College is the time where everyone is trying to find something in which to believe. Activism is prevalent on campuses all around the world and it is no coincidence that when a revolution is needed, a college campus is the place to stir one up. The words college, revolution, causes and activism all seems to go together quite nicely.
But Pepperdine seems to be different. Revolutions don’t really happen here. Sure, people got fired up because their convocation grades were in jeopardy and granted every once a while a speaker will give a stirring address that gets people excited for a few days, but generally, things stay pretty calm around our beautiful campus on the sea.
A common criticism of Pepperdine is that its students are generally apathetic towards activist causes. And it doesn’t seem like that critique is entirely without some validity. We live on a beautiful campus in wealthy area far, far away from most of the world’s suffering. Maybe it is hard to care when the ocean and the beach stare at you day after day. Or maybe it is the demographic from which Pepperdine draws most of its students. Generally speaking, we are wealthy, well connected and smart people content to live comfortable and straight-laced lives. This is not a bad thing – it just is not the climate out of which revolution is born.
But something seems to be changing at Pepperdine. Last week, student groups were out in force raising money and awareness for causes they believed in. One could hardly take five steps from the cafeteria without running smack-dab into, as one student labeled it, “donation row.” Yes indeed, something has changed in the air here at Pepperdine. Let’s use this last week as a jump start to a change. We can make a difference in this world. Yes, that might be trite and yes, that might be cliché, but if enough of us believe it, change will happen.
And so the Graphic now wants to take time to recognize the various groups and individuals on campus last week in an attempt to continue the growth and continuity of this groups on campus. Activism and journalism often run along the same stream – most of the time one would not work without the other. How much greater is power of a protest when images of it are plastered on over the television and newspaper front pages? Some of the things we saw last week:
One group raised both money and awareness for the severe humanitarian crisis that is going on as we speak in the Darfur region of Sudan. Through their efforts, over $850 was raised for aid in the region and around 600 letters were signed and sent to members of Congress and the President.
Another group organized a letter writing campaign to Mexican President Vicente Fox, urging him to take action against the on-going mass murder of women in the Northern parts of Mexico. Through their efforts, many letters were signed and a presentation was organized earlier this week giving exposure to both The Mexican Solidarity Network and Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas (Justice for our Daughters), two organizations dedicated to working both on the ground to bring justice to the perpetrators of these crimes and campaigning to raise the world’s awareness about the sorry state of Women’s Rights in Mexico.
The Sigma Chi fraternity sponsored and implemented its annual “Run / Walk for Hope” to support cancer research at the City of Hope. Run / Walk raised over $17,000 and is one of Pepperdine’s most successful and longest standing philanthropies.
The Delta Gamma sorority held their Anchor Splash event last weekend in which all of the Greek groups at Pepperdine competed in water sports. Anchor Splash raised over $5,000 for a Blind Children’s Center.
Finally, the Graphic would like to recognize the countless individuals who have supported all these causes and many more causes all over the world. Through private donations, volunteering and activism, these people are changing the world in which we live.
The Pepperdine community is very blessed and we can make a huge difference in a world so full of suffering, oppression, poverty and violence. We need to stand behind these groups and support them to our fullest ability. This past week was great for Pepperdine, but it would be tragic if it was the one and only week of the year that the community joined together to help those in need. Let’s shake off our reputation for apathy by keeping the spirit of giving alive.
03-24-2005