We are the Future

Throughout history, many forms of activism can be traced back to being led by students. These forms of activism usually are nonviolent forms of protests such as sit-ins. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, 4 freshmen at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College started a sit-in at an all-white diner that involved over 300 students, all with determination to integrate the facility ("The Other Student Activist"). Echoing this concept today, we see all over the country a mass of protests for social justice that are led by young, educated adults. Many of these students are fed up with the current status of our society or the culture on their specific campus. There are many ways that students can connect with larger movements and ideas due to the abundance of resources present today. An article from The Atlantic discusses this further, noting how students share this desire to have agency and voice in their institutions and also how the resources of our time allow for networking and organizing through social media ("The Other Student Activist"). The article also raises the point that students voices are often pushed to the side; "The student-voice movement is mobilizing around the sense that students are ignored as active agents of their own destiny. Student input is largely relegated to the margin when it comes to conversations about education policy creation, feedback, and reform." Many of these young adults take courses and learn about the political system, learn about the history of change, but often are not a part of conversations about change and justice. The presence of social media allows these young adults to connect on a larger scale with the world to push for justice. Location does not hinder these empowered individuals from using their minds and spreading knowledge.

One of the many reasons as to why students are taking the initiative to bring about change is because of the realization that our government and elected officials are not doing enough. Students are getting murdered in the comfort of their classrooms, men and women are dying on the streets every day because they lack the necessities to live, people are not being properly sanctioned for sexual assault. All of these problems, in addition to many others, speak to what young adult activists are fighting for. This is usually done in opposition to the lack of governmental action that is not taking place. For example, after the school shooting in Florida, the survivors of this tragedy are not waiting anymore and have created March For Our Lives. “March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about March For Our Lives believes the time is now” (taken from this google form for the March For Our Lives in Memphis that everyone really should be a part of). Everyone is tired of waiting; waiting turns into forgetting. Students are refusing to ignore this pressing issue that has been a problem for many years in our country. These nonviolent protests are ways in which students are being more active and involved with issues that may be political but sometimes are not, proving the point that we are the future.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/student-activism-history-injustice/417129/