Our generation shows its promise through protest

Drum beats and chants were audible across campus this Saturday morning. Alumni, returning to Princeton in orange and black ties and tiger print scarves, seemed mystified by the sounds. It was the sight of the protestors responsible for all the noise, however, that was impressive. In the midst of a downpour, thirty students turned out to oppose the presentation of the Wilson Award to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Getting a college student to wake up before 10 on a Saturday morning is an unpalatable task. Enticing him with frigid, rainy weather and a chance to stand outside, picketing the appearance of one of Princeton's most popular alumni, seems impossible.

The sight of those gathered disseminating information about the Senator's conservative record and making their opposition known was heartening. Our generation is notorious for its political apathy. Raised on television, video games, and political scandals, pop-culture commentators have deemed us disinterested and devoid of attention spans. As we grew up, voter participation numbers and ratings for political conventions and speeches declined. Protesting and activism were pronounced dead. In recent weeks, however, our contemporaries have taken to the streets of New York, Washington, and Princeton to voice their opinions on war in Iraq, reproductive rights, the activities of student groups, and Senator Frist. We can only hope that their efforts are a harbinger of a new attitude towards involvement in campus and national affairs. If we can take the time to hand paint banners, write slogans, and spend the morning in the rain for a cause we believe in, our generation can come to be one defined not by apathy but by action.

The rise of youth sponsored activism is encouraging not just because of our alleged disconnect from all things that happen inside the Beltway but because of our comfort with authority and desire to conform. In his now infamous article, "The Organization Kid," David Brooks discussed Princeton students' hesitance to contradict professors in classes or to work outside the system of academic and extracurricular advancement. Spending a Saturday denouncing President Bush or criticizing the decisions of University administrators is not a resume builder or a step closer to a lucrative I-Banking job or prestigious graduate school. Still, asking these questions and demanding to be heard is important. Our natures tell us to work within the system: to join committees, find internships, and make plans to someday fill the seats of policy makers. Our hearts tells us that we can do more. By combining our ability to effect change in "organizational" ways with a passion for issues that ensures we will demand accountability and action when it is necessary, we can accomplish more than generations past.

To achieve this balance, we must learn to value difference and discourse. Protesting should not be a knee-jerk reaction. It should be a tool used by those who are well informed about what they are opposing. Conservatives on campus who organized pickets for a recent Organization of Women Leaders event did so without talking to the group's officers or researching the agenda for the evening. The dialogue that resulted was beneficial to both sides of the controversy but could have easily been conducted with less animosity. Similarly, we must respect the rights of others to be vocal in their disagreement with accepted policy or authority. The publisher of The Princeton Tory said on Monday that he was "personally offended" by the actions of the Alumni Day protestors and called their statements "radical lies." The conservative sophomore completely misses the point of protest and debate: to be heard. We should be proud that our peers were educated and passionate enough to stage a rally – and equally proud of the resulting pro-Frist counter-rally of which the publisher was a part. Disagreement breeds discussion and progress; disrespect quashes any hope of moving forward. Surely we can have one without the other.

Our generation is in the process of inheriting a new world, one in which social norms, political values, and national goals are fundamentally different than they were for our parents. We should not embrace the apathetic reputation allotted to us by our elders. Instead, we can fashion a politics of respectful but vigorous debate and create a paradigm in which students can feel free to both work with and challenge authority. The protestors who stood in the rain on Alumni Day joined young people from hundreds of colleges around the country who of late have taken up signs and banners, or picked up pens to write letters, or found a microphone to make their voices heard. By following their example, we can all make a difference, in our own way. By being true to our principles and ourselves, our generation can change the face of this nation.

Katherine Reilly is a sophomore from Short Hills, N.J.