The term "liberal" has certain connotations. These connotations become even stronger when coupled with the word "student." The Liberal Student is one of the distinguishing marks of recent generations. It is a phrase that conjures images of activism, protests (violent and peaceful) and general rebellion against the establishment and previous generations. Of course, the term also indicates a set of political beliefs. It is a shame (of sorts) to see that the liberal student of today is a mere shell of those of old. The liberal student has died.
This is not to say that there are no more liberal students. They exist, but they have abandoned their few redeeming qualities. Liberal students used to challenge authority, be radical and attempt to change the status quo. Although liberal students are for the most part wrong, I used to be able to give them credit for rebelling and actively pursuing their goals. Nowadays, I can't credit them for anything.
This is not to say I encourage the return of violent student groups such as the Weather Underground. The violence against America promulgated by organizations of that sort is quite disturbing. However, whether it was fighting against America's policies in Vietnam or fighting for Civil Rights, liberal students of the past put themselves out to fight the status quo, to rebel against "The Man" and to change things.
Today's liberal student is much more likely to write for an admittedly liberal paper or blog than to actually stand up and fight. A protest or demonstration in front of a pregnancy center that "pushes a religious agenda" would probably have made a much greater impact than an article written about how awful it is. But you are much more likely to find articles rather than demonstrations on a college campus. (I understand that conservative students protest and actively challenge the status quo as little as or less than liberal students; however, it has never been in the nature of conservative students to do this.)
The problem is that these articles are just rants and raves. When the Students for a Democratic Society took control of the administration building here at Dartmouth in 1969, they got results. Additionally, there was a certain shock value to their actions. Today a liberal student uses foul language to attain this shock value. But foul language loses its impact when it becomes commonplace in liberal rags. Meanwhile, a politically correct way of thinking is promoted. There was nothing politically correct about bombing government buildings! To shake up the current order, liberals of old went out of their way to shock and offend people. The best today's liberal students can do is use a cuss word.
There is no rebellion against The Man found in today's liberal student. This may mean that we are a far more liberal society (scary thought) than in the past, but there are plenty of reasons to continue fighting The Man. But rather than actually fight themselves, liberal students simply support a "change" candidate for the presidency. They hold up their support of Barack Obama as proof that they are fighting the status quo. However, supporting a politician full of vague promises and empty words is hardly radical. Additionally, as the campaign wears on it is revealed more and more that Obama isn't much different from the status quo. He is the same type of politician as the majority of those in Washington: one who is The Man, not one who will fight him.
Today's liberal student wants nothing more than to be told what to do, be taken care of by higher powers and to provide a running commentary on the pet issues of the day in leftist papers and blogs. The liberal students' ideal government is one that is more involved than ever in your daily life. (The man they want for president was rated as the most liberal senator of 2007 by the National Journal.) They sit complacently and follow as sheep when an administration (Parkhurst) tells them what they should think. (Board-packing? If you say so!) There is no longer a challenge to authority, a fight for beliefs, or rebellion. These few redeeming qualities are all but gone, and with them, the true liberal student has gone the way of the dodo.
