Relationships make the world go 'round.

There's been talks all over campus about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. In meetings, in classrooms, in the halls, in the offices: everyone is buzzing about it. We need to do this...We should have done that...We can't let _____ happen anymore. I even had an engineering professor admit that math and science weren't the goal of life. Rather, they were just a means of obtaining the goal (happiness and fulfillment, according to him). But his point (which has been the same point I've heard almost everyone else make) was that we should be relational. That no one should be able to go through a day without having a conversation with someone. No one should be able to go through a day without someone smiling at them. We, as people, need this interaction.
I don't know if that's the solution to school shootings or not, but I know that for alot of people it would be the solution to why they feel so neglected, why they feel as if the world is against them. See, I believe that we were created by a holy, righteous, sovereign God who does not make mistakes. God made us in his image, and God is a relational being. His very existence is relational: the idea of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each exists with their own identity and own purpose; however, none would exist without the other, and when the word 'God' is used it refers to all three. I know... it's a strange concept. The point is that God needs active relationships, and, since we were made in his image, we need active relationships, too.
The change that I propose is that we stop going through our day in our own 'bubble.' Take your headphones out when you're walking to class so that you can hear when someone says 'hey' to you. When you're waiting in line talk to the person behind you. Make an attempt to learn the names of everyone in your classes. Go by and talk to your professor about his kids.
Clemson is a very friendly place. But it's also very big, and there are a lot of corners to hide in. If we will attempt to seek out those corners there will be no place for darkness. There will be no place for hate to grow and fester. There will be no place for jealousy. There will be no place for loneliness. There will be light. There will be relationships. There will be joy.