Wesleyan students like to complain. This year, we’ve complained about how long it took to call Zonker Harris Day by its proper name again, the Beta housing policy brouhaha, the Matisyahu concert, the open container policy, the Student Judicial Board standard of proof, the increased vigilance of Public Safety, the lack of hot showers in the Butts, and countless other inconveniences (injustices!). In the words of a commenter on a recent Wespeak, “Protesting out of all proportion to the provocation is a proud Wesleyan tradition.” When we students complain about school policies that we deem unfair or aspects of Wesleyan life that we disapprove of, we are often told to shut up and protest something that really matters. And to a certain extent these critics are correct, especially as students frequently complain about trivialities in the most melodramatic tone possible. However, it is also important for us to recognize the importance of whining. Zonker Harris Day, the Beta housing policy, and other protest points might not be all that important in the grand scheme of things—but they are problems that we have the ability to change and that are worth complaining about, as long as we keep perspective while doing so.
A few years ago, my parents decided to remodel our house. The remodel turned out to be a disaster; the builder was completely inept and a project that was supposed to take one year turned into five years. This ineptitude led to leaks, electronic malfunctions, and structural weakness. My parents later discovered that the builder was funneling their money to another project and likely using it to fuel a cocaine addiction. The process was extremely stressful and lead to quite a lot of complaining.
In the midst of all of our woes, my dad brought up an important point. Despite the remodeling fiasco, we were still well off. My parents had lost money, but were still able to maintain their original standard of living. Plenty of our friends couldn’t afford to live in a house of their own, much less a remodeled one. To any outside observer, our concerns were the trivial whining of the spoiled and privileged.
The answer to this, however, was not just to grin and bear it. We still had an unsustainable financial problem that needed a solution. But a little perspective kept us calm and forced us to realize that our problems were not the worst thing that could happen.
Us whiners at Wesleyan could benefit from a similar philosophy. An outside observer could care less what Zonker Harris Day is officially called, or whether a bunch of students perched in their ivory tower can party at a fraternity disliked by their administration. And when we use the most harsh and dramatic language possible as we complain, we lose legitimacy and come off as petty. Many would say that we should direct our energies to protesting the real problems of the world. But at the end of the day, we should whine, because in doing so we can make our campus a better place. The financial fiasco of the Matisyahu concert isn’t a Great Social Injustice, but it is an issue that affects our lives at Wesleyan. The things we complain about are not a cruel affront to our freedom, but they are policies, inconveniences, or decisions that make our campus worse. It was reasonable for my parents to attempt to rectify an injustice even though it did not cause them great comparative harm. Similarly, it is not unreasonable for us, despite our many privileges, to work against our own injustices, however trivial they may seem in a larger context. When done with a sense of perspective and in a mature manner, complaining is a perfectly legitimate way to make our campus a better place. So here’s to you Wesleyan: keep whining.
Steves is a member of the class of 2013.
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