BAM! It has hit us, the plague of apathy. What a dirty word! And, it could lead to a bleak prognosis because we have been infested by the worst possible strain, and most of us just don't care. Or, we care, but not enough to do anything about it. We are stuck in a dismal and false state of contentment.Of course I see this apathy through my own eyes and through my experiences since I arrived at Brandeis a year and a half ago. Yet, although some may call me biased, I do not think I stand alone in my bleak view. I am disappointed.

Coming to Brandeis, I expected to find a passionate, vocal and reactive student body. Much to my dismay, this does not exist. Yes, there are clubs and certain students who fight for countless issues and are valiant in their efforts, but as a whole, I have yet to see the student body unite to voice opinions and take a stance on a deeply moving issue.

I often wonder what it would have been like to be on this campus in the '60s. We have all heard stories including the take over of Ford Hall by Brandeis' African-American students and of Brandeis students participating in Woolworth sit-ins to protest racial segregation, but what meaning do these stories have to us today? The radicalism and spirit of the '60s is long gone, and all that lingers is a blatant disenchantment with the outside world. Back then, college students felt that change was possible. Today, we are content with the bubble Brandeis provides.

Maybe it is fear that holds us back. We are, for the most part, used to a world of general monotony. Aside from Sept. 11, we have always had a sense of security. Since then, that sense has been shattered, but we have hardly budged. I believe there is a general apprehension that if we talk too much about world events, after a while we will become so redundant that no one will want to sit and discuss them. Yet, a university has the obligation to cultivate academic discourse. It is only through this academic discourse that we can reach "Truth even unto its innermost parts."

As students of one of the nation's leading universities, we must start taking advantage of all the resources we are exposed to. Unlike during the '60s, we have technology that links us to the world. We have the tools; we just need the will and passion behind it. If we do not voice and act on our informed opinions, we give up the right to criticize others.

The Brandeis of the '60s is a thing of the past, and perhaps, in hindsight, we see it as a time more radical and progressive than it actually was. But, we can still take some empowering elements from these years and build upon them to create a more fervent, socially-active and concerned campus today.

Countering apathy does not mean we have to turn to radicalism or create causes for the sake of having something to fight for. Rather, we must start small and see where it takes us. Discourse is one great example of this. Therefore, I propose that every student at Brandeis makes an effort to attend a forum and debate being held on the issue of U.S. involvement in Iraq on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center.

Professor Jerry Cohen (AMST) has been working diligently, along with many of his colleagues, to assure an informative and intellectually stimulating discussion in which all sides of the issue will be presented Let's show our professors that we, the Brandeis students of the 21st century, have the desire and zeal that Brandeis is so famous for. Let's once again become a campus known as the pinnacle of social justice and foremost combatant of apathy.

-- Samantha Slater '05 submits a column to the Justice.