Divestment, Ferguson, and Student Activism’s Failure

I recently overheard a group of students grumbling over the lack of an “activist culture” at Harvard. And on principle, I agreed. Harvard, of all places, should be a stomping ground for students to express themselves, influence others, and effect change. Meanwhile, I can count on one hand the number of movements I have seen on campus this year.

Why is this the case? Because the students leading Harvard’s current activist culture—to the extent that it exists—seem more interested in making noise and getting attention than in attaining actual progress. This is leaving others understandably deterred.

Let’s look at the campaign to divest from fossil fuels. In early February, about 30 student activists streamed into Mass. Hall. They hung up a Divest Harvard banner and began a sit-in in the first floor hallway, outside the offices of University President Drew G. Faust and Provost Alan M. Garber ’76.

But I’m troubled by what followed. When Faust offered to meet with the students at a later time on the condition that they leave Mass. Hall, they refused. Throughout the 24-hour demonstration they demanded an immediate meeting, which Faust declined.

If the demonstrators were wholly focused on progress, they would have accepted the reality that the fate of divestment depends on Faust and the administration. And they would have taken Faust’s offer of furthering dialogue. However, the students’ choice to snub Faust because she did not pander to their immediate demands reflects a disregard for the movement’s envisioned goals. Instead, they prioritized the noise that came with their continued sit-in (not to mention the filmmaker they brought to the demonstration).

Yet this isn’t an entirely new approach for Divest Harvard. Last March, one of its organizers confronted Faust while walking through the Yard. The student vented a painful elevator pitch, which was recorded and posted to Vimeo. This further circumvented any progress, as exemplified by Faust later commenting, “I had hoped you would carry on your campaign with a greater degree of civility and fairness.”

Unfortunately, this mentality stretches well beyond the divestment campaign. Last semester, the post-Ferguson movement swept campus. Between a rally that shut down the Square, a march down Mount Auburn Street, and a die-in outside Memorial Church, each week featured demonstrations of larger proportions. However, each day the question of the movement’s actual goals was no less elusive

Early on, the motto Black Lives Matter was ubiquitous in both awareness and support. But the student organizers failed to use this backing to influence any sort of legislative or otherwise material change. Mass incarceration. Police brutality. Racial profiling. These were issues waiting to be discussed but ultimately never addressed, as the movement’s clamor persisted.

To reshape the activist culture on campus, the very essence of activism must change.

Change begins with student leaders acknowledging that making others uncomfortable can either distance them from a cause or help them grasp its magnitude. It begins with appreciating the difference between noise as a means and an end. And it begins with understanding that trumpeting a movement’s ideals in any way possible differs from taking the practical steps to realize those ideals. Only then can our activist culture grow.

Aaron J. Miller ’18 is a Crimson editorial writer living in Grays Hall.