I’ve been at North Carolina State University for a while and I’ve seen Student Senate sessions and Student Body Presidents come and go.  I remember darker and more divisive days, and I’m happy to say that it’s getting better and that we’re making progress.  However, I’m sad to see special interests and personal ambitions standing in the way of Student Government’s primary responsibility: to represent students.

We are elected, or appointed, to this organization by students to reflect their concerns and opinions, not those of the University or its associated boards and foundations.  This is a reflection of a larger problem in society in which our elected officials, and sometimes ourselves, pursue what will create gains in the short term or get us re-elected, even if that is not the right thing to do for the long term.  It’s hard to concentrate on goals or ideas that have timelines longer than we’re used to. However, just because something is easy, or will make a quick buck, it doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do.  I wrote the resolution, with the input of other student senators, because I felt compelled to say something that students themselves weren’t getting across to Student Government.  A dialogue between students and the University wasn’t being held, and I sought to start that from within Student Government.

I know that many people may have different opinions on the future of Hofmann Forest than I do, which is fine, and I expect some people to be more vocal than others.  However, I grew up south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and next to the Nantahala National Forest as well as next to one of the last old growth forests, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, in the country. These forests helped shape my views on how we treat the world around us.  I may not live near Hofmann Forest, but I don’t need to in order to understand that Hofmann’s survival, or destruction, affects us all.  There are many ways that the Hofmann Forest can be profitable, other than providing income to the University.  Encouraging environmental sustainability should be the biggest priority of the college’s and Foundation’s, as well as our own.  Hofmann Forest’s educational and environmental resources should be just as valuable as its financial benefits, which is a view many people fail to see.  We can utilize the forest for all three purposes, but if the land is developed, then it is almost impossible to go back given current trends in nature.  The sale doesn’t have to be this way, and we should all work to ensure that the land is more than financially productive, but that it can continue its original purpose of conservation and education for generations to come.

The forest, which is scheduled to be sold and developed for whatever purpose the buyer decides, isn’t just a financial or educational asset: it’s a part of a fragile ecosystem of which we all inhabit.  Our world’s forests are disappearing and we are damaging the ecosystems we need to survive.  Look at what’s happening across the globe with each oil spill, nuclear meltdown, drought, or typhoon.  We are all directly connected to the environment, whether you believe the science or not, and every bad decision we make deprives future generations of a cleaner planet.

I know that it is hard to care about things that might not affect us directly; and I can understand how it’s difficult to be passionate about issues that may not arise in our lifetimes, but we must take care of the world around us for future generations.  We are living on this planet like we’ve got another one to go to, which isn’t happening anytime soon with budget priorities that cripple NASA.  We are the generation that will inherit a world shaped by the decisions these people make and I believe that our voices deserve to be heard.  Our waters are being polluted, droughts are hurting more and more people, especially farmers and the air we breathe is constantly being poisoned.  We need these forests, like Hofmann, and we need trees.  If no one else is going to speak for them, I will.