Being the change: Campus activism and prefigurative politics

[1]

For many individuals, post-secondary education is a time of intense personal and intellectual development. On university and college campuses across the world, students are exposed to a wealth of new ideas and unfamiliar social environments, with these experiences playing a large role in shaping our future development as adults. It is within hallowed ivory halls that many individuals first encounter harsh truths about the world that they inhabit and where preconceptions about the benign nature of human behaviour are often dashed in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

It is no surprise, then, that these institutions are breeding grounds for activism.

Spurred into action by our newfound discoveries, and not yet weighed down by careers, families or the burnout and complacency of many members of our parents' generation, student activists flock to a variety of causes - seeking to do our part to right the countless wrongs in this world that so offend us.

And, of course, there are many to choose from.

From singular disasters, like the recent earthquake that has brought such horrific destruction to Haiti, to the global threats posed by runaway carbon emissions; from the revulsion caused by the endemic existence of child soldiers and sweatshop labour, to the gross inhumanity of factory farms - there are many causes worthy of our time and energy.

While these disparate issues can often appear isolated in terms of geography, cultural relevance or any host of other contextual factors, they are all connected by the burning sense of injustice that they inspire in us. They are also correctly understood to be different symptoms of an international system that is inherently and fundamentally flawed.

Almost all issues dealing with global social injustice stem from a system in which power and decision-making capabilities are held in the hands of a small, yet dominant elite. We live in an age where multinational corporations are more powerful than governments, and use this power to push a global agenda that values corporate profits over human lives. Since attacking the problem at its source often appears so futile, the majority of activists tend to focus instead on its symptoms - engaging themselves in causes that interest them directly. Far from being a weakness, this is actually the greatest strength of the international Social Justice Movement that has emerged over the past decade.

Faced with the rigid hierarchical systems employed by governments, militaries and the corporate world - structures based on a top-down pyramid model - activists around the world have responded with a collection of mutually supportive networks that is more reminiscent of a spider's web. This model is far better suited to fight the evils of our day. For corporations and their government lackeys, stopping these movements is like trying to battle a hydra - if one head of the movement is cut off (imprisoned, co-opted, etc), two more will grow back in its place.

What's more, the benefits of this type of structure fit perfectly into campus organizing. Colleges and universities are an ideal setting to bring together students concerned with a variety of issues to work in a mutually supportive environment. The Social Justice Club at Fanshawe College, in London Ontario, is an example of this type of logic at work. Rather than focus on one particular issue, our club functions as an umbrella organization, where students can assist one another in projects of mutual interest - and thereby come to realize that many of their issues overlap and compliment one another.

In our four years of existence, the Social Justice Club has tackled a wide variety of issues. We have held rallies to demand drops in tuition fees and to show our support for Palestinian self-determination; organized educationals on anti-Olympic organizing; hosted speakers on a wide variety of social and environmental issues; and have repeatedly sent delegates to the annual protest in Ft. Benning Georgia demanding the closure of the infamous School of the Americas (SOA). In February we will be hosting our third annual Social Justice Film Festival, working closely with a diverse collection of local groups and organizations.

But perhaps our biggest challenge - and a constant focus of our attention - is on our internal organizational structures, and our efforts to ensure that our club is free of the hierarchical and unjust systems that we struggle against. We aim to follow a model that is inherently decentralized and directly democratic, one that places an emphasis on horizontal communications, decision-making and mutual aid. In doing so, we are following a process known as prefigurative politics [2]- or as Obama supporters might say, we are seeking to "be the change" that we envision for the world.

In his excellent book, Anarchy Alive!, Uri Gordon explains that prefigurative politics implies that "[t]he effort to create and develop horizontal functioning in any collective action setting, and to maintain a constant awareness of interpersonal dynamics and the way in which they might reflect social patterns of exclusion, are accorded just as much importance as planning and carrying out campaigns, projects and actions." To put it another way, when taking action against social injustice, it is crucial that we remain vigilant in ensuring that we do not recreate the same patterns of social inequality that we are fighting against.

This task is much more challenging, and often less exciting than some of the other work we do, but it is every bit as important - perhaps even more so. If we as groups and individuals cannot reorganize our own personal relationships along more equal lines, then any efforts to bring about a more just and sustainable world will be in vain.

Alex Balch is a third-year student at Fanshawe College, where he is currently enrolled in Digital Post Production. He is the serving president of the Fanshawe Social Justice Club - a title he despises and is trying to have removed from the club's charter. He is also a member of Common Cause, an Ontario-wide anarchist organization with chapters in London, Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa.

Comments