Archived Edition: March 02, 2004 | Back to Current	Sep 03, 2010

Authentic student activism
Alan Cordova - Staff Writer

I would like to address the perception that the Williams community suffers from a dearth of community involvement, social consciousness, and political empowerment.

Recent posters and tablers have confidently told us that existing campus organizations are ineffective at involving students with the issues that face our society today, and that students are, as a result, unable to voice their concerns in a meaningful way. Many of them say that the geographic isolation of the Purple Bubble or the eight-hour drive to Washington D.C. means that we are apathetic and incapable of participating in state and national political affairs.

Without exception, each of these bold assertions is unequivocally false. They reflect a deep misunderstanding of the depth and breadth of social and political awareness at Williams. It is this very error that I would like to correct.

First, students are incredibly involved with the welfare of the local community. Combining an interest in a particular social dilemma with a belief in the power of volunteering to effect positive change, many tirelessly apply themselves on a regular basis. From benefit concerts to charity walks, the Williams calendar is filled with events, planned and run exclusively by students, which support vital social service organizations in Berkshire County.

Underlying the myriad occupations of this diverse community is a sense of community responsibility. Students are not ignorant of the challenges facing the region and, most importantly, we are not willing to remain uninvolved in their mitigation.

Second, students are not only acutely aware of social and political developments, but they are unafraid to take a stand on them and passionately defend it. As last year’s powerful on-campus protest of U.S. involvement in Iraq demonstrated, students are not willing to stand idly and watch the world pass by.

Walk by Baxter and, more often than not, a group focused on a specific political issue will be tabling about current legislation. Well-presented editorials in the Record often stimulate lively debates and rich discussions. Students have had letters to the editor published in prominent national newspapers such as The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA-TODAY.

Every summer, Washington, D.C. is inundated with Williams students who work in and around the very nexus of the federal government. Just because we live amidst the pastoral hills of Western Massachusetts does not mean we are unable to participate in national political discourse.

Finally, students can have an effect on federal politics without relying upon national organizations to represent them.

Last year, several members of the Student Global AIDS Campaign met with U.S. Representative John Olver (D-MA) in his Pittsfield office to discuss a bill in the House that funded international AIDS programs. Eight days after the meeting, the Representative gave an emphatic speech on the House floor in favor of dramatically increasing supporting a global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the main subject of the students’ presentation.

Through resourcefulness and determination, Williams students can make a national impact on their own initiative. We do not need to submit to powerful special interest lobbying groups to make our voice heard.

Contrary to the audacious and slanderous accusations made by recent posters and tablers, Williams students are not apathetic and powerless. We have a vibrant community of socially conscious individuals whose opinions come from all parts of the political spectrum. Never has Williams’ proud tradition of rugged individualism and self-determination meant that students are alienated from local, national and global affairs.

Thus, we do not need to import the stylishly packaged campaigns of national advocacy organizations to tell us what issues society faces. We do not need slick lobbyists telling us what solutions our community needs. We do not need to pay someone in Boston or Washington, D.C. to tell our Representatives and Senators what we want.

Moreover, we do not need to sacrifice our community’s dissident voices in the interest of finding a monolithic opinion or group that purportedly speaks for the entire student body. Student groups have always respected an individual’s right to represent him or herself at every level of governance; to violate this entitlement is to undermine the integrity that sustains our community.