I am about to graduate at the end of this semester, and I'm disappointed in the lack of activism I have encountered in my three years at UB.
I'm not necessarily calling for picket line protests with signs and slogans, stampeding or marching on a building, or sit-ins. I'm talking about standing up for what's right in your own life rather than living with things the way they are with an apathetic attitude, or forgetting to stand up for yourself as all efforts go towards trying to influence things that are beyond your control.
I find that many people are shooting too high with their activism. They think they can help solve genocide in Darfur, end the Iraq War, or stop world hunger, but they are much slower to apply the idea of activism to their everyday lives, where, let's face it, it is a lot more successful.
It's almost as though the students who did care have been smothered - either by their big dreams or by others' apathy.
What happened to UB Anti War? We're still at war, so there must be some people against it, but there has been literally no public activity in that club. Maybe they felt overwhelmed by the vastness and uncontrollable nature of their cause.
What about UB Students Against Sweatshops? Nobody has heard much about them this year either. Maybe because it's hard to get college students to care about what's happening in their own lives much less the lives of people on the other side of the globe in third world countries.
Whether or not people agree with the premise of these clubs, at least they were signs that there were indeed a few students that cared about something.
I'm not saying people should stop supporting these broad topics, but if they do lend their support, they should think about ways to be activists in their own lives and communities too.
I would not consider myself the typical activist - I would most likely never participate in picket lines, sit-ins, marches, or anything of that nature. But, standing up for myself is important. I don't just sit around and let things happen that I don't think are right - I fight for what is right to the best of my ability.
But that attitude of conviction doesn't always get me places. Although I can rally support, once the issue gets to center stage, most people step back and blend into the background, leaving me all by myself on the front lines. But that doesn't stop me from trying.
Last spring, one of my friends and co-workers at Lowe's Home Improvement traveled to Washington, D.C. to protest against President Bush. However, she wouldn't approach any managers at Lowe's when she felt that the pallets of fertilizer and pesticides placed directly next to a cash register in the Outside Lawn & Garden department should be moved. I, on the other hand, resolved to get the toxic fumes that created a wall almost five feet tall on one side of the register removed from my workspace. I climbed the ladder of managers until I finally found someone that would help solve the problem and disregard the almighty plan-o-gram that tells stores where to put products. The pallets of fertilizer and pesticide were moved about 10 feet from where they once were and wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent some fumes from escaping the porous paper bags.
While I didn't completely beat the idiotic plan-o-gram for the long run, we no longer had to inhale the chemical fumes and terrible scent of the fertilizer for eight hours a day that summer - and I saw that as a victory. I'm sure my co-worker's expensive trip to Washington, D.C. was not even that successful, other than giving her a pretty cool photo album on Facebook.
Activism has morphed into a much lower, watered-down version of itself among my college peers. Adding Causes applications and joining groups on Facebook suddenly passes for activism. While this may be an effective way to raise money or garner some support, as shown by a UB student that raised over $30,000 for a charity that raises awareness and funds for cancer research using Facebook, it cannot be the only form of activism one takes part in.
I have met only a few students at UB that have impressed me with their activism. The first was a student that came to my door with a petition last semester, and asked if I would sign it to help him confront the complex director about the insect problem many of us were experiencing.
Another student read about the genocide happening in Tibet as China tries to assert its power. He contacted the Tibetan Student Association to see what he could do to help. He participated in a demonstration to raise awareness about the situation.
One of my coworkers simply sent an e-mail expressing the view of the majority, which was all that was necessary to right a wrong.
I don't know if these people would think of what they did as activism, but it was. Some took steps to rally people together and confront the person in charge about a problem that was not being addressed to their satisfaction. The other found a way to make fellow students aware of an issue.
These actions separate students from many others who see themselves as "political-minded" people who won't allow anyone to walk all over them. What they don't see is that what they're doing when they choose to just live with things the way they are to avoid rocking the boat a little bit.
In this age of technology where communication is instant and anyone can post their opinion or rally for a cause with the entire world as their audience, activism should be easier than ever. But, for some reason, people think their time can be better spent in other ways, such as talking about it through a chat on a file-sharing program.
As a teenager, I worked in an assisted living home. I'll never forget what one of the residents said to me once: as long as you have beliefs, it doesn't matter what they are. The people you have to wonder about are those who don't have any. And if you don't stand up for any of them, you might as well not have any at all.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
