To the Washington University Community: around common efforts to improve the
undergraduate experience. Student activism is a commitment to perform intentional actions that promote These improvements are investments we positive change for fellow students and is cannot afford to delay. Even as the current demonstrated through the collective strength of economic recession forces the University to students getting involved and working together constrain activity and limit growth in many to improve the community around them. areas, the undergraduate experience will remain our greatest asset. The success of Washington University is Furthermore, these improvements must directly tied to student activism. The be led by students in order to be embraced by University’s ascent to a position of global students. This has been the case throughout our leadership hinges on its ability to “encourage history. Students have been the impetus behind students to be bold, independent and creative many great improvements like the judicial code thinkers” that are “useful members of our global and student bill of rights, the Village BLOC society.” Local service is a catalyst for global program, the campus card system, the alumni change. That is why it is so important to mentoring service and the most recent athletic promote opportunities for student activism and complex renovation. civic engagement on campus. The Plan to Renew Student Activism is a Recently, there has been a decline in proposal that aims to promote civic engagement student activism—a decline that can be and encourage students to become active attributed to a lack of intentional leadership on participants in their own experience via three the part of Student Union. There is no doubt that objectives: advocating for investments in the Student Union takes seriously the areas that the majority of students experience responsibilities of allocating the student activity on a daily basis; proactively engaging the fee and facilitating campus programming. But, student body in an ongoing dialogue about there is no such certainty regarding Student important issues in innovative ways; and Union’s commitment to being a conduit for actively building support and coalitions within student activism. the student body for key projects and initiatives. This perception is responsible for both As we begin this project, let us remember an increase in student apathy and a decrease in our guiding principle—making reality the vision student empowerment. And even those students of Student Union: empowering every who try to make a difference often find their undergraduate student to be a force for change efforts limited because they are done in small and improvement at Washington University. pockets without effective partnerships and coalitions1. In order to reverse this trend Sincerely, Student Union must help to renew student activism by engaging and mobilizing students JEFF NELSON 1 Zimmerman, Katherine S., and Angela Halfacre‐Hitchcock. "Barriers to STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT student mobilization and service at institutions of higher education: A greenbuilding initiative case study on a historic, urban campus in SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 Charleston, South Carolina, USA." International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 7 (2006): 6‐15