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[December 2017 Editorial Dissent] Student protesters lack organizational skills, not moral conviction

By Sophie Driscoll ’19 and Melanie Lust ’19

In a Facebook post, a senior girl using a pseudonym called for students to leave their classes and rally in the hallway during Communication Time on Dec. 1. She stated that she hoped to raise awareness about a sensitive matter she felt the school administration failed to adequately address.

The protest was widely considered a failure, as only seven girls participated in the walk-out.

Inklings’ editorial stated, “So, here’s the bottom line: We care about issues, but we don’t care enough to prioritize these issues over our grades, extracurriculars or social life.”

While we respect the majority opinion of our Editorial Board, we believe that the protest attempt was unsuccessful due to its poor organization, not due to students’ lack of strong moral conviction or the salience of her issue. Effective student protests require three elements: a clear objective, leaders and communication.

First and foremost, the catalyst that encourages student participation in protests is the clear explanation of an problem or a tangible goal. The issue being addressed must be specified, and a realistic solution must be presented. The attempted protest would have been more successful if it had been aimed at pressing specific administrative action, rather than merely garnering attention.

Second, successful student protests need accessible leaders. In this recent protest attempt, the organizer used an anonymous Facebook account to message students and post in student groups. Many students felt uncomfortable interacting with a faceless social media presence, which led to a lack of engagement and interest. Although we completely understand and respect the girl’s decision to remain anonymous and applaud her bravery for initiating the protest, students would have been more inclined to participate in an event if their peers–rather than an anonymous figure–had encouraged them to do so.

Third, effective communication guarantees student participation in protests. Because students are very busy, organizers of a protest should keep them engaged in the cause, both through social media and in person. In addition to creating a Facebook group for all participants, organizers should provide students verbal reminders, host after-school organizational meetings or hang posters around the school.

The recent protest attempt lacked these elements. Therefore, despite what our Editorial Board has suggested, the protest collapsed due to its poor organization.

Although it is evident that students are often concerned with maintaining their grades, extracurriculars and social lives, the vast majority of Staples students are willing to make standing up for their beliefs a top priority.

As the editorial noted, “We flood Facebook with bullying prevention posts and forward online petitions concerning the school budget. This form of activism proves that we are an informed community that does want to make positive change.”

We agree with this sentiment and note that a significant portion of students have gone so far as to volunteer for political campaigns and participate in large-scale demonstrations such as the Women’s March in January. In this way, students have clearly demonstrated passion for justice and willingness to fight against perceived wrongdoings.

Provoking action requires a different approach in a school setting than it does in the outside world. We acknowledge that mobilizing large groups of students and instigating major change is no easy task.

The overwhelming majority of our student population has never been taught how to promote activism, but we can develop the skills required to do so through experience. Therefore, although the recent protest attempt did not come to fruition, if it leads to more effective activism, then it held value.

The more organized a protest is, the more students will participate. Scarcity of passion is not an issue.

So, here’s our bottom line: We do care about issues enough to prioritize them over our grades, extracurriculars and social lives. The ineffectiveness of the protest was the result of a lack of organizational skills, not a lack of moral conviction.

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