Student activism in the 1970s: Transformation not decline

This article documents the decline of 1960s-style student protest, but argues that activism is far from dead on American campuses in the 1970s. The authors find that there is a new mood in America that is reflected in current student political activity and from which have emerged new forms of student activism. The analysis suggests that as student character and mood change, so do the forms of activism students employ. The implications of this conclusion are significant in terms of evaluating past research and setting a future agenda for research on student activism.     

U.S. College student activism during an era of neoliberalism: A qualitative study of students against sweatshops

This article sets out to examine the experiences of college student activists involved in Students Against Sweatshops on the Beautiful River University campus. Based on observation and interview fieldwork, the paper explores how students negotiate and understand their activism against the backdrop of neoliberalism. The paper concludes that being a contemporary student activist requires advanced time management skills and the capacity to ascribe multiple meanings to activities (for example, hanging out and doing activism simultaneously). This emphasis on using one’s time wisely resonates with students who are surrounded by the language of neoliberal reform. By analysing how students prioritise activism, outreach to new members and develop friendships, and position themselves as part of an international network, I show that student activism is influenced by the neoliberal environment at Beautiful River University at the same time that student activists are working to resist and counter such practices.     

The societal impact of student politics in contemporary South Korea

This article considers contemporary South Korean student activism characterized by complicated ideological formulations, highly developed organizing tactics and connections with other social powers. The activism is located within an ideological framework of Marxism-Leninism and is actively engaged in the struggles against imperialism and Fascism, as well as a movement for the reunification of South and North Korea. The recent growth of student organizations to the national level, contributes to the effective functioning of these groups both on and off campus. Despite its national influence, student activism is being criticized by the public and by students themselves because of the underlying revolutionary ideologies and several episodes of violence. In this context, it will be necessary to observe how students will respond to public criticism and to the changing national and world environment.     

The decline of Latin American student activism

If Latin America once represented a worldwide reference point for potent student activism, the region now stands out for the decline of activism. While other regions experience new forms and impacts of activism, Latin America's decline should be understood within two broad contexts: macropolitical and higher educational.The macropolitical context subsumes at least three major causal factors. One is the role of authoritarian rule, especially powerful in the 1970s but leaving a legacy that itself works against activism. Second, we must consider the more complex and mixed impacts of the redemocratization that has swept the region. The third factor is the general decline of the left both domestically and internationally.On the higher education side, decades of unprecedented growth in student numbers have fragmented the student body, especially as growth is accompanied by extraordinary institutional proliferation. Many of the newer institutions are inhospitable for student activism. Privatization has had an especially strong demobilizing effect. The institutional changes are accompanied by a changing profile of fields of study, away from some most associated with student politics. Finally, the concentration of top social scientists in research centers apart from the universities - and from the students - is also crucial.     

Protest: Critical lessons of using digital media for social change

How has student activism changed with the advent of the digital age? Kristin LaRiviere, Jeanette Snider, Alison Stromberg, and KerryAnn O'Meara consider the strengths and weaknesses of digital media in the organization of student activism.     

Service Learning and Civic Engagement

Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in service learning can increase students’ civic engagement, when civic engagement is defined as more than just political action.Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in service learning can increase students' civic engagement, when civic engagement is defined as more than just political action.     

Student politics in the third world

Student political activism remains a key issue in the Third World despite its decline in the industrialized nations. Students continue to be active in politics and frequently have an impact on societal events. The historical development of student politics and student involvement in independence struggles, the role of students as incipient elites, and the fragility of the political structures of many Third World nations all contribute to the efficacy of student politics. Universities, as key intellectual institutions in their societies, also play an important role in Third World societies. Students, especially those in the social sciences, are fairly easy to mobilize and they often have a basic interest in political and social issues. It is argued that student movements emerge from their social and political environment and it is not surprising that activism continues as a powerful force in the Third World.     

From in loco parentis to Student-Citizens: The 1964 Berkeley Protests as Détournement

By employing one kind of a materialist rhetorical analysis, this article demonstrates that the 1964 Berkeley student protests functioned as détournement, resituating college students from a life governed by in loco parentis to becoming “student citizens.” This study has implications for the political activism of American college students today and rhetorical studies of materiality.     

Sadhus no longer: Recent trends in Indian student activism

The main thesis of this paper is that student unrest in India is not always necessarily a manifestation of juvenile delinquency, and given certain conditions can change into an articulated movement. This is substantiated through an analysis of the nature and content of student activism in India during the seventies, covering an important phase in the history of modern India, namely, the state of Internal Emergency. Part One analyses the genesis and growth of the student movement in 1974–1975. Part Two discusses the suppression of student activism during the Emergency. The rise and fall of the Youth Congress during this period is outlined. Part Three presents a scenario of student unrest in the post-Emergency period and highlights the reappearance of the sixties'-type of the student agitations. The article summarizes the development of the student movement during the pre-Emergency period, accounts for the reversal in the movement since the end of Emergency, and discusses the prospects of the re-emergence of such a movement.     

Student school elections and political engagement: A cradle of democracy?

Studies have found that prior involvement in student politics while in school seems to be a good predictor of adult political engagement. While most studies of adults have obtained retrospective data on participation in school elections, there have been few studies of students about this activity. We contribute to this latter relatively unexplored area by reporting the results from a national survey of Australian secondary school students about the relationship between participation in school elections and future intended political engagement activities. We found that voting in school elections is positively related to feeling prepared to vote as an adult, to being committed to vote when 18, to political knowledge, and to engagement in forms of peaceful activism. Running for student government office is related to political knowledge and participation in peaceful activism. These results reinforce the findings of adult retrospective studies, and show that participation in school elections serves as a beneficial experience in the preparation of students for life as an active adult citizen. The implications of these findings for the structure and conduct of student elections in schools are discussed.     

Racism and Asian American Student Leadership

This article provides a theoretical analysis and ethnographic account of Asian American student leadership in higher education. Existing literature highlights Asian and Asian American leadership styles as cultural differences. I shift the analysis from culture to racism in order to work toward a more socially just conception of Asian American student leadership, grounded in the social and historical realities of racism in the U.S. I bring the issue of racism to the forefront by framing this project in racial formation theory and Orientalism and by looking at Asian American student leadership in the context of anti-racism activism. Participants challenged the notion of “Asian American leadership” in two ways: First, students described how they struggled with the Asian American racial category in their day-to-day lives as student leaders, and second, they discussed the negative consequences of being racialized as Asian American leaders.     

Institutional Microaggressions at a Hispanic Serving Institution: A Diné (Navajo) Woman Utilizing Tribal Critical Race Theory through Student Activism

From private to public, from small to large, campus protests and demonstrations have risen across the country to address institutional racism regarding a range of issues including offensive Halloween costumes, university/college seals, lack of faculty color, and racist vandalism. One such example occurred at Southwest University where Native American students were protesting the university seal, which represents settler colonialism and genocide. In this article, we provide a case study of Joy, a Diné (Navajo) young woman, and describe her student activism in regards to the seal and how she utilizes it to connect to her culture, language, and identity. We utilize critical race theory (CRT) and tribal critical race theory (TribalCrit) to analyze the institutional microaggressions that Joy experienced on campus. Our main conclusions explain how student activism enables students to address systemic racism and provides a vehicle to create better conditions on university campuses.     

Findings on economies of scale in higher education: Implications for strategies of merger and alliance

This article examines the implications of the rise of managerialism for student participation in university governance. It explores this theoretically by proposing a matrix of ideal‐type regimes of student governance based on the work of Hyden, Olsen and others. The working of this typology is illustrated in a case study of the student political dynamics involved in governance changes at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in the decade after the transition from apartheid to democracy. The study finds that after two waves of university democratisation, UCT experienced a rise of managerialism which entailed incisive changes in student–university relations. Changes could be observed at various levels, including the emergence of a de‐politicised form of student activism and the adoption of a consumerist student political discourse. It is argued that the rise of managerialism thus precipitated a momentous change in the legitimation of student participation in university governance.     

校园反叛——美国20世纪6O年代的学生运动与高等教育

20世纪60年代，美国高等教育正值发展的黄金时期，但大学校园里却孕育着反叛的情绪，在越南战争和种族问题的激发下，大学生们用各种各样的反抗形式表达对美国社会政治、文化和教育体制的不满，学生运动推动了高等教育体制的改革，促进了校园里多元文化浪潮的兴起，也促使大学思考其自身与政府和社会的关系。     

校园反叛——美国20世纪60年代的学生运动与高等教育

20世纪60年代,美国高等教育正值发展的黄金时期,但大学校园里却孕育着反叛的情绪,在越南战争和种族问题的激发下,大学生们用各种各样的反抗形式表达对美国社会政治、文化和教育体制的不满,学生运动推动了高等教育体制的改革,促进了校园里多元文化浪潮的兴起,也促使大学思考其自身与政府和社会的关系。     

Educators and youth activists: A negotiation over enhancing students’ role in school life

Recent attention to youth activism for school reform reveals positive student outcomes. Yet educators may object to the use of social actions in schools, diminishing opportunities for these benefits to accrue. This paper analyzes educators’ conceptions about the proper exercise of student voice within schools and how these coincide with activists’ tactics for school reform. The qualitative investigation rests on interviews with principals, teachers, community organizers, and students—all touched by a community-based program that encourages urban youth to organize and transform their schools. The paper seeks to bridge the perspectives of educators and activists in ways that enhance acceptance of a more robust role for students in school life.     

Tempest, Arizona: Criminal Epistemologies and the Rhetorical Possibilities of Raza Studies

This essay looks at Ethnic Studies activism in Arizona through a rhetorical lens in order to highlight epistemological aspects of activities such as a high school Chicano Literature class, Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez’s journalism, and student activism to defend the Mexican-American Studies Department. Taking rhetoric’s premise that language is at the center of knowledge construction (epistemology), this essay turns to Chicano activism as a language that produces knowledge differently. The participation of students, particularly in the indigenous spiritual runs, is an important example of the traditionally central role of students to the field of Chicano Studies. Runs also work inwardly to strengthen participants and build group cohesion. These practices, like Chicano and Ethnic Studies in general, constitute a critical dialectical way of thinking, a disruptive opposition to traditional rationalities that tend to gloss over colonialist histories and justify status quo racial inequalities. Thinking about these activities rhetorically allows readers to understand how the participants communicate with a wider audience and how they generate knowledge uniquely around Chicano Studies.     

Becoming a youth activist in the internet age: a case study on social media activism and identity development

This paper draws on a case study of one youth activist, and explores connections between social media activism, identity development, and critical education. Justin Rodriguez, a 17-year-old high school student in Newark, New Jersey, leveraged social media and texting as organizing tools and garnered support for a school walkout to protest education budget cuts. Drawing on the Listening Guide interview method and Justin’s narrative of his experiences, the study explores the question: Does social media activism have implications for how we understand the development of youth activist identities? The findings suggest Justin’s development as a youth activist was mediated, not produced, by social media activism; and Justin developed as a youth activist through various forms of interaction that included social media and face-to-face relationships. The paper also explores the supports provided by adult mentors that were important in Justin’s development as an activist, including education for critical consciousness and opportunities for Justin to participate in civic venues.     

(De)Politicizing the Environment Club: environmental discourses and the culture of schooling

Critical ethnographic research with four urban, multicultural secondary school environment clubs is presented through the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy. The analysis explores how teachers and students reflect and reconstruct mainstream environmental discourses as they negotiate the structure and culture of schooling and social relations of race, ethnicity, class, and gender. The liberal‐humanist, community service approach to environment clubs adopted by teachers is deconstructed as the author considers the role of the club in constructing student apathy and in depoliticizing student activism. The clubs’ moralized discourse of green consumerism, centred around the activity of recycling, is examined for how it serves more to deflect and suppress environmental criticism than to ‘make a difference’. Lastly, it is argued that environmental values and perspectives are not simply inculcated through positive nature and community service experiences, but are shaped by racial/ethnic, class, and gender identities and relations.