...mobilizing teachers, students, and citizens into a movement of national proportions that will enable their voices to be heard in the public policy arena....to help to build a movement like the one that shook the conscience of this nation in the great upheavals of the 1960s.
Yep, that's what we're doing. The 2000s are the new 1960s. And when I think about the sixties, I think about a nation full of young rebellious people in their teens and twenties making stuff happen out there in the world. ...And the Beatles. But mostly the other stuff. Unfortunately, the young people today have a nasty reputation for being self-absorbed, apathetic, politically uninvolved, etc. This is not the case! For inspiration, check out these two groups of young people spoke up and got attention this week:
First, let's go to Calvin College. Calvin Coolidge? No, Calvin College. It's in Michigan. It's named after John Calvin, the slightly unoriginal but very influential reformer of the protestant church.
In order to gain tenure at Calvin, a professor must attend a Christian Reformed Church or an affiliate. Denise Isom, a professor of Education, attends the predominantly black Messiah Missionary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids. As her contract runs out next year, she has sought a waiver of the CRC requirement. Her application was denied in 2007, and she was encouraged by the administration to change churches. Again for 2008/09, she has been denied, and administrators have not revealed the process for reviewing waivers.
In response, students took to the quad! Creating a group called "The Eleven O'Clock Reconciliation Group," students handed out flyers and put pressure on the administration to stop what the students believe is institutional racism. The protestors also gave dramatic readings of Dr. Martin Luther King, highlighting King's opposition to racial divisions between churches.
As one student put it:
"It feels weird enough attending a college that's about 96 percent white and almost all upper class...when this [the Isom decision] came down, I knew I'd never feel right if I didn't try to change things...the rub is Calvin's efforts to remain 'distinctively Christian' come off looking like 'distinctively white.'"
Whether or not the administration will respond with action - time will tell. What has been accomplished, though, is putting the issue of diversity in the spotlight. The students have made it clear: racial discrimination is far more detrimental to the college's community than religious diversity. This is a powerful message, and the students are refusing to go unheard.
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On a lighter note, at Connecticut's Choate Rosemary Hall, land of the silver spoons, the student body found out that Karl Rove was scheduled to speak at commencement.
Students took immediate action. They used the school paper, vowing to abandon the ceremony altogether if Rove appeared. They threatened to invite Stephen Colbert to an alternative ceremony. They attended a school meeting in droves, showing a clear majority opposed the Rove invitation. They created a group on Facebook to plan other methods of protest. The students emailed their headmaster incessantly.
Finally, the administration gave in. Rove will not speak at graduation. You go, spoiled kids!
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These are only two of countless examples out there. Young people are still taking action when they feel it is necessary. The methods they use - speaking up at meetings, accessing local media, marching in the quad - are time tested and effective. I hope you find this as encouraging as I do.
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