Recently, some events have come to my attention that worry me. An injustice is befalling our campus.
This injustice of which I speak is hypocrisy.
In the beginning of our fall semester each year, the ETSU Pride logo can be found emblazoned on everything from yard signs to T-shirts and flashlights. This feeling of ETSU Pride is great, don’t get me wrong, but here we are a mere two months removed from Pride Week and where is that ETSU Pride now? The answer is – for the most part – in the back of the closet waiting for next August.
There are some on this campus who keep the pride alive everyday, but a vast majority put it on for that one week and then set it aside for next year.
ETSU Pride is more than a T-shirt or a catchy slogan. It’s a feeling inside of you. It’s great to celebrate that feeling every year, but one should not just let that feeling shine through only once a year.
Recently, this placing away of pride has manifested itself in an ugly fashion.
ETSU is home to many, many bright students of whom this university should be proud.
In the fall, many student organizations and programs have national conferences that they attend. These conferences are a way for ETSU to showcase the talented students we have here as well as a way for these students to bring new ideas back to the university.
In the past few days, I have heard stories from a few students about professors who would not excuse them from class for these conferences. Now, these are very good students who were selected to represent our university not students just looking for ways to skip classes.
Professors should feel proud that their students have been selected to represent this university before national organizations and the top professionals in the working world.
ETSU Pride is not just a slogan. It’s an all-encompassing feeling.
ETSU Pride is not just pride in our athletics or pride in our administration or even pride in our academics. It is all those and it is also pride in our students and the things they bring to this campus and pride in what they take with them to the outside world when they leave ETSU.
That is what ETSU Pride is. Let’s not hide ours.

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