As the end of term approaches in sluggish delirium, in the frantic final tapping out of essays and the Christmas festivities around the corner, there comes a moment to consider what has been achieved. For the vast majority outside the academic scope: arguably, much less than desirable.

Although most Cambridge students would pride themselves as active and engaged in current affairs and aware of socially relevant topics, sitting in the Maypole having a gander about the Con-Dem policies does not qualify as such.

Whilst canvassing recently for a political candidate for a Cambridge ward, it struck home the nostalgia of the comfort-zone of college life. Granted, students may come from a variety of backgrounds with a mixed array of daily doses of support, but once here, we all become quickly reliant on the friendly porter or the comforts of the college bar. It is all too easy to ignore the plea from a charity student society to spend an hour helping out for a fundraiser or two.

Recently, a history graduate remarked on their experiences, showing genuine surprise at the prospect of a fresher having joined numerous societies and starting a new innovative project: “the furthest I got was from the bar to the library, I just didn’t have time.” Whilst the terms are short and condensed, if Facebook-fuelled procrastination could be translated into participation in a project or a club, the scribbling of an article on a political issue, or even attendance at a controversial talk, productivity would soar.

A sit-in for the cage of Amnesty International outside King’s College Chapel would appear a purely symbolic gesture and the eager mass seen assembled recently to protest against tuition fees in the city centre may achieve very little, but this shows at least an initiative to stick your head out beyond the boundaries of the stoned walls of college.

With the high percentage of Cambridge students guaranteed reasonable, if not exceptional job prospects, the path from formal halls and supervisions to the comfy leather armchair of the Canary Wharf office appears all too smooth. Holidays spent waitressing and terms spent auditioning for lead parts in the upcoming play, there seems a lack of real exposé to the struggles outside the average student’s routine.

I am not advocating the often patronising cliché of the richness of the school of life uttered to those who do gain an opportunity to have the invaluable experience of higher education, but rather that we may use our particular tuition to broaden our horizons rather than turn our backs to the wind.

A talk on human rights may fuel an idea to write to the local MP or a case study in that battered textbook could just stimulate volunteer work in a local green charity. The opportunities are plentiful and the rewards are a trifle more than the words of praise spoon-fed from your DoS.

Do we really want to come out of an insular tunnel of trips to the UL and sound bites of Nietzsche, degree in hand, without engaging in the real world? As the next generation to enter the work arena, should we not try to stick our hands in the dirt (symbolically in the least)? It might just be time for a new year’s resolution to take stock and be active, not only to use those fine intellectual tools to cultiver son jardin, but actually to give a tad back.