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What will it take for Princeton students to step up?

Last Wednesday, students across the world carried their mattressesto support Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz and to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses. Students from over 130 campuses participated, including Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Northwestern, Syracuse, Rutgers and the Central European University in Hungary. Politicians like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) tweeted support.

Seeing this wide national and international campus support is so inspiring as it reveals how many people acknowledge that the fight against sexual assault needs attention from society and policymakers across the country and around the world.

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Sexual assault policies have been front and center these past six weeks as the Universitydiscussed and then changed its policies on sexual misconduct. The changes have both vocal support and opposition, yet no one has taken a stand on either side outside of the official forums for discussion (which are poorly attended by the student body).

Granted, it isn’t surprising that Princeton did not participate in Carrying The Weight’s worldwide protest on Oct. 29— we were on fall break, after all. But it does raise the question: What will it take for Princeton students to step up and publically protest and fight for changes surrounding issues they care about and that could impact them directly?

The University has a reputation for being conservative and not wanting to make waves through protests —a sharp contrast to Columbia. However, I truly believe this isn’t just about apathy and indifference, as many people I know do have strong opinions on the sexual assault policy changes (although plenty of students are still unaware of either the new or old sexual assault policies).

I think the root of the problem is twofold among those who do have strong opinions. First, there is a stigma against activism on Princeton’s campus, and second, there is an organizing dilemma among activists here.

Raising your voice too loudly at the University and challenging the status quo is not generally admired among students; rather it is denigrated. Even though the 2011 Steering Committee on Undergraduate Women's Leadership report analytically proved there was a problem with the lack of women’s leadership on campus, there seemed to be a largely negative or at least indifferent reaction to the recent provocative Women’s Center posters meant to spark discussion on these issues.

Activism off campus, such as last year’s delegation to the XL Keystone pipeline protest in D.C. or this September’s participation in the Climate Charge March, are extremely important, yet, they seem to bring little activism, discussion or change to campus. Granted, there was a demonstration at Frist Campus Center about the pipeline last spring, but little came from it, and, unfortunately, many students ridiculed the actions.

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The demonstrations by Students for Prison Education and Reform about solitary confinement are usually ignored too, as people just walk by the box outside Frist. And the fact that so few Princeton students vote and that students consider this normal is just another manifestation of how this stigma against fighting for an issue has led to apathy and inaction.

Princeton students, faculty and the administration need to be more supportive of activism. Whether people support a particular position, we need to respect those who are brave enough to speak up and then take action. Unfortunately, due to our campus climate, students will likely receive ridicule for saying and doing something disruptive publically; this means it is especially important for those who do acknowledge the importance of taking action to give these students the respect and admiration they deserve. Supporting the act of taking action is different from supporting the position itself. Supporting the act of taking action will hopefully lead to more action on both sides of issues.

However, I don’t think this stigma is the only obstacle to activism at the University. There is a will among a minority of students to be vocal despite Princeton’s social norms. Part of the University’s problem is organization and communication among those who have specific issues about which they are passionate.

For example, Sally Frank ’80 spoke on campus a few weeks ago about her 11-year-long successful effort to end male-only eating club policies at Princeton. When a student asked what we could do to protest current sexist Bicker processes, Frank suggested that students should protest by not joining and perhaps even picketing outside the club during Bicker.

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I have no doubt that there are at least a handful of students on campus who are more than happy to participate in such a protest, including me. But how would like-minded students find each other to organize such a protest? This lack of a communication vehicle is a huge detriment to our ability to take collective action on campus. Perhaps more Undergraduate Student Government town halls can help students identify similarly minded students as issues develop. Special-interest student groups are also helpful, although they tend to focus on off-campus issues versus those on campus. Organizing similar groups for campus issues could help coordinate action. Potential organizations such as the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, the Women’s Center or the American Whig-Cliosophic Society could try to fill this niche to encourage more activism on campus as well as off campus.

Hopefully, Carrying The Weight or another external organization or even Princeton students themselves will motivate more students to make their voices heard, and no one will deride these students for expressing their passion and concern. Many of us want to be leaders. What are we waiting for? The issues are upon us.

Marni Morse is a sophomore from Washington, D.C. She can be reached at mlmorse@princeton.edu.