Where have all the free thinkers gone?: Not to college

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. But unfortunately, group mentality doesn't just affect one aspect of a person, like physical appearance.

It seems to me that when a person reflects the masses on the outside it stems from a resemblance on the inside. In other words, chances are if you look and act like everyone else you probably think like everyone else too.

Although students at University Park are painfully secluded from the world, I had hoped that a variety of cultural and intellectual stimulants would still seep in and circulate through the campus -- keeping our minds alive with new knowledge and challenging ideas. But instead, I seem to have found a stagnant city full of similarities inside the student body.

Where is the diversity? Where are the individuals? Where are the leaders?

There seems to be two types of followers: the type who have no original thoughts and the type who do, but are not confident enough to stand behind their ideas. Both types upset me, especially when I find them at this level of education.

Now I'll be the first to admit that it is easier to follow someone else's ideas rather than to come up with your own. It's much safer and more stable inside the huddle of group mentality.

But I'll also be the first to recognize that people who go on to greatness are not followers. They do not fit into a mold. They acquire group followers instead of allowing themselves to be acquired by a group.

Ask yourself. . . Who did Mahatma Ghandi follow? Who did Martin Luther King Jr. follow? Who does Maya Angelou follow? These are just a few of the people of our times who pushed the boundaries of thinking. Are we being taught to push the boundaries or just to respect them?

A large percent of the tests I've taken at Penn State are based on reiteration. By now most students have learned how to get a better grade. For the most part, during essays you merely have to figure out a teacher's beliefs on a topic and then copy it onto paper. Any other time you're studying from a book or from class notes and will be expected only to spit the information back into the bubble of a Scantron.

There's no room to push your own limits. We have been taught to conform, to cooperate and in effect, to blend. Most students would rather settle for a good grade than reach for a lesson.

Don't get me wrong, some people here challenge that norm and try to change society, but I think we need to see more of it. We are not only here to gain factual knowledge but also to expand on how we think.

We all have a pretty good idea of what a follower is. But many people seem to be confused as to what makes someone a leader. Being a free thinker doesn't mean that you have to get your nose pierced, wear unusual clothes, stand out in any other physical way or question every word that comes from someone's mouth. Instead, it's about supporting your beliefs, logically questioning past theories and taking risks.

And then, eventually you may find that something as simple as refusing to move from your seat on the bus because you don't believe it is right can spark a national change.