Poll: Should I join a protest even if I'm in college?

[irtaco]

http://october2011.org/frontpage
So, I'm really sick of the way the country is running. So I figure I'll join an upcoming protest. Only problem is that I'm in college at the time. I'll miss potentially a week or more of classes. Plus getting arrested (as protests tend to cause) could kick me out. I want to know what you think. Should I follow my beliefs or should I focus on my education?

 

[Souplex]

What's your college's attendance policy. Some have incredibly strict policies (3+ absences and you lose points, 6 and you fail) some have more lenient policies.

 

[gabe12301]

I'm sorry but chances are one more person won't make them change their minds. Either go to school or get excused somehow.

 

[electric_warrior]

Focus on your education.

Do you really want to risk your whole future on beliefs you might not even hold in a few years time?

In any case, a protest never missed one person. It will do as well without you as with.

What are you protesting in favour of or against anyway?

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

The mindset of "One more person won't make a difference" is one of the reasons this country is the way it is. I say you go out and demand change and protest. If more people did, more things would change.

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

do you believe in the protest? if so, then yes. in the words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has".

If you truly believe in what youre protesting, then you should do what it takes to make yourself heard

 

[Aur0ra145]

Education is something you will always have. There will be other protests in the future. Don't worry. Stay in school.

I remember protesting at school. That was fun/got a lot of awkward looks to say the least.

 

[Thwarted]

get an education, you will grow out of your lunatic marxism soon enough anyway, you dont want it to have cost you your future in the mean time.

 

[Ham_authority95]

http://october2011.org/frontpage
So, I'm really sick of the way the country is running. So I figure I'll join an upcoming protest. Only problem is that I'm in college at the time. I'll miss potentially a week or more of classes. Plus getting arrested (as protests tend to cause) could kick me out. I want to know what you think. Should I follow my beliefs or should I focus on my education?

Which is more important to YOU?

That protest seems very general to me, so there will be more of it.

 

[Radeonx]

Go to protest in your free time when you don't potentially get kicked out of school, screwed out of a good job, and sent into thousands of dollars in debt with no way to pay other then a shitty part time job you'd have to scrounge for at the last minute.
I mean seriously, this is a super obvious decision.

 

[irtaco]

do you believe in the protest? if so, then yes. in the words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has".

If you truly believe in what youre protesting, then you should do what it takes to make yourself heard

That's a beautiful quote. And yes, I do believe in the cause for equality for all, regardless of monetary or political influence. I thank you for your time and advice .

 

[zehydra]

Stay in school. You can still promote the cause while passing your courses.

This is an important time for you job-wise.

 

[Fishtie]

As you can see, there are several proponents of both sides, each probably siding on what they think is more important.

What you need to realize though is that your situation is not unique just because 'your in collage'. That has nothing to do with the equation. What you are running up against here is a far more simple.

Personal safety vs. social morals.

Anyone who speaks out against a system, and takes personal resources, to do so has an inherent risk of losing both.

What you need to decide is weather or not you want to take that risk. You might lose your chance for education, you might not change anything, both of those might happen, or neither. Hell, you could accidentally trip tomorrow and crack your skull open on the pavement rendering the whole thing moot. There is risk inherent in everything that a person does, but your own judgment lets you weight those odds of loss vs. the odds of gain.

You're ultimately going to have to make a choice and not everything is going to be known, but that doesn't mean you have to be totally blind. You don't live in a vacuum, and you aren't a lemming. Find things out. Your afraid of failing classes? Look into your school policy, or even better, talk to some professors about this. Might get arrested? This is a protest, not a riot; if it's well prepared, lawful, and peaceful then there's no need to arrest anyone. Find out things, even those odds.

But what you ultimately have to do is decide what you think is more important. Would you be willing to sacrifice what you have for this cause? (and let me make this VERY clear: a cause is NOT only what it is fighting against)

Some things are undoubtedly worth fighting for; your beliefs are one such thing. How you want to fight for them though is the real question.

 

[Morning502]

Try to et something started where you are, I'm sure a lots of students attending your college feel the same way. Try going to your student union and seeing if they're already putting something on!

 

[loc978]

Much as I agree with the sentiment of the protest, these things rarely accomplish much... especially when they're nothing but a fairly general "stop being assholes" to those who (as the late, great George Carlin once said) own this country. If this "occupation" goes far, I'd expect the lives of a few ringleaders ruined in court and the rest of the participants to reluctantly return to what they were doing before.
In short: if this protest accomplishes anything substantial, I'll gladly eat my leather jacket. Stay in school, education is the most effective form of rebellion... unless you have more people and guns than the other side.

 

[Blood Countess]

a protest is going to change shit, the people in power love their money and that is not going to change cause you all protest so stay in school and maybe you can fight the power from the inside at a later date

 

[Cain_Zeros]

If you do go, leave if it stops being a peaceful protest and you'll take care of that tricky "getting arrested" issue. If you aren't involved when it goes down hill, then all you're doing is practising your First Amendment (I think I'm remembering the right Amendment that my neighbours to the south get up in arms about occasionally) rights.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You're probably already invested a lot of time and money into your education thus far. You aren't serving yourself or your country by becoming a drop out for a cause you may value dearly now. Get the education so that when you get arrested and potentially lose everything for a cause you care deeply about; you'll still have the asset of being a valuable, educated citizen.