The Root of Violence

Violence on college campuses used to be the rare exception to the norm, the lion in William Blake's poetry that people fear even though they're unlikely to ever encounter their dread. I'm not sure how it happened, but I feel like our society suddenly regressed and now we live in a world where violence on campus is everywhere.

The sixth victim of the Illinois College shooting died just hours ago and the eighth grader who was shot in Oxnard, California earlier this week was declared brain dead. Fortunately he was taken off of life support today, but nothing can erase the damage the shooter has done. Locally at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the latest rage is the lacrosse team violence and recent stabbings that have taken place in the past week or so. A year ago as an RA I began to see the violence rising as I was increasingly awoken to blood spattered walls resulting from pointless drunken, ego driven feuds.

These young people are supposed to be our leaders. They're supposed to be the increasingly involved voters in this upcoming election, and the ones who reverse the climate crisis. What is it though, that makes them so violent? More important, how do we reverse this trend of increasing violence? Is violence going to become the norm or is this something we can stop before more damage is done?

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On a more cheerful note, I found yet another modern British marvel. Let Scouting for Girls take those worries of violence away with their staccato sounding and youthful pop. Laden with handclaps and beautiful timing, this band is incredibly catchy.

Unfortunately the sound quality of this video is poor, but if the keyboard intro makes your heart flutter for a second then check out this group's Myspace page. They're a great time.