Technology dependent apathetic and narcissistic are common descriptors of the current youth generation. Appropriately “iGeneration” is a title for Generation Y – those born between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Compared to the accomplishments of our parents’ generation – the Baby Boomers – during Vietnam and the ’60s Cultural Revolution Gen Y seems listless. The children of the Internet seem destined to be remembered merely as the pioneers of instant communication Wikipedia Facebook YouTube and the iPod.
However the Life Mission Fashion Show and Concert at Alumni Park on Sunday is proof that the suffering of others can still inspire our often self-infatuated generation to rally for change. Wielding the forces of these technological resources Life Mission event planners have called on fellow students to help liberate the 1.2 million children enslaved around the world.
Few have attempted an event of this magnitude in recent Pepperdine history independent of either the Student Government Association or the Student Programming Board.
The Life Mission benefit through the International Justice Mission campus chapter is widely publicized as a collaborative effort of more than 100 students partnered with non-profit humanitarian organizations and other Southern California university students. But really the event is a testimony to the power of one individual to cause change – senior Sara Ward.
Ward began planning more than a year ago but her dream soon became bigger than she could handle on her own. She energized a team of people across campus to aid the cause.
Ward overcame two of the greatest challenges to successful events – inadequate funding and attendance – by penetrating the “Pepperdine bubble” and tapping into the vast resources in the Southern California community. She launched a grassroots effort to recruit students from Loyola Marymount USC UCLA and Azusa Pacific to attend the event. Rather than relying on a typical “student budget she solicited funds from non-profits, celebrities and other individuals.
However, while few may be as committed as Ward and her team, students at Pepperdine deserve commendations for defying stereotypes of ignorance about the extent of modern day slavery. Thanks to the efforts of the humanitarian groups on campus, Pepperdine students are atypically informed about international injustice.
But, without action, Pepperdine students are exposed to the issue merely through technology dependent, apathetic and self-absorbed members of Generation Y.
The Life Mission Fashion Show and Concert is an innovative way to raise funds and awareness about a significantly publicized problem at Pepperdine. The event seeks to redefine the image of a fashion show, which in Los Angeles often conjures emaciated models in skimpy, overpriced clothing. By requesting members from each student organization to model fair-trade clothing, the fashion show supports the very people who are exploited, not to mention attracts a diverse group of students.
On its own, the Life Mission Fashion Show and Concert cannot rescue the thousands of invisible children” abducted and forced into fighting Africa’s longest war in Uganda. Nor can it ease the rate of two children per minute who are trafficked for sexual exploitation around the world. However it’s a start and the money raised supports those committed to liberating children from slavery.
May this be the first of many events that look beyond the borders of Pepperdine to implement an idea. The Graphic staff recognizes the Life Mission Fashion Show and Concert as proof that students need not rely on SGA or SPB to plan campus-wide events. Ward is a role model to all students who are inspired to cause change.
Sociologists have yet to agree on a title for Generation Y. Students need not be discouraged by the lackluster reputation of their generation. Let us harness the power of the “technology generation” to put ideas into action and create a better world. And if changing the world seems too daunting then we can at least fall behind more passionate individuals and rally for a cause.