<p>As a Baby Boomer (the end of the the boom I might add) having gone through highschool during the fight for the ERA, and having those ahead of me in college protesting the first messy war we had no business in, as well as civil rights, etc, it saddens me to see the lack of political activism from college campuses today. Have we fostered a generation of "me" adults? Those who are so caught up in which schools they can get into to make the most money afterward, that they have forgotten social issues around them? It's rather sad that a generation that was so anti-establishment has bred one whose main concern as adults are to graduate from the "top" school then to go into the world to make the most money, not necessarily to make it a better place. What happened?</p>
<p>As typical kids they want nothing much to do with what their parents did.</p>
<p>
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It's rather sad that a generation that was so anti-establishment has bred one whose main concern as adults are to graduate from the "top" school then to go into the world to make the most money, not necessarily to make it a better place. What happened?
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What happened? I think in too many cases the kids have seen right through us. Its easy to protest, boycott and scream publicly about making the world a better place. But it is hard to make the painful sacrifices required to actually make the world better-- starting with that little world right in our own homes. Kids aint stupid.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what campus you are looking at. Both my kids' campuses have plenty of protests, especially the one my D went to.</p>
<p>Drosselmeier--my H and I missed the whole campus protest thing (went to school in the apathetic late 70s) but we did bring up our kids to put their lives where their values are, and I'm sure we're not alone.</p>
<p>Well, I have two activist kids, but who think much more broadly than "campus". My younger one, 15, just finished helping to organize a conference on Israeli-Palestinian issues that brought 300 people to our community, from as far away as Calcutta, is doing the bulk of the bookkeeping for the event, helped run the registration table, and just finished a report on the conference which is likely to run in the local newspaper. She is currently seeking an Arabic tutor.</p>
<p>My older one (at 17) was in India last summer, writing a history of the organization she has aided in building houses for flood and tsunami victims, visited Cambodia where she met with a Buddhist nun who runs AIDS hospices, and Thailand, where she stayed with a group that was training Buddhist monks to do trauma healing from the tsunami. </p>
<p>Very different care aspirations: one is a composer/musicologist, the other an aspiring CPA. They don't let their career aspirations get in the way of their care for the world; on the contrary, they've also thought about how they can use their particular skills "in trust" for it.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree there is some activism at some schools, and I too believe my children have a very strong social conscience, but the activism is not being heard beyond the gates of any one school. The protests are very quiet. Not to say I'm seeking a Kent State episode, but how about a Woodstock?</p>
<p>They have probably all become cynics as they look at those baby boomers who were so socially conscious now voting for Bush, supporting wars, gladly giving up freedoms for security, demanding that their kids get into the best colleges and focus on getting good jobs, demanding the deportation of all illegal aliens, insisting that laws are passed to keep homosexuals in the closet, fighting gun laws, crying for the abolishment of any type of affirmative action, and generally supporting the idea that the buck is everything and you should do unto your neighbor before he does unto you. I do not think the kids are rejecting their baby boomer generation parents and grand parents. Instead, the kids are just doing what their parents do.</p>
<p>I learned very early never to trust anyone over 30. Now that I am almost twice that age, I know that I was right. ;)</p>
<p>Hi garland:</p>
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Drosselmeier--my H and I missed the whole campus protest thing (went to school in the apathetic late 70s) but we did bring up our kids to put their lives where their values are, and I'm sure we're not alone.
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Of course you are right. But how did you teach your kids to put their lives where their values are? It seems to me when kids witness people they respect, often their parents, sacrificing for some ideal, they tend to grow up also holding that ideal in great esteem. Protests erupt when people sense their ideals are somehow at threat.</p>
<p>I am sure you and your H have modeled sacrifice for your kids quite well (You have an H, for example, and that automatically means you have been engaged in some serious sacrifice that your kids likely have seen all their lives). I think most CC parents model this, which is why they are here in the first place.</p>
<p>But (and please understand I am not just moralizing here. I think what I am about to say is largely why we dont see a lot of protests today) I think too many kids are seeing parents who sacrifice more for their jobs and for other things like that, and less for the things that we think should be causing protests (like the war, etc.). As long as the war doesnt seem to threaten what our kids have learned is most important, they are pretty much fine with it. Yeah, maybe they have some ideological bent against these issues. But I think the issues at this point are so abstract, compared with the relatively concrete possibilities of getting a good job, lots of money and a big house, the kids dont exactly feel compelled to protest anything.</p>
<p>So, we may talk about making the world better, etc. But I think mostly the kids see right through it. I think we over idealize the sixties. I am not sure the situation then was any different than it is now. Likely the draft did more to cause young righteousness in the sixties than anything else.</p>
<p>My son has a career as an activist - that is, all of his employment has been working for nonprofit or political agencies doing fundraising or recruitment, mostly focusing on environmental issues. Both kids do also participate in political events -- for example, they were both at the huge immigrant right's march on Monday. </p>
<p>I've never pushed them to do this sort of thing, but I have supported them. For one thing, my daughter knows that it is o.k. with me if she leaves school to participate in something like this -- obviously a parent who wants activist kids has got to expect a few missed days of school. In general, my daughter has left campus to participate in large, well-publicized events so I assume that teachers plan around them as well. </p>
<p>Since neither kid is currently in college, I can't comment on campus activism. My son was participating in anti-war activities when he was at college, but I have no clue as to whether others from his campus were active - that was during the time when there were huge anti-war rallies before the Iraq invasion, generally on weekends, and my son was leaving campus to participate. </p>
<p>I do think that the internet has displaced some of the more visible types of activism. A lot of fundraising & communications on various issues is done by email, and kids could be in their dorm rooms organizing a meetup or making phone calls for a cause - and you never see them. It is quieter, but at least where money is being raised to support a cause, sometimes a lot more efficient -- I have seen thousands of dollars raised very quickly through ad hoc email loops on internet forums. And then there are the political bloggers--- doesn't seem like "activisim", but a site like Daily Kos certainly has a lot of impact.</p>
<p>"I learned very early never to trust anyone over 30. Now that I am almost twice that age, I know that I was right."</p>
<p>I have also come to the conclusion that there should be a mandatory retirement age for rock band members once they reach the age of 30. Many are just too old and too rich to spark a rebellion.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I do think that the internet has displaced some of the more visible types of activism. A lot of fundraising & communications on various issues is done by email, and kids could be in their dorm rooms organizing a meetup or making phone calls for a cause - and you never see them.
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Hmmmm. You know what? I think there is a lot here that I have not thought about. Completely forgot about this. Back in the sixties, kids did not feel they had anywhere near the power they feel now, thanks to the internet.</p>
<p>Depends on the campus. Believe it or not, I visited my college on Kent State weekend. There were just a couple fliers on the table, but other than that, nothing much. Some of us got involved in state politics and were poll watchers, and even went to the gubernatorial ball! All in all apathetic campus, considering the times. Amherst, however, is very active, including the profs. Students in support of the illegal aliens blocked the main door to the dining hall, (they had to go around the block, and some climbed through bushes, etc., irking and hurting the cause) and D's Spanish classes were cancelled on May 1st so the profs could attend the rallies. The political activism on campus is very visible with this just being one example, as being the most recent. When we were there, thee were college students in front of the stores with petitions, which we couldn't sign, because we are not MA residents. All in all, a very politically active campus and part of the country.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Its easy to protest, boycott and scream publicly about making the world a better place. But it is hard to make the painful sacrifices required to actually make the world better-- starting with that little world right in our own homes. Kids aint stupid.
[/quote]
I think Drosselmeier has nailed it. Many of our generation (but not I) are attracted to the romantic trappings of the public protest---the "revolt," the "revolution," the "speaking truth to power," as if they were the tank guy at Tienanman Square, or the people manning barricades in the 19th century French revolutions. I think most college kids today recognize all the "less than" million _____ Marches as posturing. They're pragmatic. Why march around holding signs when you can study hard, get an important job in a political campaign or in private industry, and go on to a career as a real political player? The days of "flower children" are long gone, and thank God.</p>
<p>I must admit I was sort of depressed at a college on CC that is undergoing a groundswell of student activism. They have a web site, they march, they wear t-shirts, they write letters. The catalyst? A crack down on frats and drinking by the administration. <strong>sigh</strong></p>
<p>Maybe kids feel the same thing many adults feel - helpless in the face of so many big scary problems, inability to connect with (or even identify) caring or honest governmental representatives, uncertainty about their own futures, outright confusion at the general state of apathy in the country. </p>
<p>Or, maybe they're simply so intent on having fun, or getting ahead, or making money, or making grades, that they are oblivious. (Gee, I wonder where they get that from?)</p>
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Why march around holding signs when you can study hard, get an important job in a political campaign or in private industry, and go on to a career as a real political player?
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Actually, driver, my son now has an important job in a political campaign, which he got because of his resume and connections as a front line activist. But it isn't marching around with a sign - mostly its about canvassing, knocking on doors, grassroots footwork. I know your politics are different than ours, but I'm sure you can appreciate the value of my son's stint as a Moveon get-out-the-vote organizer during the last election on his resume.</p>
<p>That's exactly what I was referring to Calmom....that's how George Stephanopolous got his start.</p>
<p>There's nothing to protest. And I have a bigger impact on the world by studying.</p>
<p>I actually think it is gearing up, though perhaps in different forms than our mass protests. There is a school of thought that says the anti-Vietnam protests swelled because of the direct threat of the draft. No draft, no mass demonstrations of college students. The issue I believe could really bring students out into the streets is that of financial aid because, like the draft, it has a direct and immediate impact on them. And, though that might be seen as selfish, it ties into the issue of inequality in educational opportunity that is the central social justice issue for this generation, just as civil rights was for a previous generation.</p>
<p>My son does go to a college where there is a fair amount of political activism, but splintered around different issues. The internet allows a lot of behind the scenes organizing as well. Beyond that, I believe this generation is heavily invested in community service. So, I think it's unfair to say they are more self-centered than we were. Look at the percentages applying to Teach for America, for example. </p>
<p>I do think they are more cynical about the political process. Well, just look at the political process...</p>
<p>At my small LAC there is a great deal of political activism, we organize protests, demonstrations, bring in speakers etc. for many issues (the war, abortion are some recent examples). Frankly, I'm proud to be at a school that tries to be as politically active as we are, especially for such a small college!</p>