The beginning of this semester saw a much different tone from the members of The Daily Collegian's Board of Opinion compared to what has appeared on these pages during the last several weeks.

Recently, issues with both the treatment of racial minorities and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community have saturated public discourse. Problems with tuition and the overall Penn State budget have consistently been concerns of students. Stem-cell research, the right to die and even condoms have gotten under the skin of this paper's readers.

It has been a welcomed change, in a way.

During the beginning of this year, when students returned from their last break, the biggest issue permeating campus discourse was, well, nothing.

Apathy was the real problem on this campus, as seen in scant letters sent to this section, little public outcry toward proposed cuts to the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) budget that would affect the way many students in town get from point A to point B, and the strong-arming that seemed apparent in the progressing case of moving part or all of the Dickinson School of Law to University Park. It was all falling on deaf ears.

Luckily, as we leave for this break, we are living in a different world.

Everything from the huge outcry against homophobia countered by religious forces, protests of racism on campus, and the proposed "solutions" by Black Caucus that could adversely affect both the student body and the overall racial climate in the long-term have all shown the darker side of the students sitting beside us all in class.

But it has also had a brighter side, a side that the board sees as a positive step forward -- a step toward debate, which is always the first necessary step to solutions to the problems that plague us all.

So in this way, we may be better off.

However, this time of year causes the danger of losing even this positive spin on the negative climate that surrounds us.

When students go for break, the waves and sunshine wash away the trials and tribulations of State College -- as they should -- but they should not be forgotten.

Momentum has begun on a lot of issues, and students are paying attention. There are no longer editorials being written about how apathetic students and groups here are. Instead, decisions are dealing with how this groundswell of support for all sides of debate should be channeled to reach the best possible solutions.

Let's make sure that the ball keeps rolling when we all get back to University Park. Let's not let this strife go to waste.