Princeton Student Laments Lack of Political Activism on Campus
“I expected [Princeton’s] widespread academic interest in political science and public policy to extend into extracurricular life”
This student isn’t alone. Many of today’s college students think this is the whole point of college. Where do you think they got that idea?
The College Fix reports:
Princeton student demands more student activism at Princeton
A student activist on Princeton’s campus is lamenting the fact that not enough students are activists there, calling upon the campus’s apolitical student body to start getting involved in protests and petitions.
“I expected [Princeton’s] widespread academic interest in political science and public policy to extend into extracurricular life, manifesting itself in anything from a robust student government to animated grassroots campaigns for change. How wrong I was,” writes Claire Wayner in The Daily Princetonian.
“During my first months at Princeton, I discovered that on a campus renowned for its political education, politics appears to stop at the classroom door, reflecting a deeply inbred refusal among Princetonians to disrupt the status quo. This makes it difficult for those of us who are activists to recruit and motivate the general student body,” she continues.
Noting that the campus’s political protests are often sparsely attended (even after students are bribed with free food and “boba tea” to participate) while the more socially oriented events are well-frequented, Wayner implores Princeton’s would-be activists to consider the benefits of activism:
It’s not that activism is less “fun,” creative, or even prestigious than more traditional student clubs or activities. This past spring, I directed a campaign under the Princeton Student Climate Initiative to pass a student referendum calling on the University to take stronger action against climate change. A referendum is a statement to the Princeton administration that undergraduates vote upon in elections hosted by our Undergraduate Student Government (USG) in December and April each year. During the week of campaigning leading up to the election (and the several months beforehand, spent planning our campaign and writing our referendum), I made some of my closest friends from all of my first year, especially during the hours we spent tabling in Frist Campus Center.
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Translation: What do you mean I have to show up for class, instead of going to protests? But I don’t wanna!
If you are there to study political science, study. Graduate. Then you might know something about politics and your activism will be informed and mature.
It’s the next logical step for for leftists, they will not only require everyone to agree with them, they will require you to actively protest with them and volunteer for their causes. Inaction is tyranny and oppression. Simply not objecting with their views will be just another form of evil that they must stamp out.
Where did they get that idea? Often they got it from their teachers. Case in point from a few years ago:
“Today was Hoodie Day at Longfellow School in Berkeley. Students and teachers at the middle school wore hoodies in memory of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26.
The class of teacher Erin Schweng also had skittles and Arizona Tea, both items [Trayvon] Martin was carrying when he died.
“We talked about what happened, and how what we’re doing today is just a small thing but that it shows solidarity and support,” said Schweng. “Our middle school students are young people with heart, passion, and a budding activism all their own.””
Schweng is now principal of 3000 student Berkeley High School