DANA AL-QADI
Gargoyle senior editor
Posted Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007
Opinions

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY persuade Director/Principal Kassie Patton to allow the entire class of 63 subfreshmen to attend a United for Uganda lock-in that was originally intended to be a freshman/sophomore event? An elegantly worded petition complete with plenty of scrawled names, of course.

The potential inclusion of such a large number of lock-in participants threw the event organizers into a mode of panic. Could that many people fit on the first floor? If not, there would need to be more chaperones. Would more parents be willing to chaperone on such short notice? What about vittles? Would local businesses be willing to donate even more food?

But the organizers need not have worried. Apparently, a vast majority of the subfreshmen who signed their names on the petition had no intention of attending the lock-in when they scribbled their John Hancocks.

Whether the dispute over the attendance of subbies at such an event is justified or not, the point is this has sparked controversy.

Whether the freshmen who now refuse to attend because of the inclusion of the younger class are being petty or not, the point is several freshmen who had originally agreed to go have changed their minds explicitly because the subbies will be there.

Whether enough subbies turn up to warrant the significant amount of time spent by the event organizers to accommodate them has yet to be seen, but the point is the time was spent.

None of the aforementioned issues is even of that much importance, at least not enough for me to take time out of my day to write a column about. The important issue is that many of the subfreshmen who signed the petition had no intention of attending in the first place.

“Well, the class officers told me to sign it, so I did,” was a sentiment echoed by the majority of the class.

But who hasn't signed their name onto a clipboard without truly examining what they were signing merely to get the cheerful and enthusiastic activist out of their path? I see raised hands. Or just for fun? Oh and look, I see some more.

“Yeah, you know the Allerton petition from last year? I signed that, and I wasn't even a freshman — just because,” remarked one Uni student.

The problem with signing petitions without either being dedicated to what is being signed or at minimum harboring vested interest in the cause is that oftentimes petitions do have power.

Petitions got the subfreshmen included in the lock-in.

Petitions got Facebook to swiftly add more privacy options to counteract its mini-news feed.

Petitions got the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania included in NATO in 2004.

When you sign a petition, you are sending essentially two messages. The first is to the opposing group, ultimately a message of conviction regarding the issue in question. The second is to the group you are supporting, a message of dedication and solidarity. It is not fair to either side to attach yourself to an issue that you have no intention of pursuing or following.

If the majority of the subfreshman class had no intention of attending the lock-in and did not sign the petition, then this would be a nonissue. Instead, the signers created an issue when there was no need for one. It took time to review the petition. It took discussions to reach a decision. For what outcome? Toward what end?

As Uni students, we often talk about the privileges and opportunities we have and the expectations that come along with those blessings. We participate in volunteer activities because it is our duty to give back to the community. We discuss and debate issues because it is our responsibility to care about our surroundings.

But isn't our most basic responsibility to be honest with our community? If you don't care about the troops in Iraq, don't sign the petition. If the reproduction habits of pandas in captivity doesn't inspire you, don't sign the petition. If you don't plan on attending an event, don't sign the petition.

If your heart really desires to sign something, practice your signature incessantly on scrap pieces of notebook paper so that when the perfect petition does come along, you can scrawl your name down in two seconds flat with simply perfect form.

But save that perfect signature for petitions that matter.