of course, isn’t always true. It’s possible many people don’t care about politics because they don’t understand what’s going on. Political language is largely inaccessible and learning everything about an issue can sometimes feel like the only ticket to the conversation.
Others may stay out of politics because they fear falling into the deep chasm of hate that splits our nation. They may see neither side as particularly favorable, and therefore choose neither. But please believe me when I say that is not an option. Believe me when I say this election, these issues, matter. Voting matters. Protesting matters.
No one should want to see other people suffer. No one should be unable to access basic needs or be unable to protect themselves and their families. No one should have the rights to their bodies taken from them; no one should be starving and houseless; no one should live in fear because of their sexuality, skin color or religion.
Except this is all happening — to someone else, somewhere else — while the rest of us are leading our own comparatively easy lives and getting by the best we think we can.
But, seriously, is this the best we can do? Stay out in the rain drinking all night for sport?
Of course, there are many students who are politically engaged. Roe v. Wade’s overturn brought nearly a thousand protestors to our City Hall this summer. While not a protest, the Bernie Sanders rally on campus saw 3,000 attendees just last week. Consider even UO Student Workers, who launched their unionization campaign Oct. 20 and plan to lead mobilizing efforts throughout the year. This is the kind of organization I can get behind!
This isn’t to say that all of the students that went out for ESPN College GameDay don’t care about real issues. In fact, I think a lot of college kids care about football, drinking and partying almost because of everything else going on in the world. We feel powerless. We want to enjoy something that’s easy to root for, something that’s uncomplicated and distracting.
I think a lot of us want to do something meaningful, but we just don’t know how or where to start.
Try starting locally — perhaps with the increasingly aggressive police presence in Eugene. Recent accounts of Eugene police officers citing entire houses of people for “unruly gatherings” have surfaced, and there have been stories and videos circulating of officers verbally and even physically abusing students: picking them up and throwing them, forcefully pulling them on the ground and yelling intimidatingly.
An overly forceful police presence may even scare people from mobilizing on issues that they care about. People need to be able to trust their local law enforcement, and when they can’t it deserves to be recognized and called out on an organized level.
There are many other issues that may interest you. Think about what you care about and what you want to change. Look into local events or student groups who may feel the same way you do. The Radical Organizing Activist Resource Center on campus exists to help students engage with local activist groups, and it’s a great resource for organizing efforts. If you’re not happy with the way the world is, get involved, learn something from your peers, connect with one another and combat apathy. We are obviously able to organize and join together to make a statement. So let’s just do it.
