With the recent off-campus living policy changes, students at Baker have been extra vocal with their gripes and moans.

Students have gone on KNBU-TV to complain and numerous appeals have been submitted to the housing committee asking for permission to live off campus. And while these complaints certainly have merit, and all students are entitled to voice their opinions, it seems the majority of people on campus are going about it the wrong way.

One group is taking the right approach, however. The America in the 1960s class, which is taught by Assistant Professor of History Leonard Ortiz, exercised its right to free speech and protest by holding a “camp-in” Thursday.

To illustrate that they would rather sleep outdoors than live on campus, the students in Ortiz’s class decided to spend the night in the middle of campus Thursday evening and stay there all day Friday. Students began gathering at 8:30 a.m. In addition to the eight members of the class, more Baker students are expected to join the protest throughout the day Friday. 

While the gesture appears a bit exaggerated, it certainly makes its point. And what’s more, it is a much more suitable approach than griping and moaning around campus about being denied off-campus living. 

Students at Baker should practice this type of activism more frequently. On larger campuses, protests like this one are used often to bring about change. There’s no reason this type of argument should be a one-time deal.

The protest should be effective in showing university officials that students truly are bothered by the off-campus living policy. Those involved in the decision-making process will certainly be more apt to pay attention to thoughtful protests than the juvenile, mean-spirited letters sent by disgruntled students.<br/>