Boston University’s campus is very familiar with activism. Divest BU regularly sends students to President Robert Brown’s office, hoping to have a meeting with him. #PoorAtAPrivateUniversity, which helps students who struggle financially to have a voice, eventually prompted the administration to create grant assurance for financial aid. Graduate students have sat in front of Marsh Plaza with signs and chants to fight for their rights to unionize. Our student body is extremely involved with political, social and economic issues that plague not only our university, but also our country.
This trend of student activism has become increasingly popular at schools across the country. An article from USA TODAY College delves into different types of student activism that are taking over campuses. To name just a few, the University of California, Berkeley, Kent State University and the University of New Mexico are cited to provide examples of students who are confronting issues of student debt, violence and campus sexual assault.
An annual study from the University of California, Los Angeles that began in 1967 provides evidence that this truly is an age of unprecedented student activism. Students are more likely than ever to become involved, with one in 10 students claiming to be involved in at least one protest throughout their four years as college undergraduate students.
It’s no coincidence that activism has increased along with the swearing in of President Donald Trump. Trump is arguably the most divisive figure in American history, forcing people to get out there and take a side. Since Trump’s campaign, politics is the most popular conversation. Policies, budget cuts and nominations — they drive every news story and most of the activism across the country. In a progressive city like Boston, students are especially agitated and passionate. They’ve been prompted to organize rallies, create petitions and express their disappointment with what they’re seeing on both sides of the aisle. Students, or young people in general, tend to believe that the world is pretty messed up. We’re attempting to address and find solutions to issues that apply to us as students on college campuses.
Activism has allowed BU students to band together and demand our rights as students and as citizens. The BU Coalition of Student Activists, for example, is a group of over two dozen leaders of activism on campus who are dedicated to creating change. It’s a great thing to see students work together, no matter what the outcome is. The action, visible passion and outreach of students is uplifting for the entire community of academics. Within the BU bubble, there are so many causes that students can advocate for if they’re fervent enough. Students have fought for rights to unionize and divest, for free tampons, gender neutral bathrooms and tuition transparency, and seen real success from the activism. Students who come together and work for one concrete goal have an incredibly powerful voice.
May it be organizing a rally, attending a protest or simply creating a dialog between the student body and the administration, students’ efforts have all been enabled and expedited due to the advent of social media. People with similar interests find each other through Facebook to get in touch or organize events. Social media makes it a lot easier for students to see opportunities to be activists. Facebook and Twitter also create a platform for students to express complaints. The amount of posts in BU Facebook groups about administrative decisions, such as tuition increases or snow days, is incredible. We’re connecting in new ways that proliferate the conversation. Students are becoming more creative about how to express their feelings through these platforms.
Some of these college rallies have received criticism for being just another protest from another group of overly active college students. Many don’t see how they could be effective. But the true value of these rallies does not lie in the specific topic, but in the camaraderie of like-minded individuals coming together to fight for a cause. This is democracy and free speech at its finest. Student activism shows that this generation, one supposedly glued to cell phones and reliant on technology, is worried about the future, about climate change, healthcare and the status of education.
The real changes are made by those who show up, who participate and organize the community. If you’re a college student who devotes two to three hours of your day, your week or your month, to a cause, it shows that you care and will continue to. That’s more than many can say about themselves or their peers. Students are paving the way for activism, for change and for the future.
