Voices of Western

(Left: Community member holds “Jesus Judges You” sign. Right: Student in T-Rex suit draws a crowd. Red Square – 9 May 2017. Photo: Sascha Zimmar)

As part of our research, we reached out to the Western Washington University student community in order to look at the importance that they place on involvement in politics and political activism, as well as provide a chance for students to stop and think about what that means to them. In order to ensure that as many students as were interested in answering were comfortable doing so, participants had the option to either include their name or remain anonymous. We also offered the chance to provide any political affiliation, what year student they currently are at Western, and their participation in or interest in joining any of Westerns politically active campus groups. Most importantly, responses had no length limit or requirement, allowing participants to sum up their thoughts however they felt best represented them.

*The views represented here are those of the students who supplied them, and do not represent those of the creators of this website, of the University, or of the student body as a whole.*

Question: Do you think student involvement in politics and political activism is important? Why?

“Yes. This is a democracy for a reason and we ar given the freedom to use our voices so why wouldn’t we?” – Sam (Junior at WWU)

“Yes. Involvement of everyone is required for accurate representation of the populace.” – Anonymous (Junior at WWU)

“Yes. If you’re fortunate enough to be attending college then you have a responsibility to civic engagement and to show up to political conversations, no matter what side you identify with. If you blindly accept your privilege you’re no better than the people who actively discriminate against others – get informed, get mad about stuff you care about, and then do something about it!” – Jessie (Liberal/Progressive/Democrat, Senior at WWU)

“Yes. Because we are going to be effected by these decisions our whole life (and the kids too).” – Anonymous (Nonpartisan, Post-Bac at WWU)

“Probably…it’s hard to get excited about involvement when the situation seems hopeless. But I strongly support those who do get involved, and I believe that students being aware of politics in order to make informed choices is extremely important.” – Anonymous (Senior at WWU)

“To a point yes because we need to stay informed and fight for what we care about, but when it starts to be bullying it has been taken too far” – Anonymous (Republican, Junior at WWU)

“Yes because this is our world to shape and if we can learn to be involved now it will carry on for a lifetime!” – APN (Liberal, Junior at WWU)

“Yes, but only to the extent that it’s productive” – Anonymous (Republican, Junior at WWU)

“Yes because every student should know about the political system.” – Anonymous (Senior at WWU, Interested in joining a Campus Political Group)

“Yes. The policies being made from local to federal government directly impact our lives.” –   Edwin (Democrat, Junior at WWU, Interested in joining a Campus Political Group)

“I do think it is important because students are the next generation and our political views and opinions are what will shape our future.” – Anonymous (Liberal, Sophomore at WWU)

“Yes, any and all involvement in politics is necessary for all of us to attempt to create a functioning society.” – Anonymous (Junior at WWU)

“Yes, it is important, but it only works if there is a well organized group with a specific purpose” – Anonymous (Junior at WWU)

“Yes, so we can become familiar with what is happening in our country and we can all be educated to make wise and rational choices when it comes to voting.” Anonymous (Junior at WWU)

“I can’t speak for others, and I really do not expect someone to be politically active. It’s a choice, and as much as I don’t get making such a choice, it really doesn’t matter what I think, as it’s not my place to decide such things. Personally, I love the hell out of politics, and I believe voting is an important part of being a productive and active citizen of this national community. We often take for granted the fact that citizen involvement within the operation of the government is not only a relatively new right, but is also not guaranteed across the globe. As [expletive] as things seem now, we’re awfully lucky to have the ability to try and do something about it out in public. I fully support people taking advantage of the rights they have been given, and if activism is how you show it, then by all means, go for it.
However, being an activist should not automatically imply righteousness. Activism that essentially boils down to “You’re wrong and I’m right, go [expletive] yourself you Nazi punk” is not only detrimental to the cause of the activists, it simultaneously hurts the nation as a whole. It’s a patronizing stance that only backs the opposition into more of a corner, leaving them with no other option than to counter with an equally as outrageous disposition. If we Americans continue down the road of outrage politics, it will lead to nothing but our own suffocation. Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, hate begets hate, outrage begets outrage, and when the U.S crumbles into a shell of its former self, it won’t be solely Donald Trump to blame, he is a symptom of the deeper disease. No, it will be me and you and them and they and she and he and xe and the Republicans and the Democrats and ANTIFA and the Alt-Right. It will be due to our culture of self-referential outrage.
We no longer sit down and talk (which was common in the congresses of years past. Now they boo each other’s speeches, the floors of congress now a battleground for their wars of spoken attrition), we never say to the “enemy” (a problematic way to view another citizens of the same [expletive] place) “hey, you’re a human being, just like I am, in this [expletive] world that neither of us can figure out, so lets both acknowledge that we are clinging to our discursive guns because we are both scared [expletive] all the time.” If we just took a moment to recognize that everything we say is fallible and only one section of the whole story, if we admit that we are just as clueless about the world-at-large as everybody else is, maybe, just maybe, we could pull ourselves together again. And us liberals have a bit of a harder job. If we truly believe that everyone’s story matters, if we are going to call ourselves the “party of understanding,” then lets start with the people we scream at on campus, in the streets, on forums and Facebook. If we are to survive, the end to outrage politics has got to start somewhere. It might as well start with us.” – Seneca the Younger (Moderate Liberal, Senior at WWU)