Graham Spanier, a university president, wrote an article discussing "Is Campus Activism Dead--or just Misguided?" His premise is that student activism does not resemble what it was in the 1960s and 1970s. He states things like no "nationwide campus uniting protest," and the age of Twitter and Facebook being more important that the impact of world events. However, just like any facet of university life in the 21st century, even student activism is affected by the world's social networks. Students have been utilizing websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace to recruit and inform individuals of their causes. For example, in 2007, while faculty members at Acadia University staged a strike, students discussed, supported, and campaigned their faculty's efforts using blogs, Facebook groups and YouTube. These students were not physically joining their professors and instructors on the picket lines, but they were however involved because of their contributions on the web.
And it makes since to use social networks which connects so many students on a campus. According to TechCrunch.com, in 2005 as many as 85% of college students use Facebook in some capacity. Facebook's statistics state that the average user spends about 55 minutes on Facebook each day. So I think it is fair to say that Facebook is a wonderful way to get in contact with people for whatever reason.
Student activists are now using social networks to electronically protest or to organize for a protesting event. DigiActive is a group that has dedicated itself to electronic activism. Its mission statement, posted on the website, reads: "DigiActive is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to helping grassroots activists around the world use the Internet and mobile phones to increase their impact. Our goal is a world of activists made more powerful and more effective through the use of digital technology."
DigiActive also has a manual to help guide students who choose to utilize social networking for their activism needs. "A DigiActive Introduction to Facebook Activism" goes into detail about how one's cause can be helped and hindered by Facebook. The pros and cons described in the guide are listed below:
PROS
- Lots of People Use Facebook
- The Price is Right
- Hassle-Free Multimedia
- Opt-in Targeting
CONS
- Content on the Site is Disorganized
- Dedication Levels are Opaque
- Facebook isn't Designed for Activism
DigiActive's guide is a good resource because it even lists some successful and productive "Facebook Campaigns" and critiques what they did and why it worked. I think that student affairs professionals can benefit from this resource because it can help guide students to plan, gather, and execute their activist efforts in a productive and efficient manner. From researching the news articles concerning student protests on college campuses, it is safe to say that student protest is here to stay, and in my opinion, is really healthy if done in a safe, productive, and efficient way.
Links:
"Is Campus Activism Dead — or Just Misguided? A President Wonders Where the
Campus Radicals Are Now" by Graham Spanier
https://www.acui.org/uploadedFiles/Programs/Online_Programs/2008/Is%20Campus%20Activism%20Dead%20-%20or%20Just%20Misguided.pdf
"I Heard it on the Grapvine" --Blogging, Facebook, YouTube, and Student Self-
organization during a Faculty Strike" by Emilie W. Gould
http://www.springerlink.com/content/y640786183tq26q0/fulltext.pdf?page=1
"A DigiActive Introduction to Facebook Activism" DigiActivism
http://www.digiactive.org/wp-content/uploads/digiactive_facebook_activism.pdf
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