It’s important to stay engaged, but also informed. Don’t just go with what everyone is telling you.

Right now, the most talked about issue on campus, by far, is the potential unionizing of the Sodexo employees. While it is great seeing Loyola students energized enough to get up in arms about something, it is disconcerting how uninformed students are, on both sides of the debate. Rhetoric, emotion, rumors and scare tactics have flown from both sides of the debate.

Unfortunately, much of this rhetoric seems to be just that: rhetoric; stubbornly repeated at an ever increasing volume. People are jumping to conclusions on both sides of the issue without really understanding what is going on.

Remember, this is not just some debate to decide who is going to be on SGA, room-draw standing or whether or not Tulane students should be allowed in the O.R. This time, the very livelihoods of people are at stake. So, let’s think before we speak and make sure we are well informed before we preach because, this time, our actions could have lasting consequences.

Supporting and wanting the best for the Sodexo employees seems to be something that all Loyola students can agree on. After all, the workers in the O.R., C-Store, Satchmo’s and Flambeaux’s are arguably the most popular people on campus. However, we acknowledge that supporting the Sodexo employees is not necessarily synonymous with supporting the union. Unionizing is a very nuanced subject that varies greatly and can greatly help or harm both workers and consumers depending on the local, national and corporate conditions.

It is important to stay engaged, on the behalf of our friends and colleagues who work for Sodexo. As part of that commitment, though, it is important that we do not inadvertently cause harm by forcefully advocating positions and opinions that we do not fully understand.