Viking Voices showcases student opinions on different issues by asking them different questions. This week we asked students: “Do you believe your voice can change an issue on campus, and if so, how?"
Amber Ma, sophomore and accounting pre-major
“I don't think so because there are a lot of people on campus and it’s just not because of my own personal opinion but I think everybody should believe in. Even if I do say something, there's other people's opinions and sometimes they're not the same so it's difficult for me personally to just go up and say, ‘Hey we need to change this’ and have it changed.”
Kellyn Wolden, freshman and accounting pre major
“I don't think that individually a voice can change anything on campus, but I think that if people have the same idea and band together they can have more of an effect. I'm not sure through what channels they would do that.”
Devon Chandler, sophomore and creative writing pre major
“Individually I don't think it could change anything on campus, but I think if you start speaking up to other people, if you tell other people what you're thinking about, then they'll start thinking about it and maybe they'll start doing something about it.”
Isaias Mondar, junior and computer science major
“No, not really. It’s pretty difficult as a student or just as an individual, unless you're pretty influential or else your voice wouldn't really matter as much.”
Kylie Wagar, junior and communications major
“Personally I don't feel like my voice can change an issue on campus, but I think that if I was with a group or a class, a whole group could change an issue on campus. I've seen that happen in a few of my classes where we've had service learning projects. As far as me as an individual I don't feel like my voice is loud enough.”
Molly Johnson, sophomore and undeclared
“I totally believe my voice can change something on campus. The reason I think that is because I'm actually in an environmental literacy class right now and it's about sustainability. We learned about the office for sustainability on campus. Prior to knowing about that, to be honest I didn't think that my voice had much of an impact. The office for sustainability specifically, they're here to hear you out. If you start prioritizing composting, composts will pop up. If you just voice your opinion they will make a difference.”
Brett Baker, sophomore and pre-major in manufacturing and supply chain management
“I think it can in a sense that if you think something, it's likely that another person on campus will be thinking the same thing. If you want to voice your opinion other people will join you and… Other people will join and create a group of people which could cause change.”
