Recent campus progress is thanks to action and activism
Another semester has passed at USC, and it would be irresponsible to ignore what the University has achieved — the most recent bout of success being the vote by Undergraduate Student Government to declare our University a sanctuary campus. Victories like these do not occur in a vacuum. Hundreds of signatures followed a petition in favor of the resolution, and numerous students in both USG and other organizations spent weeks fighting for the cause. In other words, monumental change like the kind we recently experienced does not come only with the passage of time — it takes real work, students showing out and pulling through, to achieve real results.
So, with a semester behind us and another ahead, now is the time to plan. Now is the time to explore, to involve oneself, to act. Inaction is to be lost to stagnation; sitting through eight semesters of decent grades and relative contentedness is to have wasted opportunities that offer so much more. Vocational school can give you an education. Job training programs can give you an education. An online associate’s degree program can give you an education. When paying just under $70,000 to attend a university like USC, you are not only doing it for an education. You are not here to sit idly and absorb information. USC educates you, yes. But a student who receives only that — from a place like this, no less — has been wholly remiss in recognizing what a university is really made of. You are paying to stand in a hallway of open doors. Walk through one.
If you truly believe in something, if you want progress to be made, if you care past a documentary’s sad reminder or a tragic passing thought, it’s time to show out. Change is not the inevitable passage of time. It is a human force.
In an election cycle that knocked the world back on its axis — no matter what side of the aisle you were on — what we found to be the greatest tragedy was not the outcome but the cause. Inaction is such a disappointing ill. After all, the voters who cast ballots for President-elect Donald Trump were only as harmful as those who chose not to cast one at all. There is little to be said for those who stood for nothing, now in a divided United States. We all could have done something; we all could have spoken a little louder; we all could have phone-banked and rallied and debated; we all could have raised concerns last August, when media channels latched on to the Trump phenomenon. Allowing things to occur and pretending they are inevitable is nothing more, really, than inaction.
We demand much from this campus, it’s true. But we can only demand that for which we are willing to work. Social justice and equality, partnership with the local community, tuition freezes, transparency, environmental sustainability — all these have been fought for, and some achieved; but there were always those who were unwilling to act, those who were in agreement but were unwilling to get off the couch, those who wouldn’t show out. “I’m busy” is easy to say, but only you can decide if that’s really true. If it isn’t, either make the time to do the work, or quit overestimating the amount that you like to believe you care.
If you loved Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders but you’ve never shown up to support the USC College Democrats, recognize that real progressivism is about grassroots efforts. If you supported Donald Trump and believe that conservatism is attacked on this campus, make time to go to a meeting of the USC College Republicans. Climate change has worsened because, for the most part, we have been unwilling to act. Join the USC Environmental Student Assembly. Work toward improving global health and disease prevention with USC GlobeMed. Create something, fight for something, do something — if an organization which you believe in is hosting a fundraiser, consider contributing in a manner as simple as buying a cookie.
The worst thing to say at the end of your time at USC — or even larger, your life — is that you had the right words for dinner conversation but when it came down to getting out the door, you barely cared. The causes, creations and dreams that you believe in need your help. There is no change without human force. There is no improvement without effort. Your time at USC is not just about receiving an education. It is about moving through open doors, making a difference, acting on behalf of something, becoming involved in something. Whether that means making critical media on TrojanVision or improving a child’s day at Kicks for Kids is up to you. At the end of your four years, be able to say you took advantage not only of an education, but of a university. Make time meaningful as it passes — because it will, and fast.
Some say those who stand for nothing will fall for anything, but that’s not the case. Quite frankly, those who stand for nothing do so because they can’t find the grit to get up.
The first sentence of this piece should give you a clue as to this young author’s wayward thinking. There is simply nothing good or “progressive” about ignoring the law or protecting those who do. As I’ve stated countless times, the United States has some of the most generous immigration laws of any nation. We swear in thousands upon thousands of new citizens every year, who have followed the legal requirements for coming here legally. Among those here are students from countries around the world who apply for visas to attend our many quality universities. For institutions like USC to protect those among us who have not followed the generous rule of law is preposterous and shameful …and certainly not progressive. For one thing, it flies in the face of the many who are here legally, particularly on a college campus where international students attend on visas. So-called sanctuary campuses or cities fly in the face of the many who sacrificed to attend USC or other schools legally. As I’ve also mentioned before, a sanctuary city or campus sets up two classes of people: Those who follow the law, and those who don’t, for whom the law is broadly ignored or waived. How outrageous is that?! And let’s be clear, many of those here legally are of poor or modest means, and have overcome tremendous sacrifice to be here …so the argument taht some people simply can’t afford to come here legally is total nonsense. It’s also literally beside the point because immigration is not a civil right, nor a human right or entitlement. It’s a privilege that must be applied for and approved. There is nothing progressive or noble about unlawfully declaring a sanctuary campus. So again, the first sentence of this article should inform and alert the reader as to the flawed logic to come.
As to the main point of the article: Yes, it is true that action and activism are effective in bringing about change. It’s also often true that the degree to which someone cares about a particular cause will be demonstrated by how actively involved they choose to be. But even here there is room for nuance. For example: Just because someone believes in a certain cause doesn’t mean they agree with a certain method for promoting or supporting it. One might agree with a certain cause, but disagree that marches or protests are the way to promote their position. Keep in mind another of my observations: Liberals, in general, are more vocal about their positions, whereas Conservatives (perhaps by definition) tend to be more reserved and quiet, holding their positions close to their sleeves. This is likely one reason that everyone misjudged the election results this year. Literally millions of conservatives were unhappy with the Leftist policies and direction of our nation …but rather than join marches, protests, riots or phone banks, they quietly showed up at the polls on November 8th. So in other words, true devotion to a cause is not always measured by how openly or “actively” one supports it.
In short, activism does indeed produce results, and there is virtue in fighting for causes one believes in. But I would leave readers with two thoughts to ponder: 1. Democrats didn’t lose this election because their message wasn’t heard broadly or clearly enough; They lost because their message was soundly rejected. 2. College is a great time for learning and discovery, and this includes challenging your own ideas. Too often the only message heard on university campuses is the “sounds good” coddling positions of the Left. I would suggest young people in college open their minds and ears to other messages. At least listen and consider. Learn the virtue in being told “no” or “not now”. Learn what real sacrifice is. Ask yourselves if you are really “principled”, or do you just have a philosophy of “whatever works for you” or “to each his own”.
The first sentence of this piece should give you a clue as to this young author’s wayward thinking. There is simply nothing good or “progressive” about ignoring the law and protecting those who do. As I’ve stated countless times, the United States has some of the most generous immigration laws of any nation. We swear in thousand upon thousands of new citizens every year, who have followed the law and process for coming here legally. In addition, we welcome students from countries around the world who apply for visas to attend our many quality universities. For institutions like USC to protect those among us who have not followed the generous rule of law is preposterous and shameful. For one thing, it flies in the face of the many who are here legally, particularly in this case, those with student visas. What a total insult to those students at USC. Also as I’ve mentioned before, a “sanctuary campus” or city also sets up two classes of people. Those who follow the law and those who don’t, but for whom the law is broadly ignored and waived. How outrageous is that?! And let’s be clear, many of those here legally are of poor or modest means, so the argument that some people simply can’t afford to come here legally is total nonsense… and beside the point. Immigration is not a civil right, nor a human right. It’s a privilege that must be applied for and approved. There is nothing progressive or noble about declaring an unlawful sanctuary campus. So again, the first sentence of this article should inform and alert the reader as to the flawed judgment to come.
As to the main point of the article: Yes, there is truth in the point that action and activism is effective toward any outcome. It’s probably true that the real degree to which someone cares about a particular cause will be demonstrated by how actively involved they choose to be.. but even here there is room for nuance. For example, just because someone believes in a certain cause doesn’t mean they agree with a certain method for promoting it. One might agree with a certain cause, but disagree that riots or even peaceful protests and marches is the way to promote their position. Keep in mind another fact of life that I’ve observed: Liberals, in general, are more vocal and boisterous about their positions, whereas conservatives (perhaps almost by definition) tend to be more reserved and quiet.. holding their positions close to their sleeves. This is likely one reason that everyone misjudged the election results this year. Literally millions of conservatives had decided it was time for a new direction and were unhappy with the Leftist policy and direction of our nation… but rather than march/protest/riot etc, they quietly showed up at the polls on Nov 8th.
So in short, activism does indeed produce results …and there is virtue in fighting for causes one believes in … But I would leave readers with two thoughts to ponder: 1. Democrats didn’t lose this election because their message wasn’t heard broadly or clearly enough; They lost because their message was soundly rejected. 2. College is a great time for learning and discovery, but it is also a time for challenging your own ideas. Too often the only message heard on university campuses is the touchy-feely warm and coddling positions of the left. I would suggest young people in college open their minds and ears to other messages. At least listen and consider. Learn the virtue in being told “no” or “not now”. Ask yourselves if you are really “principled”, or do you just have a philosophy of “whatever works for you”.