In the student-infested spaces of our campus – the Schine Atrium, the Gifford Auditorium foyer, the Quad on a rare sunny day – words fly about the worthlessness of Syracuse University.

‘I’m not giving a penny back to this money-sucking institution,’ some students say, sipping their Starbucks caramel macchiatos.

‘I’m not getting anything out of my education,’ others say, after weeks of scribbling on crosswords through their classes and watching ‘Survivor’ in their dorm rooms.

From what well of knowledge and experience do these students draw their conclusions? The answer is unclear, but the well of lazy narrow-mindedness runs pretty deep.

A good education doesn’t happen by itself, nor is it confined to the classroom. At SU, like in the outside world, it happens all around us, and it is our responsibility to exploit it.

When I arrived at SU in 2000, the view from my dorm room in Flint Hall was grim. On my very first night at SU, as I pedaled my bike down Comstock Avenue toward what I thought was called ‘Kimble Snack Bar,’ I hit a jagged patch of sidewalk and broke my right arm. My roommate turned out to be an alcoholic, homophobic jerk (for which he later apologized), and the company on my floor was, shall we say, primarily interested in beer and tits. I had been rejected from Newhouse, denied from enrolling in the Living Writers English course and was generally dismayed at my existence.

Otto the Orange itself might as well have kicked my ass, pissed orange juice on me and screamed, ‘Welcome to Syracuse University, sucker!’

With a little work, my first semester began to take shape. I enrolled in ETS 141: Reading and Interpretation with Amata Schneider-Ludorff, one of the best professors I’ve ever had. She opened my eyes to queer theory and gave me the information I needed to think critically about the world. Over the next four years, Amata and I worked together on organizing a yearly LGBT film festival, each time with greater success.

After another week or so, I got a work-study job videotaping campus events for the Video Production Unit. I may not have gotten into Living Writers freshman year, but I had the privilege of videotaping it for five semesters. In the course of that job, and in my spare time, I learned from some of the greatest poets, fiction writers and academics in the world. I watched Dave Eggers read from ‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,’ heard Robert Pinsky read gorgeous poetry, learned from the likes of Elie Wiesel, Toni Morrison, Robert Kennedy, Paul Krugman, Garrison Keillor, Bill Clinton and dozens of others. The very last taping of my college career was of Margaret Atwood, a writer of the highest order, and one of the hundreds of outstanding speakers SU brings to educate the university community.

Since I didn’t transfer into Newhouse until my sophomore year, I wrote articles for The Daily Orange, a publication that later became my home for several semesters – a place I tore myself away from just two months ago after a rewarding career as a feature and opinion editor. There, I was mentored by great writers, great editors and met people who changed my outlook on writing and life forever.

As a member of Pride Union, I met LGBT Resource Center Director Adrea Jaehnig, a great inspiration to me and queer students on campus. Countless forums, discussions, workshops, teach-ins and faculty presentations all added to my understanding of the struggles that face us, as students and citizens of the world. I watched and learned from many LGBT speakers and entertainers brought in by the university and by the center: Suzanne Westenhoefer, Keith Boykin, Paisley Curah, Kate Clinton, and I’ll listen to an amazing speaker, Leslie Feinberg, at tonight’s 2004 Rainbow Banquet.

Somewhere in my time spent here were the actual courses, but they seemed to matter less than the universe of education happening outside the classroom.

To claim that Syracuse University offers you nothing is to affirm your unwillingness to learn. SU is a remarkable resource to anyone with sense enough to use it. My four years here have been educational well beyond my expectations, and I will carry what I learned here with me for the rest of my life.

Colin Dabkowski is a senior magazine and Spanish major. E-mail him at dabkowski@adelphia.net.

Published on April 21, 2004 at 12:00 pm