Some of these people are not ready to be unplugged. Some of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

Of course, this was the proclamation that Morpheus used when he described mankind's enslavement in the 1999 film The Matrix.

Everyday, we take to the streets of this country. As I walk, I can't help but critically observe our human behavior. I've uncovered certain truths about these behaviors and have come to a frightening conclusion regarding the state of our lives.

We are controlled by the system. If you haven't heard this idea before, then you're watching far too much MTV. The system can be defined in many ways, but this isn't something the dictionary people get into. So, I'll take the liberty of pulling the curtain back on this lever-pulling wizard.

The system is the established set of social norms that govern our behavior and threaten our freedom. It is the twisted, narrow-minded way that we distinguish normal from abnormal, right from wrong, and good from bad. To put it more simply, think of the system as a path that we follow mindlessly. A path usually leads somewhere, so straying from that path is assumed to mean that you'll likely be delayed in finding out where you're going. It doesn't make sense to stray from the path, right?

Like in The Matrix, the system is all around us. From gender roles to pop culture, the system watches over our lives. We sense it breathing on our necks when we feel the pressure to imitate the norm. We hear it laughing at us when our lives become too stressful. And unless you're conscious of its paternal hand on your shoulder, the system will affect every one of your decisions by limiting your ability to reason and make choices.

The system wants you, and not in the good sexual way. It recruits its disciples with a quiet grace. It sucks in many of us with its feasibility, high profile and seemingly uncontrollable tendency to overwhelm. If you abide by its rules and sweat for the system, you're often rewarded with the opulence and high status of an affluent society. Those who take this offering usually don't check to see who will be pulling the strings. They figure it out 30 years down the road and discover what a mid-life crisis is made of.

Because of these promises of wealth and security, many believe that it's much more practical to insert yourself into the system than to live outside of it. In fact, so many choose to side with the system that they far outnumber those that resist it. This makes following the crowd that much easier. When you belong in the majority, you think your way is the obvious, most sensible way to do things.

The system doesn't like independent thinkers. Those who give in are unknowingly sacrificing their individuality. They give up their freedom to choose and, instead, are forced to promote oppressive uniformity. They see only what the system shows them and find it difficult to accept any dissenting thought that comes across their desks. This unfortunate attitude, you may well have guessed, leads to the misery of close-mindedness. And judging by all the inventive hate e-mails that I've received in response to my first two columns, I'd say closed-mindedness is alive and flourishing here at Penn State.

College offers plenty of resources to help defend its students from the threat of the system. The tragedy is that many of us choose not to call them into service. Most students decide that college is the initiation process, their induction into the system. Much like a fraternity's pledging process, college is seen as something to be toughed out. I don't know if you've noticed yet, but most of our science and business classes are just feeding us a bunch of essentially meaningless facts and figures that tell us little about life. (Before you start yelling, take note of my major on the bottom right.) We're expected to accept what we're told without responding with personal commentary. We begin to interpret valuable knowledge as only that which is testable. Greg Graffin, singer of the legendary punk rock band Bad Religion, once said of college students, "We become academic clones graduating by the thousands each spring, ready to discriminate against anyone who challenges our learned ideology."

What is this learned ideology? If we're not careful, college teaches us to see everything at face value with no regard for the theory or the beauty that lies beneath. We learn that the system waits for no one. We believe that hard work and discipline are the only legitimate ways to find happiness. Fulfillment is thought to occur only through the delivery of goods and services. Any radical or subversive suggestions are dismissed as quackery. If it were reliable, it would have been emphasized in a homework assignment.

In practice, our unconditional dedication to laboring in the system has exhausted us and defeated our spirits. My fellow students, we are so consumed by obscure deadlines and useless GPAs that we have little time to actually think. Maybe without the inhibitions of the system, we'd realize that life is more than just the time in between paychecks.

Rick, how do we break out of this stale, lifeless prison? Well, don't treat college like a mediator between you and the real world. We're sitting on a winning lottery ticket. I said earlier that college offers plenty of resources to those who call them into service. If you take advantage of its freedom from the obligations associated with full-time jobs and parental supervision, then college can be an intellectual sanctuary where an individual can find himself and figure out how the system is vulnerable. College is so much more than what you learn in a classroom. To start, get involved with something that you've always thought was nonsense. It could be anything from vegetarianism to punk rock. Find out why so many people are fascinated by nonsense and see if it doesn't help you understand the world better.

Our educational message has led us into disaster. It has neglected to stress the importance of applying what you've learned to your life and your worldview, not just to your next assignment. This is where most of us lose and become the prey of the system. We must remind ourselves to apply our knowledge so that we can use it to preserve the sovereignty of the individual. Choose your general education classes carefully; some have the potential to change your life. It breaks my heart to hear someone say that they can't wait to graduate. That's the system talking. Indulge yourself in the freedom and stay as long as you can. There is no better place than college for nurturing your curiosity and celebrating your uniqueness.

I've learned thousands of life lessons in college. One of the most important is, no matter what the circumstances, there's always a better way of doing things. There is always a way out, a way in, a way to get it cheaper, or a way to get back at that new electronic store chain in town. I offer all of you this pervasive intervention to help secure our victory in the war against that evil empire — the system.