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Yet another New York dead-tree outlet has decided to consider Columbia University’s fitness for protesting 40 years after 1968. First, we had New York and the Times. Now, am New York decides to ask: “Is Social Activism Dead on College Campuses?” The answer, according to the piece, is yes. “Many historians, students, and activists from then and now suggest it comes down to one word: money.” Apparently, we’re all too busy grubbing for jobs to get up and convince stodgy, conservative professors like Todd Gitlin that the Iraq War was wrong. Those interviewed include activists Samantha Stanton and David Judd, and Gitlin himself. Discuss!
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@or maybe we are too into ourselves to get fired up about the world outside columbia…
and not to flat out BLAME facebook, but they’re now designing it to waste more of your time.
@hah Bwog just got owned. Anyway, here’s a fancy thought: why don’t you go to class to engage in learning something in college rather than telling other people about how much you think you know? The point of college is to learn, not be loud and obnoxious.
@what if we just tend to reject the ridiculous beliefs of those who idolized mao and che? Excluding the hunger strikers, obvs
@Jonathan Bwog, you can throw around any labels you want to describe Professor Gitlin, but I challenge you to cite one shred of evidence that he is anything but an ardent opponent of the war. He needs no convincing from student activists.
@well Bwog was clearly being sarcastic about gitlin…
@Todd Gitlin Thank you, Jonathan. I am not amused. If this writer meant to be ironic, he or she needs to go back to irony school.
Todd Gitlin
@alum “2006: Students and others storm the stage at Columbia University during a speech by anti-immigrant group The Minutemen. University officials charged participating students with violating rules of conduct governing demonstrations and tightened rules governing all student events.”
I this this counts as a recent sign that activism is alive and well at Columbia.
@hunger striker remember, Columbia’s student body today is far more selective (and thus smarter) that of 40 years ago. Most students today recognize the hypocrisy of being priveliged, upper class activists, whereas in the past that wasn’t the case.
@here's the answer there is no draft today. it is that simple. do you think if there was a draft in america with no college deferment students in america wouldn’t be up in arms. you sure as hell know they would.
there is always a contingent in america that is ready to fight wars and don’t mind joining up and making a career out of it. that’s perfectly fine.
but when you make everyone else fight that hell, you know there will be holy hell to raise.
you better know i would storm low, i’d smoke bollinger’s cigars, i’d shout and bitch and moan. sure it sounds selfish, but the idealists of the 1960s are pragmatists too. look how they have entered the academy, because now the academy is a bastion of liberalism.
@whatever who cares
@!!!!!!! “…we’re all too busy grubbing for jobs…”
Agree 100%. But I also blame the admissions office. They probably have some sort of super-program that can predict how likely a potential student will become a pain in the ass for the college by protesting something. These kids are weeded out and aren’t even admitted into Columbia. This way, the college is effectively preventing anything remotely like 1968 ever happening again.