Opinions

Counting our victories

In print | April 27, 2006

I don’t know if you feel it, but sometimes I feel that despite Swarthmore’s claims to be an “ethically intelligent” community, a sense of apathy pervades the campus as students retreat to their books and away from the petitions waved in their faces by tablers at Sharples. While there are a myriad of explanations for this perceived phenomenon, a new one was recently brought to my attention: that students not directly involved in the activist community never see the results of their actions.

I want to bring to our community’s attention a few examples of the results their participation in social action campaigns has garnered. As a direct result of the Living Wage Campaign’s efforts, the college now provides means-tested spousal health care, and the starting wage at Swarthmore has increased from $6.66 per hour to $10.38 per hour. What’s more, the increase has had significant ripple effects: Bryn Mawr and Haverford have followed suit and raised their wages to match ours, and the comparatively high wage of Swarthmore employees has encouraged workers at Villanova in their push for just compensation.

The postcards and petitions you signed to Kick Coke off campus are also beginning to bear fruit: The coffee bars and Essie Mae’s have switched to Pepsi products, the community sentiment has encouraged the Committee on Investor Responsibilty, which has voted proxies in support of independent investigations in India and Colombia, and our administration has listened to community concern and is currently exploring a switch in Sharples, they have negotiated a contract with Pepsi that provides an affordable alternative. While the Coca-Cola company has not bowed to activist demands, it has devoted significant resources to dealing with the issues raised by activists, and hopefully real change is in sight.

I think that it is a testament to the success of student activism that there is not sufficient space for me to further elaborate on all the victories of student campaigns at Swarthmore. But I’d like to point out a few other examples of successes that have occurred during my time at Swarthmore: Due partially to the work of Delaware County Wage Peace and Justice (whom the Swarthmore Voter Registration Coalition and the College Democrats worked in concert with), voter turn-out in Chester increased 25 percent. For the past two years Swarthmore Sudan has engaged the student body in lobbying work that has helped to shine a light on the ongoing genocide and pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act in both the House and the Senate.

The students who have worked on these campaigns know firsthand how frustrating and ineffective it can feel to sign a petition, make a phone call, attend a lecture or donate small change. However, they also get to experience victory firsthand when hard work pays off. Perhaps student activists have not shared enough the successes that we as a community have achieved. I hope that these examples highlight the fact that, while tablers are annoying, there are reasons to listen and to act that are bigger than personal friendship or feelings of guilt. Small actions, when taken as a community (especially when they target our community), do bear fruit. So I hope, if you support wind power or Latino studies at Swarthmore, that when a student asks for a moment of your time to support the cause, you give that moment — knowing that your actions are significant.