Sometimes they'll paint your box gold.

A great deal has happened this week and I'm still unable to wrap my mind around all of it. Though I wish that I could sit here and type 300+ words about life drawing that just seems illogical for me and I apologize for that ahead of time. I believe that our art is directly influenced by our lives and what is going on around us not only in our institution but in our state, in our country, in our world. Now, this may seem like it's going somewhere that a great number of people would rather not see it go and well... depending on who you are I suppose it is. So I'm going to start rambling because I am a bundle full of passion and a powder keg ready to explode. Some things that really bug me: People who spout nonsense about issues that they are not educated in, people who call names and argue simply because they like to, and people who don't allow others to express their opinions without continuously bashing them. Now I'm no saint and I do realize that I have done this many times in my life but in this case things have changed and I'm not going to sit back and take all of this anymore. I already knew a little about the rally and the protesting and yada yada but this morning it started to get personal. A professor of mine that I respect greatly spoke in front of the class about the "Budget Repair Bill" and the impact that it would have on our professors and in turn on all of us students. The professors in my department are already on a 3% pay cut in order to hold onto some of the more experienced educators and now they're expected do lose somewhere around 17% of their salaries. It's not only the professors and all the educators around the state but it's all state employees that are expected to make this sacrifice. I know that not everyone agrees that this should be protested but as a college student at a university in Wisconsin it sure makes me wonder where our tuition money is going. I was talking to a friend of mine who mentioned a conversation she had with a custodian who has worked at Stout for nearly 30 years, she stated that her pay would now be reduced to around 7 dollars an hour when she could earn more than that working in the drive through at a fast food restaurant. What is keeping our professors and other state workers here in Wisconsin when they could be making more money instructing at almost any community college in the surrounding states? I have heard many complaints from students about this issue and most of them are about them wasting tuition money for their professors to protest. I'll stand firm in my beliefs that I would much rather be taught by a professor that is not afraid to stand up for their rights than one who bends over and takes it. Now most of this might have seemed like rambling on about nothing but I encourage you to look more into the subject and find your voice in the matter. I respect different opinions and I listen to opposing arguments, I don't expect for you to change yours and don't think for a second that you can change mine.