Students need to be aware more than ever of their actions because of the politics at FSU right now.

By Christopher Waldeck on October 17, 2014

While most of the time, we tend to cover politics regarding elected officials, we also tend to forget about the politics that happen to occur at the school level. I don’t mean controversy in regards to presidents such as the selection of Sen. John E. Thrasher for Florida State University, but in regards to the treatment of other performers as well. One of those performers is easily Jameis Winston.

He was suspended and rightfully so from playing at the Clemson game because of shouting explicit obscenities. This was after pressure and criticism for the punishment originally being merely half of a game. This was a bad image for FSU especially after the allegations already pending against Mr. Winston and has antics such as stealing soda from the Burger King and crab legs. Literally, its bad enough that people are going to see the embarrassment of how the faculty and students behaved during the Thrasher situation and Jameis is merely embarrassing FSU even further.

For a school that has risen over the years in terms of academic quality and accomplishment in the realm of athletics, this is not the kind of buzz that Florida State University needs going forward. It does effect us politically when we consider the power struggle over what gets financed and what gets allotted to Florida State University. With the recent coverage that FSU is receiving via its response with the  Title IX office furthers deteriorates our image. Currently the attorney of the Jameis Winston accuser has been sending out tweets and taking shots at FSU for how it has supposedly handled the investigation. Whether this winds up being completely true or not, it is still horrible for the school’s image.

As someone who goes to Florida State University and has enjoyed watching the games and enjoyed the opportunity for learning that I have had here, it disappoints me to see that we aren’t taking better control of these issues and how the students react to such situations as the John E Thrasher scenario. All the controversy that is being caused at our university is going to be used in arguments for specific rules and its unfortunate that our good name is being tarnished by being implemented as the institution that made the mistake.

The politics aren’t necessarily one side versus the other, but rather how we are viewed as an institution and when people discuss issues, do we really want our university to be at the forefront of the controversy? Personally as a student and alumni, when I apply for a job, I don’t want the first thing people to think of being Jameis Winston’s antics or the way students and faculty acted towards one particular candidate which reflected extreme bias. More than ever, how we act on campus will determine how we are presented in society and especially in the media. We need to be more aware than ever

Now more than ever students at Florida State University need to truly be aware of their actions and how we are viewed as a university. It’s a shame that those getting the most attention are for scandals rather than for the scholarly achievements that have boosted this university to new heights.

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