A group of activists along with renowned professor Dr. William Ayers assembled at the Alumni Hall on Oct. 29 for a presentation and panel discussion titled the “Evolution of Activism”. This event was held by the Sociology club to discuss activism and its triumphs, failures and current state.
“Activism is not only an idea but a lifestyle,” said Nova Turgean, the moderator of the discussion. She went on to say that roles in activism constantly change daily in our lives. She also spoke about the ideology that activism as a whole is misunderstood and is often seen as just a phase in a college student’s life. She then gave the floor to the keynote speaker, Dr. William Ayers. A professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ayers has been a prominent figure in activism. He began his address with a simple question, “What does it mean to be an engaged citizen?” He then used an analogy of the past to connect to today.
“Back then, if you were opposed to chattel slavery, you were opposed to everyone. The same could have been said for a woman’s right to vote,” he added.
He also mentioned how there are three requirements one must meet to be an engaged citizen. The first of these is to open your eyes to the world around you and escape the blindness. “If we breathe as it was normal, we are blind to it,” as Ayers precisely put. The second is to be astonished and to take in what you see around you, whether in amazement or in terror, then act against it when you doubt what you have done. “It is a continuous circle” he went on to add.
NEIU activist Jorge Ortiz stated that activism is about our own “social revolution.” He stated that after all of the advancements in science, technology and such, we still deal with problems of violence, racism, sexism, oppression and exploitation. He touched on the immigrant subject a bit further with the idea that the illegal immigrants are supposedly stealing American citizens’ healthcare, jobs and resources.
“If we were thieves, we would be on top oppressing all of you,” Ortiz went on to finish “Together we can manifest a democracy to its fullest degree, and take control of society.” Activist Erica Meiners touched on the educational aspect of the debate and the flaws of the system in America.
“Instead of supporting schools, we support incarceration and the war abroad.” She also talked about the complete absence of private institutions and the average amount of tuition in nations such as Canada, which is around $2,000 a year in comparison to America’s schools, where the average student is about $22,000 in debt from tuition.
Lastly, panelist Lakeesha Harris talked about her experiences being an African American lesbian. “My activism started from the womb,” she proclaimed. She brought up a point about how African American women struggle to fight for their children. “Black mothers have two times the risk of losing their baby opposed to her white counterpoint.” In a very similar statement with Ayers, Harris echoed that people must try to not be blind to the situations around us.
With all of this said, Ayers also made a point about a common mistake activists do: look to the media. “We have to make the revolution inside of ourselves, not the media,” Ayers advised. After the panel discussion, the floor was open for audience questions.
“It makes pure common sense,” one audience member proclaimed. “Don’t just say about it, be about it.” A younger audience member felt like people as a whole have taken “a big step back.”
Another member asked, “What about people who don’t see those alternatives?” Lakeesha Harris responded by offering ways to “bring it to the people”. She then asked the audience member, “If they don’t have opportunity, do I have opportunity?”