By Michael LaFemina

When was the last time you really thought hard about a problem you wanted to solve? When was the last time you asked a question that made someone think?

When was the last time you exercised your First Amendment rights? Have you spoken publicly or freely about anything recently? Have you gone to a place of religious or spiritual worship? When was the last time you signed a petition? Have you ever written one? When was the last time you prepared your arguments and sought to change something about the world around you? When was the last time you cared to?

When was the last time you thought about where the food on your plate came from? Did you know there is mercury in your fish and hormones in your meat and milk? When was the last time you thought about how much oil or energy it takes to make a plastic water or soda bottle? (Yes, they’re made from petroleum.) Has it ever bothered you that you use something once and then throw it away? Does that seem efficient or functionally sound when we have easy alternatives available that would reduce our waste? Do you know that the average American generates over four pounds of waste per day? (That’s 90,000 pounds in your adult lifetime.) Who says that every little bit doesn’t count?

Why are there bins that say “Hofstra recycles” on them but we don’t see separation of materials except white paper in the computer labs? (I know the answer to this; do you? Shouldn’t we all?) How can we find comfort in having an arboretum that doesn’t have a food compost program for our dining halls? How could we have been pioneers for accommodating for people with physical disabilities and making an admission program for students in need of serious financial assistance, (NOAH/NYS HEOP program) but are lagging behind our institutional peers with regards to environmentalism on campus? Why aren’t there any “green” buildings at Hofstra? Why did we have to fight to have a plate first policy so that we don’t make so much garbage? Why do we have to demand that there is no Styrofoam allowed on campus? Why don’t we have any solar panels or wind turbines? Why don’t we advertise carpooling as a way of saving gas, money, and parking-related headaches?

When was the last time you got angry about something-so angry that you were inspired to do something about it? When was the last time you got angry that politics have become a spectacle? When was the last time you did something about it? When was the last time you heard that students at Hofstra are “apathetic,” and how did that make you feel? What did you do about it? Do you agree? Are you apathetic, or are you inspired?

When was the last time you asked a question that made someone think? Can I say that day was today?

Michael LaFemina is a graduate student. You may e-mail him at [email protected].