By Tara Conry
An affliction that some students suffer from is apathy toward social and political issues that have significant effects on their lives.
While current affairs may not be a major concern to students now, Richard Hawke, a member of Student Against Injustice (SAI), foresees this will change.
“This will be a serious problem once students step out of the secure bubble of the University and into the real world,” he said.
SAI teamed up with Long Island Teachers for Human Rights (LITHR), the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and other groups to bring an end to student apathy with a daylong series of discussions and debates about current world issues.
The event, entitled “USA and the World in the Bush Era: A Day of Dialogue, Debate and Discussion” consisted of different venues to present the vast array of issues that will fuel the upcoming presidential campaigns. Each installment was either in the form of a discussion panel or a two-sided debate, both requiring the participation of the audience.
SAI and MSA both agreed that as long as students showed up and started talking, the event would be a success. To make this event conducive to the hectic schedule of a college student, the discussions began at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10 and continued until 10 p.m. Notices and schedules of the events were distributed regularly throughout campus, inviting all students and faculty to attend and voice their concerns.
The aim of the sponsors was not to sway students to support a group or the platform of one particular political party. Each group worked together to outline specific issues that are relevant to students and faculty. For example, SAI tackled the need for youth empowerment in a discussion called, “Think Globally, Act Locally,” encouraging students to do their part to have an impact on society.
MSA organized an open forum about “Religion, Modernity and Politics,” focusing in Jewish, Christian and Muslim fundamentalism in relation to modern-day politics.
Sara Taman, a member of MSA, said there is a serious apathy problem in regards to the religious beliefs of others.
“Many people are ignorant about fundamentalist,” Taman said. “For instance, most people think a ‘jihad’ is only a ‘holy war,’ but in fact it is any type of struggle, such as studying very hard.”
MSA hoped to open people’s minds and replace ignorance with understanding of these three clashing topics.
While SAI and LITHR generally hold left-wing beliefs, the groups called upon opposing groups and professors who specialize in the areas of economics and social sciences.
This was done in order to provide knowledgeable sources on these particular issues and to assure the event was unbiased and stimulating for all students. The groups said the purpose of the event was not to arrive at a final solution or decide whose party holds the better position, but to provoke students to think and voice their opinions about important issues.
In addition to these three groups, the Office of the Provost and organizations such as College Republicans and the Economics Association were among the many participating in the event. This is first issue that SAI has addressed in collaboration with LITHR.
“Students have a huge amount of power, and with faculty we have even more,” Hawke said.