In October 1967, students at the UW-Madison made history. Deeply concerned over the consequences of the Vietnam War, students peacefully protested the presence of Dow Chemical Recruiters on campus.
However, the Madison Police Department was called in and the officers brutally attacked the students, marking the first time a student protest turned violent.
Instead of being deterred by this encounter, however, even more students across campus were mobilized to protest against what they believed to be wrongdoings against the country and the world by the government.
This campus activism of October '67 has since been chronicled in the book ""They Marched into Sunlight"" by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist David Maraniss and the PBS documentary ""Two Days in October.""
And nearly 40 years later, what noble and courageous efforts are students making to keep the tradition of activism on our campus alive?
Today, the height of student activism culminates in the Facebook group ""Move Halloween to Langdon 2006."" Somehow, it seems unlikely that these efforts will ever inspire books or documentaries.
There is some good news: Campus activism, which has long seemed dormant, is proven through this mobilization to save Halloween, to still be alive. However, the bad news is that this activism has completely turned inward, now being completely hedonistic and self-serving.
Do we fight for the end of global hunger, poverty or homelessness? No. As the Facebook group ""Move Halloween to Langdon 2006"" so movingly puts it, we ""fight for our right to party!""
A small survey of the always reliable Facebook proves just how pitiful and disgusting the situation is. The Facebook group, ""Action in Sudan! From the University of Wisconsin,"" which is dedicated to help ""stop the current genocide in Sudan"" has just over 100 members. ""Students for a Fair Wisconsin,"" which works for equality in Wisconsin, particularly concerning the gay marriage ban, currently has approximately 220 members.
These are certainly causes that most students would theoretically say they support. However, it appears that the actual ""support and mobilization of the student body"" revolves around ""Move Halloween to Langdon 2006,"" which has nearly 5,000 members.
This difference between the current and past campus activism seems to be simply due to the fact that today we are more selfish. Mitra Jalali, the director of community service for the Wisconsin Union Directorate, said, ""The reason students preoccupy themselves far more with saving Halloween than local and world activism is because they feel no compelling sense of responsibility towards the immediate Madison community or the ‘bigger picture.'""
All this activism that is selfishly directed must be turned outward to our community and world. As Jalali put it, students ""have a responsibility towards the community they are inhabiting."" She further said that a balance is possible: ""Students can fight for their right to party, but they can also certainly fight for social justice and devote some of their time to community service.""
However, the history books are not yet written. The students of the UW-Madison still have time to reverse the judgement of being apathetic and selfish that as of now seems inevitable. Instead, let's prove we are actually compassionate, aware and courageous. Community service and social justice resources like the Morgridge Center for Public Service or the Wisconsin Union are ready and waiting.
