Raising one’s voice against all the odds is what activism is all about. Our country has a history of youth-led social movements that contributed to big reforms. College campuses have been the centre for mainstream student activists, who engage in confronting contemporary issues and strengthen the student’s power to make a difference.
The power of student activists can be apprehended with the fact that they can together disrupt operations, propagate through social media platforms, and takedown supreme authorities, including student presidents and even chancellors. Besides rallies and protests, these student activists can also bring positive opportunities to enhance campus engagement, improve collegiality, teaching methods, if managed effectively. They have the power to change the world through their action.
Prerequisites to Become an Activist
But what are the prerequisites that make these activists the activists? What if they are too young to lead or shy enough to proceed? Do they require any special qualifications? All they need is a teacher or a mentor who can help them find their latent inner activist. These young people are filled with idealism, enthusiasm, valour, energy and desire to stand against prejudices.
Activism inspires students to apply their academic skills in the real-world context to prove their holistic and well-rounded educational development. By doing all this, these students possess a strong sense of attachment to the school and decrease the rate of school dropouts. They learn the art of public speaking without hesitation; they discover their life’s purpose, and they learn about rules, regulations and policies, interact with industry leaders, and learn to organize events.
Eventually, they become an all-rounder.
How to Facilitate Activists Education?
Schools need a guiding policy framework to enable active youth to initiate social and political change. The catch of activist education is that it leads to the disruption of the social sense due to the lack of interest that pervades modern schools and can be resolved by facilitating activist inquiry in a classroom environment. The activist education emphasizes promoting social and ecological justice. All this helps the student to link their action with ideas. During these lessons, students intellectually engage in learning tasks that promote community and personal living.
Concurrently, activist education can be supported by introducing the potential of collaboration, activist campaigns and development. Students are exposed to diverse practices and perspectives that promote equity and inequity within communities. To bring together these differences, and promote achievement, equity, and well-being, student activists should be taught how to adhere to political, social, and economic revolution through nonviolence.
Steps for Helping Students to Become Activists
- Learning to respond to problems is an essential part of our education. Teaching them how to confront oddities and stand for point or perspective is where you incorporate activism.
- Discuss about real-world issues in front of students, invite them to put forward their understanding, and encourage them to become the flag bearers to bring about change. Promptly, ask them what concerns them the most about their society.
- Prompt them to take their own stand and assist others to contribute to finding community issues and solutions. Inspire them to get their identity and take part in community betterment.
- Use the power of social media to lead the charge and call young campaigners both on and off-campus. Social media can be used as an avenue for activism. Ask them to use memes, hashtags, images, humour, and storytelling to convince people for their good.
- Get them acquainted with renowned personalities or people from other institutions to share their thoughts and ideas. Ask them to frame questions for an open discussion to ring out the veracity.
- Tell them about the tools and methods that can empower their critical thinking, interaction and influential discourse. Ask them to organize events and activities.
- Make sure that students in a group get equal opportunity of self-expression and are not discouraged on the basis of their viewpoint. Welcome opposing views as discretion and don’t bully or e hostile towards them.
Ready to make a change? Choose your way- Internet Activism, Petitions, Demonstrations, Occupations, Civil Disobedience, Media, Protests, Strikes Boycotting, Sit-ins.
Self Care Tips for Student Activists
Supporting student activism is supposedly a great venture, but their safety is of foremost concern and should not be bargained for any cause.
- First, ensure that you have strong authority as your backup
- Set clear and rigid boundaries to keep hassles away
- Never risk yourself or your body
- Remember social media can be leverage or trigger; use it wisely
- Use your interest in activism as your driving source
- Take rest and find your source of relaxation
- Value emotions, your mental health and grow your spirituality
- Achievements are worth celebrating to draw inspiration
Find strategies for uniting student activists to strengthen their foundation and enable them with practical skills to fight injustices and discrimination present in their communities and realize their social obligation. Unite the campus to find interested candidates and prepare them to become student activists.
About Author
