Like many of my classmates, I was an avid student organizer in high school, but I was completely inactive at Princeton. Instead of attending Sunrise Princeton or SPEAR (Princeton Students for Education, Abolition, and Reform) events, I told myself I didn’t have enough time to get substantively involved with these groups. and justified not participating.
This is something I would like to change. Because Princeton’s oft-discussed lack of active activists on campus is supported by attitudes like mine. But I don’t think Princeton students are indifferent. Our student body certainly has its own opinions. A recent open letter calling on the administration to more vocally condemn anti-Semitism on campus garnered more than 1,800 signatures. The other appealed for institutional solidarity with Gaza and gathered 900 signatures. In both cases, students made up the majority of signatories. Even in 2020, more than 2,000 people (89%) voted in favor of a referendum on divestment from fossil fuels. So why not put our principles into action?
Princetonians’ reluctance to participate in campus activities is due to two understandable misconceptions about them. The first is that being an “activist” is a distinct identity that is different from everyone else, and the second is that it must be completely ideological. Align with the group before expressing solidarity. Both lead to low levels of campus activity, and the latter idea reinforces low voter turnout by fostering social prejudice against activity. But fear of the activist label or minor concerns about the content of an activist group’s platform should not prevent us from participating in or passively supporting social and environmental justice advocacy on campus. there is no.
Let’s start with the first misconception. Part of our distaste for campus activism stems from the public denigration of activists as self-righteous caricatures of humorless political correctness. In some cases, these criticisms may be valid. A relentless focus on loudmouth culture and identity politics can be corrupting for left-wing circles. But the vast majority of activists I’ve met both at home and in Princeton are self-aware, passionate, committed, and welcoming. And their work matters. From civil rights sit-ins to protests against the Vietnam War, political and cultural change for justice has been led by student organizations for decades, as reactionaries stoked cultural hostility against young activists. What happened is often forgotten. Campus activists are not just self-righteous social justice warriors, they are harbingers of real political change.
But an aversion to the activist label can inhibit an activist’s potential to create that change. A study of ‘environmentalist’ Australians found that while subjects supported sustainability and the idea of ’doing your bit’, they were less likely to take part in ‘activism’. It turned out that he refused. This dynamic may also apply to Princeton University. We want certain changes, but we just don’t want to be identified as the people demanding them.
This creates a vicious cycle. Due to the small number of activists, people believe that they will be otherized by participating in the movement, so the number of activists remains stagnant. Organizing is not built into campus culture, and if activity is not normal, it cannot be normalized. If activity is already sparse, the importance of small actions such as participating in a strike will be felt even more.
But the more we participate in the activity, the less important our own participation becomes. When we make a conscious effort to bring friends to rallies, help make signs for marches, and participate in strikes and rallies, our collective voices are heard and our individual role fades into the background. This should come as a relief to those concerned about the social and professional implications of campus advocacy. It’s also how a movement works, relying on the forces of many rather than one to succeed.
Understanding this is how activism works collectively can empower people to participate in protests and rallies. This is because it breaks down the stereotype that being an “activist” is an undesirable personal identity, and the misconception that only those with that “identity” label can contribute. By thinking of our work as a collective effort, we realized that we could contribute in ways that didn’t have to be overwhelming or ambitious. Just showing up for each other is enough.
Now let’s tackle the second misconception about activism. That means you must support everything the group says, believes, and does in order to sign up or participate in an event hosted by the group. Ideological purity is not only an unrealistic standard, but also an impediment to concrete outcomes for activists. Effective and sustainable change requires a commitment to coalition politics, which is undermined by the search for perfect consensus. Carleton University professor Alexis Shotwell writes that we should reject “purity” as a destroyer of unity and aim instead for a “politics of imperfection.” She uses the term to criticize overly zealous left-wing activists, but it applies equally to her reluctance to be active on campus. Rather than evaluating extramural activist groups and events because they are incomplete or imperfectly correspond to our own views, we seek to evaluate the relationship between our views and their platform. Differences should be welcomed as a sign of ideological diversity and a catalyst for critical reflection.
Elements of the Green New Deal, a broad policy proposal promoted by the Sunrise Movement, are unrealistic and Sunrise Princeton’s demands for the university to divest and separate from the fossil fuel industry by joining an action sponsored by the group It can be seen that they still support. Killed in Gaza for believing in the mission of the Princeton Coalition for the Liberation of Palestine, which advocates for “freedom, justice, and the right of return for Palestine,” while opposing the inflammatory rhetoric of some of the organizers of Students for Palestine Justice. You can also attend wakes for people who have died. In other words, you can participate in a protest without joining every chant or agreeing with every speaker. You can organize with an activist group without becoming the president of the activist group.
The history of activism is one in which different groups with different priorities have come together toward a common goal. In the late ’60s in Chicago, Black Panther Party organizer Fred Hampton founded the multiracial “Rainbow” group, which advocated for radical change and included the Black Panther Party, the Hispanic civil rights group Young Lords, and the Young Patriots. Contributed to the creation of the Union. A white working-class group of Appalachian origin. Despite some disagreements over messaging and tactics, the Rainbow Coalition launched important initiatives such as free breakfast programs and day care centers. We can channel the spirit of such visionary groups by recognizing that the need for unity transcends any desire for ideological purity or unanimity. Nothing can be accomplished unless people work together. Collaboration also means that not everyone can agree on everything.
It is time for the Princeton community to put its intellectual engagement with politics and policy into action. This does not require changing our daily life. That might just mean joining Sunrise Princeton’s Earth Day strike this Monday or the Young Democratic Socialist Party of Princeton (YDSA) worker strike this Thursday. We can all make a manageable and conscious contribution to embedding activism into our campus culture, and you can start this week.
Frances Brogan is an Opinion editorial assistant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her contact information is her frances.brogan.[at]princeton.edu.
