When I tell people I come from Vietnam, many ask me how I could live under a communist regime and not do anything about it.
They would then go and shake their head, and I could clearly hear what they were thinking: "Those apathetic young people—they wouldn’t do anything even if it means to save their lives."
I doubt I’m the only one affected by this “concerned adult” treatment. After all, the perception that college students do not care about anything that does not involve Lady Gaga, parties or basketball, has been around for ages.
Ebrahim Moosa, associate director of research and professor of religion and Islamic studies, believes that this perception is strongest in the West, where liberal capitalistic economies enjoy great wealth.
“There simply isn’t a reason for [young people] to rise up,” he said.
He noted that this is not the case for other countries. In his native country South Africa, it is the students that started the first large-scale anti-apartheid protest—the Soweto Uprising.
With unrests in France last year and the U.K. this year, however, the age of the apathetic youth in the prosperous West seems to be coming to an end.
Moosa believes it is because youths are growing increasingly worried about their future.
“In the current economic and political climate, there is much more at risk—and as such, much more for [youths] to lose,” he said. “The indignation of the youth has not turned into a political force for change.”
For the youths to become an agent of change, things have to reach a tipping point in their economic well-beings, Moosa said.
But you do not have to be desperate to be an activist, some students assert.
Junior Ann Kang, president of the student group Vision for North Korea, said she became interested in helping North Koreans and refugees after she learned how bad their conditions can be.
“When I heard the stories of North Korea from the past presidents in VNK—that even the most basic rights any human deserves were not given—I became dedicated to raising awareness about this situation," she said.
There are other reasons why students get involved in political issues other than their well-beings are at risk, said sophomore Chris Williams.
“There are kids that drive BMWs and work to help homeless people. There are straight guys who help to raise awareness of LGBT issues on campus,” Williams said. “To say that we only get involved when our interests are threatened is to unjustly label us as selfish and uncaring.”
Junior Thomas Hasse added that to be an agent of change, one does not have to start a revolution.
“It takes some sort of crisis to spark a revolution. But you can always start out with small, little steps for causes you are passionate about,” he said. “And every little thing counts.”
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