Throughout history, universities and their surrounding communities have witnessed the rise of student activism – the effort by students to enact political, environmental, or social change. When thinking of this issue, the Counterculture era (1960s-1970s) comes to mind. During this time, students, to the greatest extent in US history, became vocal about American politics and participated in social movements revolving around equality. 

Similarly, in the 1990s, students fought for higher quality and accessibility to education, as well as the influence of the military and different corporations in education. Today, student activism is still going strong. In recent years we’ve seen increasing activism surrounding the environment, rising college tuition, discrimination, and a variety of injustices for minorities.

“Students participating in activism and organizing gives them an opportunity to learn more about making social change,” 

USA Today College reports. 

“There are very few other contexts in which someone would have that opportunity to become involved so early.”

While the media focuses on certain groups more than others, students of all races, socio-economic backgrounds, and political perspectives can now be seen standing up for their beliefs and values.

Student activism can be seen in film as well. In the movie Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell encourages her students to reflect on their experiences, while also empowering them to fight for what they believe is right. From the film, we learn how we can all be heroes in our own ways. 

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Freedom Writers (5/9) Movie CLIP – You Are The Heroes (2007) HD

In the grand scheme of things, making an impact on our respective campuses does not have to always involve organized protests. To start, it can be as simple as staying informed about the issues you support or educating yourself about ones that you’re not knowledgeable about yet.