By Jack Murray
A quote from Mahatma Gandhi is often paraphrased on bookmarks and bumper stickers as, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Were Gandhi alive in 2015, perhaps the expression would read, “If there is change you wish to see in the world, post about it on Facebook.”
Fordham students, at least, seem to think so.
Over the past year, reports have appeared in various media outlets alleging problems on Fordham’s campuses ranging from the mismanagement of departments to the mishandling of sexual misconduct cases. Each time an article or blog post of this kind is released, it receives no shortage of “shares” on social media platforms such as Facebook.
And while social media is an important and useful tool in the spread of information and ideas, we simply must do more to promote change than copying and pasting a link. There are ways we can do more. Reports such as these should, and often do, outrage us. It is important to recognize and critique an institution’s shortcomings and injustices, as has been the case at schools such as the University of Missouri or Yale this fall.
Surely, the accounts of hardships faced by members of these schools’ student bodies would not have received national attention if it were not for the awareness raised through the use of social media. But students should not just channel their feelings of outrage and other opinions on a topic into a Facebook post and be done with it. This achieves no lasting change, which has been proven as many of these incidents continue to occur, like the racial bias incidents for example.
If all we do is share a piece on Facebook, add a few sentences as a comment and then move on with our lives, what have we really accomplished? It feels like social media and the Internet have made us a generation of passive activists.This issue spans far beyond Fordham’s gates. In response to the terror attacks that afflicted Paris last week, many Facebook users superimposed the French flag over their profile pictures.
While I would never question the good intentions of these people (many of whom I consider dear friends), I would hope they also looked into tangible ways of helping the French people — in actions that go beyond the sphere of the Internet.
For example, donating to the Red Cross or a writing note to a friend living abroad are two personal and meaningful ways of contributing. Those who go so far to better their world and society should be commended. Here at Fordham, it can, at times, be hard to believe one’s voice actually has the potential to be heard by university administrators.
Nonetheless, there are concrete structures in place to voice opinions about campus issues that concern us as students. After reading a news article, op-ed or blog post and sharing it with others on social media, why not take action in some way that could actually stimulate change on our campus? There are several ways you could attempt to take further steps to promote change. Write an email to the department head who oversees the issue. Talk to a USG representative and ask him or her to consider taking it up as one of his or her initiatives. Or why not attend a Student Life Council meeting, a forum that is held monthly and solicits public agenda items? There is even free lunch.
Students at Fordham University are capable of influencing real change on our campus. It is time that we actually use our voices to enact real change instead of just talking about our frustrations on Facebook. In order to act as true men and women for others, it is imperative that we do more than simply voice our discontent through social media.
The next time a troubling issue arises, I encourage you to ask yourself what you can do to truly be that change you wish to see — on campus or in the world. Stick to that issue and continue to see it through.
Jack Murray, FCRH ’16, is a communication and media studies major from Woodstock, Illinois.
