Ripon College Days

Over the past week or so many of us have grown accustomed to seeing Brock the cat lounging somewhere in the Quads. Students have responded exceptionally well to Brock, leaving him food, creating shelter outside of Brockway and of course rushing over to pet him or say hello.

The compassion and love many of us have shown to Brock in recent days is a good example, not only that we can be compassionate people, but that we have the capacity to do good for others as well.

During this time of year, with end of the semester papers, projects, exams and Christmas shopping all to be done five times faster than our bodies or brains can handle, we all need to take a deep breath and think about how we treat not only a cat in the Quads, but our fellow human beings.

On Friday night Dickens of a Christmas brought the community of Ripon together. There were sleigh bells, hot cider and many children found the epitome of happiness at the pet store.

In Little Paulie's Pet Shop children squeezed and kissed basset hounds as they yelled to each other, "I want the puppy," "No I want the puppy!" Even these children show the genuine capacity for compassion, but somehow they, as well as we, fail to carry this same respect and compassion over to humans.

Back outside bands played, people sang Christmas carols, and college students put a ten foot pole between themselves and any member of the community. Okay, that's a little rash, but there was a noticeable separation. College students stuck to their groups with hoods up and eyes down. And such is the case more often than not.

For the four years we attend Ripon College, we are members of the larger Ripon Community for nine months out of twelve. This is our home for the majority of the year. And just as many have come to understand that the students and professors of Ripon College have something to offer, we also need to recognize that our community members do too.

On our way to class we have no problem saying hello to our fellow students, even those we don't know particularly well, and a simple hello can be enough to show others in the larger community that we care.

In this holiday season, when we have shown that we can care about one stray cat, maybe we should be as good to our fellow community members as we are to Brock. And maybe the community will warm up to us just as the cat has, who once ran from students, and now waits for a friendly scratch on the back.

Not only does this go for people who live in Ripon, but for everyone: family members, people in the car next to you, or friends you haven't seen all year.

Especially at Christmas time, it is easy to become annoyed, frusrated and even unkind. Just remember that if we can be friendly to Brock and the tiny bassets at Little Paulie's Pet Shop, we can be nice to Uncle Harry and his unknown friend at Dickens of a Christmas.

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