We all have the desire to be heard. Whether what you have to say concerns your own deep-seated… We all have the desire to be heard. Whether what you have to say concerns your own deep-seated political opinions fueled by self-reflection, or is comprised of routine, superficial, navel-gazing subject matter, we all have something we should care enough about to communicate.

In other words we all have opinions about things, and The Pitt News can be a very effective tool to communicate your opinions to the student body. Writing to express how you feel about something is not only cool and rewarding but also a way you can be active in your college community. You can make a difference and help aid the numerous problems we all have by spreading awareness.

We here at Pitt are all equipped to write an opinions column. College breeds students to be deep thinkers, and to take a stand. People like Bill Clinton, Huey P. Newton, Angela Davis and Cesar Chavez are successful examples of this. The possibility that you could be next is a beautiful thing.

Numerous people have said to me, “I don’t really feel that strongly about anything.” Sometimes I feel that people don’t feel strongly about things because they are ignorant about how current events affect us.

So many different things happened throughout the summer that it was impossible for me not to have a reaction to it through my writing. There is a laundry list of things that affect us all, and some of them happen right here on Pitt’s campus.

Doesn’t it concern you a little that there are some Pitt-owned apartment buildings that are not included in SafeRider’s travel boundaries? Did you know that this after-hours transportation system designed for student safety would drop students off sometimes several blocks away from their destination in the middle of the night? Sounds counterproductive to me.

And what about the issues in the community beyond the invisible walls that surround Pitt? The institution of the Pennsylvania School System Assessment (PSSA) tests definitely affected those who committed service hours to nearby high schools. Barely any after-school art programs remained after this extension of the No Child Left Behind Act became Pittsburgh Public Schools’ priority.

Tempted to write anything yet? Because I’m sure at least some of you didn’t even know what PSSA stood for until I wrote this column. That is why the opinions section of The Pitt News is so important.

What is scary, however, is that’s only a glimpse of what afflicts our communities, our governments and ourselves. There is hope these social problems have greater chances to be remedied once they are communicated to would-be activists like yourself. It’s undeniable that there are things we can do each day to remedy the constant issues that plague us.

These ongoing issues somehow go unnoticed in the face of protests for the right to burn a flag. In a few decades, our freshwater supply could run short, money and jobs are leaving our country at a distressing rate, and Osama Bin Laden is still at large.

While the list of things to write about that are negative is always overwhelming, the simple things are always fair game. In fact, they are necessary sometimes just to keep us all sane.

You have an opinion about how great the sunset looks in the summertime in Oakland because it makes this place we call home — Pittsburgh — a little brighter, and that is just as legitimate as a column concerning the evasiveness of the government in the Valerie Plame affair.

One thing I realized is that my laundry list of opinions just doesn’t go away. And so my contribution to my college experience will be blood, sweat and tears — or maybe just columns and editing the opinions section. With the help of my partner in crime, Emily Kaufman, I will do everything in my power to have an o pinions section that actively and accurately reflects the concerns of Pitt students.

It is true that what makes us all the same is that we are all different. So The Pitt News may not be your medium. But I charge you all to find your medium and if this page, or one like it, suits you, start to make a difference and come to room 434 of the William Pitt Union to pick up an application for the Opinions section.

E-mail your laundry list of opinions to Rose at [email protected]..