Why don't we protest as much as previous generations used to?
This is the question posed by Dr. Rita Colwell to a dozen Dartmouth students at a dinner last Tuesday. Dr. Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation, told us about the lack of adequate regulations on beef production and the security and health problems springing from global warming -- and asked why Dartmouth students and their counterparts at other colleges do so little.
Responses ranged from the defensible -- "but we are doing something" -- to the practical -- "being a tree-hugger is ineffective" -- to the boring -- "we plan to work through the system."
The Dartmouth Mirror attempted to tackle this question in last Friday's issue ("Is Campus Activism Dead?" Feb. 22). But one answer is never decided on as the article wavers between the elimination of the draft, the success of previous protests and the end of the 1960s culture of protest.
The elimination of the draft could not have led to a visible decrease in the intensity of protests. For one, not all protests revolved around the Vietnam War and the ROTC program. In 1985, apartheid in South Africa got Dartmouth students so riled up that they built shanties on the green to pressure the College to divest from that terrible regime. Students even lived in these shanties -- in November! Apartheid had nothing to do with the draft; the lives of Dartmouth students were not dependent on the outcome of the protest. And the protest did not take place in the turbulent '60s but two decades later.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and you see a completely different response to a very similar issue. The Darfur Action Group successfully lobbied the College to divest from Darfur by handing out free T-shirts to raise awareness and holding business meetings with College administrators.
That previous protests somehow "took care of things" also makes little sense. As Dr. Colwell pointed out, there is no lack of grievances. Look at America, and you'll see Bush, Iraq, Katrina and more. Look at Africa, and see the same need for divestment as the shanty-housed students saw in 1985.
I think two things explain the change in our culture of protest. First, we get angry at different things than previous generations. Secondly, we deal with our anger differently.
During those rare times when Dartmouth students come out to protest, the issue is not a big war, a bad government or beef; the issue is identity. A "Cowboys and Indians "themed" formal along with three other incidents precipitated a massive protest in front of Robinson Hall. The national debate over illegal immigration led to an immigration solidarity rally on the Green. When the College announced its decision to relocate Alpha Xi Delta and make way for Beta Theta Pi, 200 students marched to Parkhurst.
Everyone showed up to defend their identity and to defend their right to defend their identity.
We simply don't care about many issues that aren't related to identity. A few students tried to start up a campaign to boycott Coca-Cola for the injustices the company commits in developing countries. When they blitzed out, their publicity director told me, they were surprised at the negative responses they received, which ranged from the ignorant -- "Coke can't be that bad" -- to the practical -- "there are too many Coke products on campus to boycott them" -- to the bitter -- "I like Powerade, so shut up." It seems that sometimes even the Red Cross blood drop has trouble getting students to donate blood.
Today, we also deal with anger differently. Many more channels exist to "channel our discontent," as political scientists say. First, we have more (and more interesting) distractions.
We watch DarTV and MTV, play on the Xbox and Playstation, read The New York Times online and constantly blitz and Facebook message each other. We may have too much to do to worry about issues outside of our comfy moon chairs.
But our level of "discontent" sometimes rises above our level of distraction, and we have many media outlets to channel it. Before, people who wanted to share their views with the public had to submit an op-ed to their local newspaper. Because so many op-eds were submitted, publication was never guaranteed. Alternatively, people could call a radio talk show and wait on the line or get a few friends together and stand in front of Parkhurst.
Today, those people just start a blog.
There are also many more campus publications. If you're an angry conservative, you'll most likely try to join the Dartmouth Review. Angry liberals find themselves in the Dartmouth Free Press. If you're not sure why you're angry (or don't fit into the DFP or the Review cultures), you'll probably set up your own shop, as the founders of The Dartmouth Independent and The Dartmouth Beacon have done.
Students who prefer verbal complaints to written ones can join one of about a dozen discussion groups on campus. Upset about globalization? Saddened by Sudan? Talk about it at the World Affairs Council, PoliTALK, AGORA or the First Year Forum over free Mai Thai.
So when we hear about the next genocide or the next product recall, I will be surprised if we do as much as text each other about it or even join a group on Facebook for that matter.
