Student Activism/Social Apathy

The war in Vietnam did not affect only matured political leaders. In fact, one of the largest demographics affected by the war was the population of young adults ages 18-35. These people, who were commonly referred to as ‘college aged’, experienced a time of revolution during 1961-1975. Previous to the war, students in universities could not voice their opinions on political or social issues. The voting age at the time was actually 21, meaning many students in college could not even vote in elections. Despite their oppression, many students felt that their opinions were valid and wanted to be heard. This birthed the Free Speech Movement. Programs and organizations such as Chicago’s JOIN (Jobs or Income Now), SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), and other campus-based political organizations fueled the fight for equality of all ages. Much of the Free Speech Movement’s success can be credited to Mario Savio’s intense speeches. The generation of students in

Mark Edmundson, the author of “On the Uses of a Liberal Education”, is an English teacher at the University of Virginia who expresses his concerns about the trajectory of the universities and colleges in America. Edmundson depicts how college students today have “little fire, little passion to be found,” towards their classes (4). In an effort to find the source of this lack of passion, Edmundson describes contacting other professors about this issue while refining his own ideas. Ultimately, Edmundson comes to a conclusion. He believes that the consumer mindset of college students has hindered American universities as a whole. My target audience is my professor, Professor Chezik. Looking closely at his wording, formation of sentences, and idea structure, one can see a recurring theme throughout Edmundson’s essay. Edmundson uses fragments, specifically at the beginning of his paragraphs, to start his point, pose counter arguments, and to have a poetic refrain.

These days, a college degree serves as one of the few tickets into a socially and economically comfortable lifestyle. College itself, ideally, should vastly increase the knowledge, skills, and capacity for critical thinking in its students. However, in this racially imbalanced society, college is the culmination of a white-weighted education, and often ignores its own participation in long-standing racial injustices and inequities. Minority students are expected to jump headlong into white standards of behavior, without regard for the unique circumstances that render that expectation difficult, if not impossible, to meet.

In this country, a college education is still vital. For many first generation students it makes the difference between continued poverty or the means of a much improved life. Yet once these students reach the campus of the typical Historically Black Colleges and Universities they are likely to be faced with what might seem like an impenetrable wall of resistance in the form of classist practices commonly found at must universities. As Fulwood (2012) suggests that in order to counteract classism, changes must be made in the systems which perpetuate it. Some of these systems mentioned earlier are the media, “White Privilege”, the economic system, government, and education institutions themselves. We must look at those policies,

In 1969, there was a series of global disruptions caused by people’s dissatisfaction with governments that hadn’t lived up to their promises, and a rise in police brutality to control these disruptions led to an animosity that separated the people and their leaders. These protests were often made possible by institutions of higher education, as these allowed young people to mobilize. For instance, in Berkeley, a diverse college population allowed student leaders like Mario Savio, and newspapers like the Berkeley Barb to mobilize people (Suri 168-69). Organizations like the Black Panther Party turned these protests violent, which became a common theme worldwide. In West Berlin, the Free University mobilized students who feared that the violence

In recent weeks a growing debate across campuses has arisen over the remaining racial divide that has left some students feeling disenfranchised by the universities that seek to teach them (Hui 2015). This growing dissent can be seen from Missouri to Princeton as students protest and object to what they claim to be a culture on university campuses not contusive to learning or to minority groups (Newman 2015). At Princeton University much like at the University of Missouri students are becoming increasingly vocal about the difficulties facing those of color at institutions that do not adequately address their needs, or in the case of Princeton fail to sufficiently acknowledge a legacy of racism in their institutions (Hui 2015). This

The SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) gave perspective into the mindset of Washington University students during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. These students would provide demonstrations and opinions that would impact the social environment and activities of a time of confusion and political un-justification. Many returning Vietnam Veterans and students would take action during the anti-war era. As the war had continued, the public had changed their views of the war becoming aggressive and unsupportive to what they felt was a lost cause. After reviewing several leaflets and newspapers written by students of Washington University, demonstrations of their ideas and involvement during the anti-Vietnam War movement would give considerable detail to this era. “Peace on Earth” “G.I Movement Past and Present,” and “A US Infantry Squad Just Came through Here,” all provided evidence that civilians and military would not continue to support the war and take action regarding it.

McAuliff, K., Williams, S., & Ferrari, J., (2013) Social Justice and the University Community: Does Campus Involvement Make a Difference?, Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 41:4, 244-254, DOI: 10.1080/10852352.2013.818486

There are professors out there who take time for personal reflection and dialogue as a way of “taking back the intellectual life of the university” (King, npr.org, 2016) Berg and Seeber describe the current corporatization of the college campus and urge professors to resist it the movement. Working at “corporate” university, professors often become "beleaguered, managed, frantic, stressed, and demoralized," and it is as if there can never be enough product generated (King, npr.org, 2016). Products like grants, documents about students' learning outcomes, and committee papers in the limited hours that are

In an article, The Neoliberal Arts, a former liberal-arts professor claims “the purpose of education in a neoliberal age is to produce producers” (26). Throughout his article he questions what really happens at college and picks apart the students who attend. Deresiewicz fails to explain the reason neoliberalism evolved in high education by blaming students for focusing too much on their future. Neoliberalism was not caused by student’s choosing a popular major or an expensive college, it is how society is portraying higher education. Deresiewicz believes there’s nothing else we can do, belittles the power of leadership skills, and thinks free college will solve the problem. He encourages the students to conduct a “sense of meaning” for him

Kindig, Jessie. “Student Activism at UW, 1948-1970.” Antiwar and Radical History Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. .

Because education over important issues created a rallying point for supporters to join , it becomes as the beginning of movement. Activism may be an opinion that circulates for so long, while education provides a needed base which causes change through long term structural exchanges. In addition to this activism does not show broken pieces of information through a poster or builboard. By laying out the environment of educational spaces where the youth is found can help benefit gaining youth in the movement. Universities, where students are encouraged to read books and attend educational spaces, can best improve the future of the society.

In modern America, the student seems to have little say in his or her education. Instead, groups of arguably outdated men and women gather in government buildings to decide the future of millions of students they will never meet. The topic of education in America has become the sort of issue everyone feels at liberty to remark upon -- the stranger who rolls their eyes at your major and my grandfather who complains about “those damn unions” share the same sense of misguided zealotism. Luckily, no one is taking my grandpa’s discontent seriously. However, there are men who use their powerful positions to speak out against institutions they do not understand. In the case of Wendell Berry’s “The Ecological Crisis as a Crisis of Character,”

Since we live in a world of seemingly endless and diverse challenges, and since educational systems and schools are one of the primary means by which we develop understanding and skills related to functioning in society, social reconstruction requires that social reform serve as the primary goal of every student’s education. As an educational philosophy, educational institutions at all levels are viewed as the main means by which students are prepared to reconstruct the systems through which inequality and the oppression and marginalization of other people occur. Educational reconstruction purposefully and explicitly requires that our schools function as change agents, empowering students to question the very systems in which they live and work, and to create a society that is more equitable and just.

In our case “Faculty Empowerment & the Changing University Environment” we came across two separate subjects both of which our group can relate to and both of which correlate to each other. In the beginning we reviewed the topic of nowadays Universities and what has changed recently and how such change might have affected administrational structure on empowering faculty. We used the data provided to us in the case study to determine the following facts. First, Universities Environment has drastically changed during the last 6 years. Because of the rapidly changing workplace environment, downfall of the economy and incredible technological improvements all caused a lot of adults