One of the biggest changes in my daily routine upon coming to college was the lack of tv-watching. I am not saying that it’s a bad thing that I spend my time socializing with friends instead of binge watching on the couch, but it does have a negative side effect. At home, my family watches the news every day. There is the evening news, the late-night report, and various periods spent watching cable news. When I am at home, I am always quite aware of the day’s news.

At school, it is very easy to become insulated from the outside world. I no longer have a tv to watch the nightly news on and rely heavily on news apps and following stations on Facebook to hear the news. I do make an effort to stay up to date on the news of the day, but many of my friends and classmates do not.

Part of this clearly stems from the fact that they have never really been interested in the news. At home they do not watch the news or read the newspaper either, so this is no different. But even people who are relatively interested will usually let their news consumption drop once they get busy at school. There are also many people who are so disturbed by the news that they would prefer to live in ignorance.

For many of us, our university will shield us from any major threats to our safety and we have little to worry about. But most of the world is not so fortunate. Especially at elite institutions which claim to be educating future leaders, people should be more involved in contemporary issues. We are privileged as we are not usually subjected to extreme hardships, but we more than anyone should not be allowed to simply ignore the plights of less fortunate people.

To go to an elite institution and to claim willful ignorance is a disturbing sign of self-centeredness. We’re given these extraordinary opportunities with the hope our successes will help make the world a better place. Ignoring what is going on outside our walls makes us unworthy of the education and benefits we receive at these institutions.

As much as we may feel like we’re living in a bubble, we are not. And at some point, most people will realize this fact. Do not think that because you’re busy studying or partying that your ignorance is excused.