It couldn't have come at a better time that I post my reaction to the the readings that surrounds the topic of student protests and activism. In recent news, "Snooki" from the popular reality television show, Jersey Shore, is receiving some backlash for her recent appearance at Rutgers University. Rutgers University invited "Snooki" to engage in a lecture and Q&A session with the students, on what issue, I'm not quite sure. Though I have never seen one episode of the show, I am quite aware of "Snooki" and her embarrassing antics because she is very popular with pop culture media. I have heard her outrageous remarks and I've been horrified by her scantily clad outfits she so affectionately parades on talk shows and internet blogs. Anyway, for her appearance at Rutgers University, "Snooki" was paid a whopping $32,000. So essentially, my friend and I engaged in a discussion regarding this monetary figure and why Rutgers felt the need to invite "Snooki" to their campus. It was also revealed the monies derived from some sort of student activities account that is funded by a portion of the students' tuition. My friend and I concluded that if we were students at Rutgers, we would would have been outraged that our monies were spent on a reality television personality who clearly doesn't add any intellectual fulfillment to our educational experience. Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, revered American writer, and a distinguished professor at Princeton University, is scheduled to speak at the 2011 Rutgers Commencement and will be paid $30,000. Parents are fuming about this discrepancy of compensation, but I don't see much visible reaction from students. I concluded the conversation with my friend by posing the questions "Where are the students? Who even invited her? Why aren't the students protesting?" This was very appropriate for the articles that I read.
I enjoyed reading the article, Patriotism: A Love Story, because I had never thought of patriotism as a means of expressing "tough love" for America. In recent years, it seems as though the term "patriotic" is attached to negative feelings and perspectives. However, Dr. Jenkins has re-defined the term for me by stating as American citizens, that "loving our country enough to criticize it in hopes of making it better" is more democratic and patriotic than anything. While reading the article, I thought about the "Snooki" incident and wondered if my generation was so content and complacent that we accept the stats quo and eat what is fed to us? I told my friend that if this was the 60's, "Snooki" wouldn't have been given a first thought because students would have ignited an uproar. But has education changed so much over the decades that it has forced students into a place of conformity, rather than a means of sparking critical thinking and activism?
Rhoads' article examining student protest provided me with a complex array of emotions: shame, inspiration, pride, and nervousness. I was excited to read about the student activism that occurred in the 90's, but felt a sense of shame that the same issues that they were fighting for or against at that time, continue to exist today and we do nothing. When the noose was hung on the door of a professor at Teachers College, the students were compelled to "show up and show out." We gathered, we yelled, we marched, and we were heard. But only for a moment. Once the hype died down, we proceeded to live our normal lives as though there was no unrest. The students described in Rhoad's article were so committed to their cause, they did not eat for 14 days, or they blocked entrances of the campus so that business could not be conducted as usual. I was so inspired by the article, but I couldn't help but to utter to myself the question of "Now what?" I'm all riled up and ready to conquer the world, but apprehensive because I think I'll be the lone star. It appears as though folks aren't inspired to act unless the issue is particularly relevant to them. In Rhoad's article, it was mentioned allies of the student groups joined the protest and I feel as though people would be more apt to get involved if it was highlighted that all issues, no matter the focus, affects everyone.
I hope that my generation, and generations to come, of intellectual minds can not only approach their academics with such passion and vigor, but realize that education also happens outside the classroom, and that societal issues should be approached with the same fervor and purpose.
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