Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
With two unpopular invasions and an ultra-polarized political climate, you would think college students would be up in arms more than ever. But in recent years, students have become more likely to congregate around an Xbox than an important political issue.
It was initially heartening to hear that a group of NYU students were protesting some of their administration’s policies in February, but in the end it only confirmed one thing — kids nowadays can’t protest.
There have been pathetically few students protests recently, other than incidents at New York University and Colby College — and the occupation at NYU can hardly count.
Members of a radical group calling itself Take Back NYU (TBNYU) barricaded themselves inside one of NYU’s buildings, refusing entry to police and negotiating for a hearing of their lengthy and naïve list of demands. In the end, nothing was accomplished, save a few arrests and newspaper articles.
The occupation began peacefully, or at least as peacefully as an occupation can be. As the protest continued, though – eventually reaching 36 hours – the students became more violent, breaking a deadbolt lock to gain access to more rooms and rushing police officers, resulting in minor injuries. The protesters began to demand more, including that workers whose jobs were disrupted by the occupation be compensated and that the university provide food for them – vegan, no less.
Outside the building, the situation became even more bizarre, though less violent, and included — no college protest would be complete without them — topless girls holding signs bearing the slogan “Exposure till disclosure.”
To be honest, the entire farce came off as a publicity stunt — an accusation I’m sure would anger the protesters. But consider TBNYU’s demands. The largest were that the school establish scholarships for 13 Palestinian students and aid the University of Gaza, establish tuition stabilization not to exceed inflation, meet 100 percent of student financial needs, and allow student workers to create unions.
But the students didn’t stop there. They also insisted that NYU release its budget to the public, that students retain priority when reserving space in buildings owned by NYU, and that the main library be opened to the public.
Violence in the Gaza Strip, unions and the cost of higher education — all are topics worthy of debate at the collegiate level. But to lump the three together undermines the seriousness of each, and by combining them with less important issues — say, access to the library — there was never a chance the students would be taken seriously.
It sounds more like a bunch of kids got drunk and did something stupid, instead of well-intentioned academics seeking to challenge authority and invoke discussion. The protesters went about it the entirely wrong way — starting with aggressive action followed by an unrealistic and scattered list of demands.
It’s hard to imagine many of the demands couldn’t have been met through serious and reasoned debate. You can’t tell me a letter to the university president or student body president couldn’t have afforded students priority access to room reservations.
I would love UMaine students to be passionate enough on an issue to barricade themselves in a building. It would be nice to see my peers take control of their future. Any sign of interest in, well, anything would be welcome. But protestors must have a good grasp on the subject they’re drawing attention to instead of just being a mindless mass spurred by the likes of Glenn Beck, such as at this year’s “9/12″ march.
Pick fights, but also pick your battles — don’t waste energy on situations that won’t change. The protests at Kent State during the Vietnam War had a profound impact on public perception of the administration and its objective, proving students aren’t powerless. I doubt TBNYU’s protest would have had any effect even if all the students had died in action.
I’m no stranger to action, and you shouldn’t be either. In fact, if you want to protest on campus, I will personally pay for whatever materials you need to make it happen — from posterboard to bolt cutters — as long as you have a grasp on the subject at hand and a valid end game for making your voice count. Otherwise, you might as well keep spending quality time with your video games.
William P. Davis is editor in chief for The Maine Campus.
