Like many seniors, I am not sure about what I plan to do after graduation. That age old question - "What do you want to be when you grow up" - seems to have finally caught up with me.
My difficulty deciding what to do after graduation probably stems from an unclear understanding of my goals after Brown. Should I try to save the world? Make money? Pursue graduate studies?
Unfortunately, trying to answer these questions only leads me to ask even deeper ones. Should I resolve these questions based on what I expect will make me happiest? Based on what will best advance my career goals? Are the answers to these questions different?
The only conclusion I have been able to reach is that this is a stressful, anxiety-provoking time. But that conclusion doesn't get me anywhere. It's obvious that I need to make a decision soon, but how?
I have started to look everywhere for possible answers. Correcting social injustice seems like a particularly ripe area for conscientious seniors.
I received an e-mail the other day from colorofchange.org, a Web-based civil-rights organization, urging me to call the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles and ask them to not execute Troy Anthony Davis who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of a police officer in Savannah. According to the Washington Post, a number of witnesses have recanted their testimony and a few have said they were coerced by police when giving their statements.
I've written about supporting the death penalty in the past, and I still support it. I nonetheless maintain that executing an innocent person is one of the worst injustices imaginable. It calls into question the legitimacy of our government. If laws meant to protect the innocent end up killing them, then it is clear that our system needs extensive revision.
Since 1973, over 125 people have been exonerated from death row. A disproportionate number of death sentences are handed out to those whose apparent victims were white, according to Amnesty International. And institutional racism is not limited to our justice system. We have allowed injustice to spread a wider web.
Inadequate public education is another source of many problems. On average, poor 4th graders trail behind their wealthy counterparts by three grade levels in terms of academic achievement.
The National Center for Children in Poverty reports that 61 percent of Latino children and 60 percent of African-American children are members of low-income families, compared to 26 percent of white children and 28 percent of Asian children.
Poor education and poverty constrain many students of color. With limited resources, these students often struggle in the marketplace and turn to support systems outside of the law. As it stands, students of color are being victimized by institutional racism in and outside of school. Obviously, Troy Davis is not the only person in this country who needs someone to lend a hand.
So what does this all mean for us graduating seniors? These daunting, national problems suggest that, when evaluating career opportunities, we should look beyond our personal interests.
In deciding what to do after graduation, I will not exclusively consider income, career advancement or even personal happiness. I will try instead to make myself useful. In a country that prides itself on being "the land of the free and the home of the brave," it is dishonest for us to let institutions continue discriminatory practices.
Pervasive inequities in public policy pose a grave danger to the United States. If we do not act soon, America will crumble under the weight of inequality.
Michael Ramos-Lynch '09 thinks a game of eeny meeny miny moe would be easier.
