Instead of Ivies, Bowdoin students should care more about the world around us

Doing it wrong: Speak out against injustices, even if it brings you criticism

I often find it easy to be outspoken because I deliberately surround myself with people who have a similar worldview to me. It is comfortable and safe to spend time with people who come from similar circumstances, whether that has to do with socioeconomic status or ethnicity or geography. Historically, that is what people do for one reason or another—they self-segregate.
For marginalized groups, it is sometimes necessary for that communal safe space to exist. But students hopefully go to school with the intention of learning about other people too. On the one hand, it is really beautiful to develop close bonds with people I might have otherwise never met. On the other hand, my eyes are occasionally opened in a disturbing way.
Once in a while, I will hear friends say or condone something that I consider problematic. The actions range in frequency or severity, but they are all troubling on some level. It could be that they throw around a gendered slur—“ironically” of course. Or they will condone the racist behavior of one of their friends. Or they will buy from a store that I consider to be exceptionally unethical. Or they will say something that demeans my own personal experience. In all of these cases, I know that I need to speak up. The trouble is: how?
While I believe we should strive for political correctness, everyone is equipped with different tools and will achieve this goal in different ways. At the same time, I feel no obligation to coddle someone who is blatantly racist, sexist or homophobic. However, with my peers it is never that simple.
Rarely do I find myself having a conversation with someone who is a clear bigot (not to say that bigots do not exist at Bowdoin). But it can be hard to try to have these conversations at a place like Bowdoin; it seems like wherever I turn someone is calling someone out for being dogmatic or overly PC or a closed-minded liberal.
It hurts to try to talk out issues I care about with people I care about and be shrugged off or accused of making everything about race, called out for overanalyzing or taking things too seriously. But the thing is, the society we live in really is that complicated—all of the little things we do or say are imbued with a greater meaning, influenced by systems and hierarchies.
I find that the same people here who complain about there not being enough open dialogue are those who shut down when dialogue is made available. Whenever I am at a teach-in or a conversation or a lecture about a deeply pressing issue, the same people are always there (unless extra credit is involved). If you are a person of privilege, it is so easy to ignore these issues. It is so easy to cover yourself in a blanket of liberalism but not actually participate in the discussion or devote time to a cause.
A couple of weeks ago, when Deray McKesson '07 visited Bowdoin, he expressed the idea that people of privilege have to understand that the fight for justice involves them giving some of that privilege up. And one of those privileges is silence and non-participation. If you truly believe in justice and equality, you will show up and you will welcome dialogue and even criticism.
Some people don’t want to be bothered. They prioritize the comfort of their daily routine over learning and uncomfortable yet meaningful conversations. I don’t think that is an inevitable fact of human nature. I think that is something that has to change if we want to address real issues with a broad and diverse audience, because I care about my friends, and I care about deeply engaging them. If they don’t want to make that effort, are they really a friend?
Maybe I will lose a couple of friends because of these efforts. But if I am aware that something said is problematic or if it hurts me, I am going to call it out. We all should. But we should also be prepared and we should welcome the conversation that follows whatever criticism or position we may bring forward. If that makes you a “Social Justice Warrior,” so what? At least you are fighting for something.

Doing it wrong

Instead of Ivies, Bowdoin students should care more about the world around us

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

April 30, 2015

Last weekend in Brunswick, Maine, hundreds of students at an elite liberal arts college in New England imbibed day and night. Some students played drinking games in class, because education is unbearable. The Brunswick Quad was littered with glass bottles and metal cans on Friday, because recycling bins are few and far between on this campus. Outside my window, people screamed the lyrics to Uptown Funk at 2 a.m.

“You just started Ivies? I’ve been at it since Monday!” proclaimed prideful early birds on Thursday night.

“Wait, you don’t want to go to the concert, are you okay?” asked a concerned friend.
“It’s party time,” declared an Orient article.

This year, I began to really think about Ivies weekend. It is something many Bowdoin students really seem to care about. What does that say about us?

“Work hard, play hard.”

It’s true that we work hard as college students, staying up late in our rooms or in the library, planning events and meetings, and participating in various extracurricular activities.

All of this is a privilege. Attending Bowdoin has been the biggest privilege I’ve ever had in my life. At Bowdoin I get to learn about whatever I find interesting, and I feel validated and respected by my peers and professors. I have access to millions of books, countless journals, and expensive software. I can talk to my professors one-on-one. I get to live in a place where I feel safe walking at night. I am surrounded by welcoming people.

While Bowdoin is not pleasant or easy for everyone, I think it is objectively nurturing. I struggle to cope with the idea that some students treat their studies like a great burden. If you don’t enjoy what you’re studying, it’s time to try something new. It is one thing to feel unfocused because of external stress, but it is another thing to treat your studies as something to just get over with—a means to a degree and nothing else.

Are our studies so unbearable that we need an entire week to constantly drink and party? Why is that what we choose to dedicate so much time, energy and money to? Of course students deserve to relax, but can such a tiring event even count? Ivies, and weekends of debauchery in general, are exhausting on a mental, physical and social level.

When I was in high school, I naively thought college would be a place of constant political unrest. That there would be people protesting or handing out fliers about whatever cause they cared about. I imagined countless conversations about current issues.

But at Bowdoin, people get annoyed when petitioners use the student activities table in the Union, or when they have to go to a talk for a class.

Students dedicate themselves to Ivies, often skipping class or work. It’s the social event of the season. I attended some of it myself and no individual person is accountable for this. But it is concerning that this is what people look forward to. Drinking to the point of throwing up or forgetting the day or tiring yourself out so much that you can’t get out of bed is painful for me to see bright young people aspire to.

A little over 500 miles away, protests and rioting broke out in Baltimore. As I write this column, two days later, people are still on the streets of Baltimore, dedicating themselves to expressing their grief and anger over the death of Freddie Gray. Freddie Gray died under the custody of people who swore to serve and protect him. Freddie Gray died as a victim of a system of racism that dehumanizes black men, and people are rightfully upset about that. Black people in this country are exhausted of being treated as second class citizens in a nation their ancestors built, and so riots and protests have broken out.

I’m referencing this event to show that there are people in this country who are rising up over something they care about. Perhaps some are skipping class or missing work. But they are dedicating themselves to a social issue—something more Bowdoin students need to do.

I don’t intend to undermine the actions of many students on campus, and their dedication to whatever it is that they care about. Many students here are doing meaningful things every day. And if people want to unwind, they should do so.

I am singling out Ivies because it goes beyond unwinding. It is a gluttonous exercise, and it takes a ton of energy and money to plan and participate and recover from. Bowdoin would look like a much more productive and relevant place if students placed less importance on Ivies, and more importance on real issues.

When we work hard and play hard, we leave no room to think deeply.

And what is going on in America right now deserves our deepest thought.

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