On Feb 28th, I wrote my first op-ed for the Record! With little bit of nervousness and huge bit of excitement, I'm hoping to reproduce it here and would LOVE to get some comments!
Up from underground
Last week, a group of Williams students met and bonded over a shared passion: activism. Together, as the Student Activism Underground, we represented diverse concerns, from sustainability and social justice, to education and diversity initiatives, to religion. Although we all carried different banners, it was easy to find common ground because we all believe that activism can be more present on the Williams campus. The questions that remain are: How can it be better? And toward what direction should we aim this improvement?
First of all, what is activism? I believe that activism is passion and belief put into action toward social or political change; something that unfortunately does not define Williams. The problem is not apathy, nor is it the lack of awareness; the large number of people working for nonprofits over the summer and the high percentage of graduates working for Teach for America or the Peace Corp is telling enough. Then what is it that makes our action dormant, contradictory to what we seem to believe?
n active Williams, to me, would be a place where one could walk into a dining hall and overhear twenty different conversations about twenty different important issues; a place where the community was engaged both inside and outside of the classroom; where the issues of the world were the issues of daily life,?said participant Justin Bates ?7. This is the image of a top-notch educational institute and Williams is not quite there yet.
The fact that the location of Williams is too far away from the center of politics, controversies or the heartbeat of the world is often a common explanation for the lack of activism on campus. To me, the lack of issues to be addressed or learned from is not a legitimate excuse. For example, North Adams once had the largest number of immigrants in America and it still remains a resourceful place for immigration and cross-cultural studies. You can even hear French, Polish and Italian if you listen carefully when walking down Main Street in North Adams. Also, the fact that neighboring Pownal is one of the most economically deprived towns in New England proves that controversial issues are just around the corner. illiams is committed to creating leaders and also ngaged citizens??this should be questioned and discussed in classroom and campus debates,?said Alix Murphy ?7 on Williams?lack of effort to bring these issues to campus.
Our curriculum should utilize the resources around us as a real life learning platform; if community engagement and the promotion of activism stem from the classroom, even the busy schedules of Williams students can no longer be an excuse for idleness.
he most effective type of activism at Williams would get people involved in [such] a way that they are creating change in the present and learning about issues and ways that they can carry activism into their life beyond Williams,?Whitney Leonard ?8 said. e only have four years here, but we have a lifetime to put these four years to use.?Activism is more than just an initiative: it is a crucial part of student education and preparation for the future.
like to see people questioning and, if deemed appropriate, changing the action they take every day,?Sarah Moore ?9 said. here should be more energy and care for social issues on campus and beyond; we are an extremely impressive and capable student body ?let channel that potential toward a greater good.?
The conclusion of the student activist meeting was that collaboration, above all, can promote activism on campus. This not only calls for a union between the Williams curriculum and current events, especially the ones around us, but also for different activist groups to use each other as resources.
ctivism can be a net of support,?Hnin Hnin ?0 said. his means that we are all connected, each a knot in the net. Some knots may be closer together. Others farther, but the point is that we make up a larger whole. It means [that] we move with each other, and help each other advance one another goals. Activism is a group activity, the natural connection between us.?Activism should be empowering, educational and nurturing for our inner growth, especially on our campus. I believe that it is not only possible, but crucial for Williams to achieve this goal.
Rachel Ko '09 is from Taipei, Taiwan, and lives in Agard.
about time ... are Students for Social Justice still operating on campus? Pop that bubble, baby.
Posted by: - dd | April 01, 2007 at 09:19 AM