Academic competition acts as encouragement

 Good will is ravaging the campus.

 It is an unyielding force traveling from heart to heart, infecting even the most corrupt of minds. Don't ask anyone about it, for it is as contagious as it is attractive. They are friendly, these chaste souls. They sit next to you in class and smile. The sun and the trees grin as even nature seems to unite with them to form some brigade of affability.

But seriously, isn't this one of the most uncompetitive places you've ever been?

As far as I can tell, academic competition has ceased to exist here at Truman. There is pressure to do well in school, but most of that pressure is internal. I think competition has not wrapped its greasy hands around the minds of these Truman students because they excel at motivating themselves. But would a little friendly academic competition hurt?

In fact, why not go all the way and indulge in some cutthroat rivalry? Competition sharpens the mind and is unmatched as a motivator. Truman students, with a competitive edge, have the potential to become some of the best in the nation, not just in Missouri.  

 In a friendly atmosphere, competition might be scorned. Truman students shape their environment, and if they had desired to attend a school where friends betray and enemies abound, then they would have made it so. Competition is not a policy but rather a creation.

However, competition does not automatically imply hostility. It can be a byproduct, certainly, but there can only be as much malice as we are capable of. Given the natural kindliness of this student body and its spotless history of cooperation, we frankly lack the ability to foster ill will. If we were to engage in a little friendly competition, we would be hard pressed to push it past the point of no return. It would take great effort to transform these students into vicious brutes bent on surviving and winning. Sure, abandon hope, all ye who enter here, but I promise, once you're in, it is this school's nature to make you feel as welcomed and relaxed as it can.  

Truman fancies itself a city upon a hill. It looks down from its perch and sees all other public universities in Missouri. From that view, it has little serious competition for the best and the brightest. Truman misses all of the other hills surrounding it. Look beyond your borders and see the other universities rising out of the collegiate din. It is this lack of (or perhaps refusal to acknowledge) competition that contributes to Truman's static position as a good regional school. If only we could commit ourselves to competing with other excellent public universities - and not just those in Missouri - then perhaps we could make ourselves even better.

Truman students are busy and have a tendency to overextend themselves, but I have a feeling we have not reached our potential. Competition - between each other and with other schools - will not only encourage us to do better and to achieve more while we are here but will also condition us for a world outside of college that thrives on competition. Some students will go on to graduate schools where fierce competition is the standard. Both medical and law schools are notorious for their students' tendencies to do whatever they can to get ahead, including tearing pages out of books so that other students will not use the same material.

Tactics such as these are not competitive, they are insane. External competition is appropriate as a tool for internal improvement. Once it outgrows these boundaries, it can become monstrous. Luckily, Truman students don't possess the malice that is required to achieve those conditions. On the other hand, we have the ability to push ourselves a little more, to make this whole institution a little better and to make this school a little more competitive.       

Connor Stangler is a sophomore English and history major from Columbia, Mo.