Protesters asking wrong question
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Editor,
I believe the Occupy Polson protesters are asking the wrong question. The right question should be, “How can the loss in federal aid be recovered without government assistance, reducing the impact on Polson High School graduates?”
Protest, by definition, is a reaction to a statement or gesture in objection to it. Simply stated, to protest is to react to some external stimuli. What if, by asking the right question, the reaction becomes an action that has a positive impact on the question, therefore resolving the issue at hand?
I would like to put forth a positive action that addresses the question of providing for the community needs issue, and more importantly, gives ownership to the students concerned about the funding.
Assume there are 15 concerned students, as were in attendance any given day of Occupy Polson. Let’s also assume each of those 15 concerned students earned the ridiculously low wage of $10 a day. Washing windows, raking yards, writing code — it doesn’t matter, assuming they do so in a legal fashion. So, each student raises $10 per day. Total daily income is $150. They continue for two quarters, 180 days. The total would be $27,000. There are as many as 22 attorneys in the Polson area. Let’s assume any one of them would set up a trust account pro-bono. In as little as five years, depending on the interest rate, this trust could fund $1,000 scholarships to each and every Polson High School graduate without a decrease in principal.
This example also assumes that no one takes notice to put forth any additional funds, that no anonymous donations are made, and only the 15 original students are involved.
Those seniors who stand and protest would have the benefit of knowing they produced a chain reaction of good for the community. Those who are freshmen today from here forward would have federal funding differences wiped away indefinitely in the form of a scholarship provided to all Polson High School seniors. Best of all, the solution is produced by the students, for the sake of the students, and without government assistance.
Michael Hewston
Polson
