Student Outlook -- Socrates Cruz

I’m 1320, who are you? Our society has finally gotten to the point

where individuals have become nothing more than numbers. From Social

Security to drivers’ licenses to SAT scores, it becomes increasingly

obvious that mere numbers are being used to portray individuals.

From the point of view of a teenager, this reality is pretty gloomy.

As any college-bound student who has filled out any applications knows

very well: One’s name must always be accompanied by one’s Social Security

number; SAT scores and grade-point average are just about indicators of

intelligence; and hours of community service and weeks per year are far

more important than how that time actually benefited someone.

I understand that because our society has become so complex,

numerically systematic categorization has become necessary for efficiency

and control. I also understand that the rigor of the college admissions

process forces admissions committees to rely heavily on statistical data

to compare applicants with one another.

Unfortunately, this method is blind to the individual’s personality,

which eventually is the leading factor in determining how a person will

have an effect on something.

Numbers may be efficient, but analysis through looking into

personality and discovering character traits is far more human.

Sadly though, nothing much can be done about this matter; it is a

natural outgrowth of society’s complexity. But one can still live with

the hope that individuals do not forget their individuality and that,

someday, the bar code that will be on every person’s forehead will be

capable of also revealing personality traits, along with all the other

“highly descriptive” data.

* SOCRATES CRUZ is a senior at Costa Mesa High School, where he is the

8 Penny Review editor at the school newspaper, the Hitching Post. His

columns will appear on an occasional basis in the Community Forum

section.