A is for Activism

Lydia Petroske, Blogger

Noun

The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change

___________________________

With the simple exchange of a paper, I declared my major yesterday: Environmental Studies-Politics (as if each respective half of my major wasn’t contentious enough on its own). The joke I’ve been telling people is that I’m now going to be too busy attending rallies to make it to class…after all, ES is synonymous with monkeywrenching and college politics with young radicalism, right? Truth be told, however, I haven’t seen the level of student activism and political engagement that I expected from a very liberal liberal arts college. Sure, there is the occasional student protest or campaign, but these are few and far between. Walla Walla residents outnumbered Whitman students at the Climate March last year. Excuse me if I’m getting my stereotypes mixed up…but I thought the angry, raging hippies were supposed to college student? So what’s up Whitman?

Why don’t that many Whitties engage in activism? Students are certainly passionate about their respective fields and you can get most people fired up during a lunchtime conversation. People just don’t seem to act on it. Perhaps it is because the stereotypical image I repeated in my own attempt at humor – that of raging street protests, cardboard signs, marches, and disillusioned college students – is a polarizing and intimidating form of activism. Painting activism as solely a media protest art undermines the underlying desire of activists and the power that comes with campaigning. Believe me, I love radical activism. I think it makes a strong message through the media and garners more attention that subversive forces. However, everybody engages in activism differently. I personally feel out of place holding a picket sign and marching down the streets. On the other hand, I write a lot of political letters to politicians. I’m personally planning to attend the Kayak protest for the removal of dams on the Snake River because, while maybe just as radical as a street march, I think it feels a little more badass (plus the Snake River dams are energetically inadequate for the environmental impact they have). I’m actively involved with the Whitman divestment campaign. Activism doesn’t need to exist in one radical form.

There are so many ways to engage in political discourse, so many ways to be an activist for a cause. Civil society is where one has the opportunity to act as more than an individual, to engage in societal reform, and to align your voice with a larger message towards the state. No one way of expressing passion for a cause is better than another. It is a combination of forces that drives political and social change. It is just important to have protests shown in the media as it is to write letters to politicians or to work for a non-profit writing carbon legislation. When it comes to activism, it is both quantity and quality that matters.

We get to engage in activism how we want. So rappel off a bridge, or start a letter writing campaign, or sign a petition, or bring the petition to the streets of Walla Walla. One of the greatest powers in our society is that we do get a voice. It seems a shame not to express it.