Panel discusses the next generation of change
Panelists told a diverse audience ranging from middle school students to graying activists that now is the time for change at Tuesday’s panel, Youth Activism: Going Beyond the Bumper Sticker.
“One lesson is that while you’re young and while everything still seems possible, do everything you can to make world a better place, because you will be the one paying for it if you don’t,” said panelist Terry McNally.
McNally is an actor, producer, writer, speaker and consultant. Among other activist experiences, McNally founded an alternative high school and ran a camp for chronic schizophrenics while studying at Harvard.
Harvey Wasserman and Antonio Sacre joined McNally on the panel.
An actor and storyteller, Sacre introduced himself with a Russian story about a boy who completed many tasks for his king and in the end was transformed into a man. There are events in everyone’s life that mirror the tasks that the boy completed, Sacre said.
“There are things that present themselves along the way that no matter how powerful they are, you have to pick them up,” Sacre said. “And that is what activism is like.”
Wasserman also spoke to the power of activism.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t change the world,” he said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
A lifelong activist, Wasserman described his experiences protesting nuclear power plants, segregation and the outcome of the 2004 election. While living on an organic farm, Wasserman said he protested against the construction of a nuclear power plant four miles away. Because of his group’s tireless actions, the power plant was never built and now the area is designated a nature conservancy.
“If there’s anything that gets you angry about society get out there and stop it,” Wasserman said. “You will have a ton of fun and also meet a lot of really cool people.”
To Wasserman, a person in attendance posed an intriguing question: “What if you try and stop it and you don’t?”
In response to the question, all three of the panelists agreed that a person should be persistent with activism even if their actions are not met with success at first.
“It’s not over till it’s over,” Wasserman said. “Your actions may also have unintended consequences, you may lose one fight but through your actions other fights are won.”
The panelists gave different ideas about how to become active.
Wasserman said fighting for a single issue rather than general reform is most effective because the results are easier to judge.
McNally said while issues are important, there is a need to focus on general reformation of democracy in America.
“I believe that all the work that people do on individual issues is dwarfed and distorted by the fact that ultimately money has so much power in our political system,” he said, adding that the media, campaign finance and election process are areas in need of change.
Sacre took another perspective, encouraging individuals to take small actions if the idea of tackling major issues is daunting.
“It’s hard to think about changing huge systems, but you can buy fluorescent bulbs and dolphin-safe tuna,” he said.
Although the panelists’ words were inspiring, sophomore environmental studies major Kirsten Tidik said she would have liked the discussion to be more geared toward the present.
“It was great hearing about them being activists in the 60s and 70s,” Tidik said. “But what about now, how do we deal with all of that stuff now?”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Emery Cowan at emery.cowan@colorado.edu.
