Alone in a bubble

Amy Gutmann likes to talk about raising Penn's profile both nationally and globally. The University president yearns for the day -- and it does not seem to be much of a stretch any longer -- when her school is considered among the ultra-elite in providing a world-class education to a world of students.

And the faster we can get there, the better. Think of the possibilities for attracting and cultivating the brightest thinkers in all the land right here in Philadelphia. The arts that would be created and debated. The vision to shape public policy on a grand scale and bring about real and lasting improvement in the world.

A truly world-class institution could be taking hold on the Schuylkill banks, with all of the fine resources and swagger that go along with it.

Just one problem here. No one seemed to bother to tell the undergraduates. Either that, or they did not get the memo.

Sometime over the course of four years, this university expects its students to become well-versed and astute citizens of the world. Many students enter this institution thinking instead that they would rather be citizens of their own world.

Granted, one's first year of college is a transformation period -- a metamorphosis from a dependent to a fully self-sufficient person. Obviously this is not an instant change, but rather one that may take months and even years. And as students venture out on their own, the university setting is naturally there to serve as a support along the way.

That seems reasonable enough. It is too bad that many students do not take this crutch for what it is. They become ensconced in a stereotypical college student lifestyle and often forget what actually goes on in the world outside the Ivory Tower.

Remember that informed and enlightened bunch President Gutmann is hoping will to lead the free world some day? They are getting their news from Internet humor sites and The Daily Show. Listening to self-indulgent drivel from the likes of Jon Stewart does not an informed constituency make.

A 2004 Pew study found that nearly a quarter of 18-to-29-year-olds regularly get their news from late night comedy shows. Never will the journalistic credentials of The Daily Show be regaled, nor should they be. Programs such as this should be seen purely as entertainment and nothing more.

Worse yet are those who forego any sort of news or information sources and choose to remain oblivious to what is happening around them. By focusing only on the people and events that immediately impact their lives, many college students encase themselves in a protective bubble, free from the worries of the real world.

A college environment is the perfect incubator for such inward-thinking, as many of the events in the daily lives of students revolved directly around the university. It is a small community with its own quirks and storylines that seem to many of its members to be the only things to which it is worth paying attention.

Lost in this shuffle are the stories of real people and events on the outside world. Penn is no exception. Exponentially more people know who left intoxicated from a party the previous night than the major issues facing Philadelphia -- and believe me, there are many. What happens outside of the bounds of University City seems cold and distant to many who would rather follow the latest stream of text messages about so-and-so's weekend plans.

Ignorance of this kind may seem like bliss for a while, but sooner or later you will realize it is simply irresponsible. Staying informed by by reading a reputable newspaper -- or better yet, several -- and thinking critically are more important today than ever before. After all, how are we supposed to understand and discuss the world's problems if we are uninformed? Classes all across this university will soon be engaging in those pursuits, but they will not succeed without proper foot soldiers.

There is plenty of fun to be had, and the easy life to be lived for the next four years. But now is not the time relegate one's self to the bubble that threatens to surround us all, severing the connection with the outside.

For Penn to become the world-class mecca of higher learning that Amy Gutmann desires, all of us need to make an effort to be world citizens, and it all starts with knowledge. We have little time for those who know none but their own, and even less for those who are just plain ignorant. Lest you find yourself in a bubble all alone, I suggest you stay informed.

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