Between elections, occupy Wallstreet, the death of Steve Jobs and all the way to the uprisings in Libya and the middle east, this is an important time for the up and coming generations to be informed.

Many can find it difficult while away at school to be as informed as they were back home. Students are without parents’ influencing opinions and current events (whether welcomed or not), and have less access to daily newspapers and less time to watch news programs.

Whatever the case may be, it’s certainly unwarranted for students to be uninformed with all the resources available in this time of technology.

Many turn to Twitter or Facebook or word of mouth for their news, which at least allows them to know what’s being discussed in the news, but  these things don’t quite help them understand enough to form opinions or ideas regarding the issues.

Not to make a generalization, because this obviously doesn’t apply to all students, however, the lack of knowledge about certain aspects of today’s news has come as a shock to me lately.

In many recent classes, topics like Occupy WallStreet and the elections have been brought up, and when students have been asked to volunteer to explain the reasoning or speak about the candidates, the norm has been shy, unbroken silence.

We are all guilty of this response from time to time, and this is not to say that I, too, don’t remain silent and unconfident in my knowledge of Libya politics or Rick Perry’s campaign.

I’m a firm believer that once a problem is addressed, it is that much easier to solve it. And with all the resources available, the current generation simply needs to make a conscious effort to stay informed—for these issues are important to our lives and crucial to our country.

-Andra Kovacs/News editor

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