In the fall of 2014 Keene State College as a student body was stained with a reputation as violent and careless party animals.
Now that we are coming up on one year since the incidents surrounding Pumpkin Fest, we have had some time to recollect ourselves as a school and try to work towards washing away that stain.
The Equinox is proud to say that we feel as though KSC is turning a new leaf. Many returning students have probably noticed a different vibe around campus. We believe this change in attitude is due to many different things.
The orientation program this year enforced different rules than in previous years. Participation was required rather than suggested.
First-year students also participated in New Student Community Service Day where they gave back
George Amaru / Art Director
to the community by doing things like washing the City’s fire trucks, picking up trash around the City of Keene, among many other things.
By exposing the first-year students to the community right from the get-go, it allows them to see and understand that where we attend school is a real community and it is home to many people who have been here much longer than us.
This allows students to realize that the streets of Keene are a collective home for the students and community alike, not just places to litter with beer cans and pizza boxes.
The Equinox wants to promote the importance of acting respectfully both on and off campus. We know that college students, especially students at this school, tend to have a reputation as reckless and inconsiderate.
We believe this does not need to be the case and in fact, we are off to a good start in eliminating that negative stereotype. We want to push students to get involved with the community early on during their time at Keene State. Establishing a good relationship between the students and the people of the community is key.
Once the community members and students start to know each other on a first name basis, they can know and understand that these streets and businesses are occupied and run by real people who live and work here. The Equinox believes that the good students at Keene State outweigh the bad and as a whole, we are a group of individuals with compassion for others.
Although it may not have seemed that way roughly one year ago, we believe the school has come a long way in that one year. We encourage all students to look at this school year as a blank slate. Somewhere to start fresh. While the past is always going to be there, we don’t need to let it define us. None of this is to say that students don’t have the right to have fun during their time here, in fact we believe college should be some of the best, most memorable years of our lives.
We do, however, believe that this college is capable of having fun in a respectable and appropriate way.
With a fresh group of first-year students here, we want to hold all upperclassmen to a higher standard. We hope that the older students on campus can lead by example and show others the way we want our school to be seen.
The Equinox as an organization is willing and ready to accurately and responsibly respond to whatever news may come up during this academic year. We want to remind students to be in control of their actions, make mindful decisions and understand that at the end of the day, we are all here to get an education.
Ultimately our focus should be on becoming the best possible people we can, however we each interpret that as individuals.
While the stigma attached to Keene State College students being reckless is still there, we believe that with good behavior we can start to slowly chip away at that stigma and eventually get rid of it completely.
