Moving Forward

In the Progressive’s first issue of the year, we condemned what we saw as the dominant campus culture, claiming that “the prevailing perception that our campus is apathetic or conservative still exists.” At the time, that sentiment was widespread. The prospect of anything happening to change it seemed unlikely. Seven months later, after the People’s Climate March and #blacklivesmatter march, after the die-in and divestment, we can begin to speak about a campus where apathy is giving way to awareness. Awareness is not yet action, but it is a start. The gravest mistake that we could make now would be to content ourselves with the progress that has been made–to pat each other on the back and walk off the field.

It is a sign of genuine progress that there are now several movements that aim to awaken intersectional consciousness and seek to understand and oppose the oppression of others. But as Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, “love without power is sentimental and anemic.” None of these movements have power yet; we must not let them lapse into sentimentality. If we want the current moment to become a pivot instead of an anomaly, these movements need to establish roots that will outlast the waning of outrage or the graduation of individual members.The supporters of the status quo have an institutional structure and flow of monetary support that student groups will never match. Nevertheless, these groups have an ability to leverage the passions of the moment into solidarity capable of achieving real change.

In this issue, we highlight both theoretical and practical ways of engaging with power. In “Activism in Review,” members of student activist groups–some that formed this year, others that existed for years before–describe the ways in which they have challenged existing discourses and policies this year. Their methods are as disparate as their concerns, but taken together they represent a rediscovered conception of how to be a socially conscious and politically active Princetonian. These groups increasingly influence the school’s public sphere. In doing so, they offer opportunities for collective engagement with serious issues.

It is important to note that not one of the movements that seek to change university policy has succeeded yet. But these movements have succeeded identifying oppression and its sources, especially when those sources exist on campus. Now is the time to move from asking “what is power and how is it abused” to asking “how do we build power, how do we take power, and how do we use our power to fight injustice.”