By joining organizations such as the Fair Labor Association, Penn State is certainly taking a step in the right direction toward a better planet.

This does, however, lead to a couple of important issues. First of all, it's easy to say we want to be involved, but to actively pursue corporations (hello, Nike!) that make Penn State gear and make sure they abide by these agreements is another story altogether. I want to encourage those administrators involved to do so enthusiastically and diligently.

But more importantly, as with most issues on campus, nothing will be accomplished if the students don't get involved and hold the school accountable for its actions.

Wake up!

If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention! I'm sure many of you have seen that bumper sticker. How true it really is. Collegiate clothing being made in sweatshop conditions is only the beginning of our worries.

So many injustices are going on all around us while we sit in our cozy, college-student lives swilling our beer, going to our football games and chillin' on Old Main lawn without giving the world outside a second thought.

I'm not saying everyone at Penn State needs to be like Ché Guevara (though a little revolutionary spirit never hurt anyone), but even just a pinch of awareness will help.

When was the last time you attended a Pride Rally, participated in an affirmative action debate or listened to a Tibetan monk tell of injustices going on in his country?

A plethora of issues await those souls with enough compassion, drive and energy to make a difference. Changing the world doesn't happen with a TV remote in your hand. Gentle reader, simply reading about other people participating in the Collegian won't help perpetuate change on campus.

This is a call to action. Don't be a sleepwalker. Don't spend your four or five (or six) years in a haze, earning a degree that will inevitably set you up in a career that forces you into the blob that is the status quo. When it's stagnant, the world is actually deteriorating. Do something.

Get involved!

Look around you -- opportunities abound for action, you just need to get up and do it. How many student action groups are meeting every week with four or five members holding up their ideals? Compared to the amount of people bar-hopping on a weekday night, too many, to be sure. The percentage of active students compared to passive ones is most likely largely disparate.

I laud all the students running in USG elections -- way to go. You are the ones who are going to have your voices heard. You are the ones who care enough to make a difference. To those that win -- don't do it for yourselves, do it because you want to make Penn State a better place.

Think about what kind of issues you care about. What do you talk about with your friends when you get into a "deep" conversation? If it's human rights, get involved with Amnesty International. If it's religion, get involved with your church volunteer projects. If it's politics, get involved in the debates, or for that matter, start your own! Or if it's the environment, talk to someone from Eco-Action (Earth Day is only a few weeks away!).

Don't let passivity suck you in. I've been victim to passivity just like the rest of us, and as they say in Passives Anonymous, "the first step to recovery is to know you have a problem." Realize you haven't been doing anything in a while. Realize you're getting sucked along with the crowd. Realize that negativity flourishes without you doing anything.

Keep active!

Activism doesn't stop once you've snagged that diploma that took so long to achieve. You can stay active after school, too, of course. In fact, that is probably the most important time to be active.

What you learn in student activism will carry over into your non-academic life, too. Not only should you consider volunteering after school, make it your job! Join the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. Work for Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. Intern for a political action group. If you don't know how to, ask someone who does.

Just remember that change begins with you.