For anyone at the University, it is hard not to notice the vibrant collection of student-led activist groups working to advance progressive causes. Outside Newcomb Hall, one might find the University Democrats registering voters for an upcoming election; UVa Beyond Coal gathering signatures on the Lawn to support clean energy; or Feminism Is For Everyone raising money by making sandwiches for hungry students returning from an evening of revelry late Friday nights on the Corner. Yet as motivated and visible as these organizations are, they have tended to be fragmented and highly focused on advocating for specific issues. The modern political right, in contrast, has been much more successful at combining the interests of its various factions into a coherent movement that has relentlessly pursued the election of candidates who will enact its members' agendas. The good news for progressive-minded students is that their philosophy can almost surely prevail since it is oriented toward a much broader swath of the population. To succeed, however, progressives at the University and on campuses across the country must make a concerted effort to coordinate their initiatives and form a cohesive network of activists who can achieve meaningful political results on a host of interconnected social, economic and environmental issues.
At present, these activists' efforts are too disjointed to push the University or the nation toward serious progressive change. For example, it would have been worthwhile for activist groups to mobilize members to attend last month's University-sponsored debate between former Democratic Fifth-District congressional incumbent Tom Perriello and Tea Party conservative Jeffrey Clark. Doing so could have prepared those students to vote in an electoral contest that was critical to the immediate future of progressive politics in Virginia. Not only did such a push for political involvement fail to materialize, but the Workers and Students United campaign actually held its "Rally For a Living Wage" at the same time as the debate. Although the rally was successful in its stated goal of raising awareness for the plight of low-wage workers at the University, it nevertheless caught the attention of students and community members who might have otherwise focused on re-electing Perriello, who has immersed his career in supporting public policies that benefitted the poor and working class.
Fortunately, a number of progressive activists have begun to recognize the disadvantage they face in the struggle for political influence in America. Joan Mandle, Democracy Matters executive director, is one such individual looking to help progressive student groups come together on campuses around the nation. Her organization helps students understand that underlying the many issues of concern to them - environmental degradation, social inequality, etc. - is a fundamental lack of parity in America's political system. "There is a great cynicism among everyone in this country about politics," she said, "and the major reason is the corporate funding of election campaigns. It makes people feel very powerless." Thus, she hopes to mobilize progressive activists from a variety of different backgrounds under the common cause of reforming electoral politics in America. "The issue of corporate control can provide a common basis for action," she added. "We need to unite and talk about an agenda that helps the environment, the economy, health care, and the other issues that students care about."
Fourth-year College student Erin Franey is doing her part to participate in progressive interconnectedness. In addition to heading up the University's chapter of Virginia Organizing, she is a leading figure in WASU and has collaborated with a number of other student activist groups. "My vision is for stronger and enmeshed linkages between leaders and between their whole groups," she said. She added that she hoped more groups would consider making commitments to attend the events of like-minded organizations rather than merely sending out e-mails that encourage members to attend if they have time. To this end, she said WASU organized a contingent of six members to participate in Latino Student Alliance's Dare to DREAM March Monday. Even more fundamentally, however, Franey said, "What is missing [in progressive activism] is a stronger ideological framework for what we're doing. Community organizing has traditionally been very non-ideological, and there needs to be a framework of values."
Some progressive student groups are already responding to the message championed by organizers such as Mandle and Franey. Danny Navarro, LSA external communications chair, said his group reached out to organizations such as WASU, the Black Student Alliance and the University Democrats to build support for this week's Dare to DREAM Petition Drive. He added that LSA hopes to "break down cultural barriers" through its collaborative efforts while also "laying the groundwork for the future" of its activism. If others can follow his organization's lead, then progressivism might once again be able to achieve the sustained political success that made it such a powerful force for change throughout the 20th century.
Matt Cameron's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at m.cameron@cavalierdaily.com.
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