The new activism

Is our generation apathetic? If we answer this question based on our response to the Iraq war, it would certainly seem that we are. Our general failure to react to the war has not gone unnoticed by social commentators and newspaper columnists, and now a group of Vietnam-era Harvard alums has joined the others calling for renewed activism among the nation's young.

Last week, 13 members of the Harvard Class of 1967 submitted an open letter to Harvard President Drew Faust criticizing the prevailing apathy and "careerism" among current undergraduates. They called for the creation of a task force to investigate the causes of and propose solutions to what they see as an endemic lack of concern.

The Harvard Crimson editorial board was quick to challenge the letter's claims, highlighting the irony behind the creation of such a task force. Let's say that the Harvard administration creates a task force that successfully incites activism among the student body. Newly invigorated Harvardians begin rallying against the administration's policies, calling for change and generally making life difficult for Faust and company. The administration, which created the task force in the first place, would have no one to blame but itself for its distresses.

If this vision were realized, the letter's authors would at least be able to rest contented that 60's-style activism had returned to Harvard Yard. But this change would not come without consequences. If Harvard's student leaders are anything like our recent USG officers, they have constructive relationships with members of the administration and are devoted to promoting change through calmer methods. Student protests might lead to quick reform, but they would destroy the mutual trust that decades of positive relationships have cultivated.

Much of the activism on college campuses today revolves around the idea of encouraging dialogue. Whether between students and administrators or between members of differing social and racial groups, constructive dialogue is the new method of choice for overcoming division and bringing about change. Vietnam-era college students, whose calls often fell on deaf ears, sometimes had to protest to be heard. Thanks to them and those that followed, we're not forced to do likewise.

The letter's signatories also mention the need for leading universities to be "[centers] of debate over the moral issues of the time." To say that current undergraduates have overlooked this responsibility would be to ignore the efforts of countless student groups across the country. I doubt that there are any college campuses that don't have multiple organizations devoted to the abortion debate, not to mention organizations devoted to environmentalism and animal rights. The Vietnam generation should be proud to note that many of these groups have borrowed a few pages from its book, staging nonviolent protests to spread their messages.

Community service has become another outlet for today's students to put their idealism into practice. While weighing their post-graduation options, many students now consider service organizations like Teach For America, AmeriCares or Doctors Without Borders. Even some student groups whose missions do not include community service now provide service opportunities for their members.

Yet our generation's strong social conscience does not excuse us from being politically conscious, and thus I don't think we can sufficiently deny accusations of apathy. Apart from those active with particular campaigns or parties, many of us are unaware of developments in Washington and abroad. We have ignored the Iraq war, probably because its developments have yet to impact our untroubled college lives.

Had students across the country spoken out against the Iraq war before it began or during its early phases, attention would have been drawn to the way the war was being managed. This extra attention might have prevented some of the poor decisions that have led to the present quagmire. Furthermore, we have watched silently as civil liberties have been curtailed in constitutionally dubious ways.

Our generation's apathy is frequently misrepresented, but it certainly exists and its consequences have been significant. Establishing a task force whose mission is to inspire students to rise up and protest wouldn't have much of an effect, since many of us aren't familiar enough with what's going on in the world to know what to disagree with. That said, a blanket accusation of apathy overlooks our generation's social consciousness. The nature of activism has changed. The mechanisms of the new activism lack the visibility that more confrontational methods would have, but nonetheless can be just as effective at inspiring change. Michael Medeiros is a sophomore from Bethesda, Md. He can be reached at mmedeiro@princeton.edu.