Tag / protest

  • Just Do It: Nike’s Take On Activism

    My laptop screen flickered as I watched footage of LeBron James announcing his I Promise School. The camera quickly cut away to the familiar afro I had seen plastered across the news. “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” [su_pullquote]Many called the choice a step forward in corporate activism, while others posted videos…

  • Twelve Too Many

    On May 14, the Gaza protests hit fever pitch as the United States opened its new embassy compound in Jeruslaem. Israeli security forces killed 62 people during a Palestinian attempt to storm the fences. A Hamas spokesperson confirmed later that 50 of those victims were members of Hamas, which is internationally recognized as a terrorist…

  • When Is a March Not a Protest?

    The answer is simple: when there are white lives around to give a movement rationale and appeal. Now, do not get me wrong; I fully support March for Our Lives. It’s a movement that demonstrates the power that young voices have in this democracy and what they can do when they join together. Gun violence…

  • Qualifications for University-Sanctioned Protest

    On Feb. 24, following the Parkland school shooting and resultant protests, Washington University sent out the following tweet: “#WashU22 Applicants: We encourage civic engagement. Your acceptance will not be rescinded if you are disciplined for engaging in peaceful protest. March on.” When I read this the first time, it seemed reassuring. I think that it…

  • Want to Have an Effective Protest? Disrupt, Expert Says

    Douglas McAdam knows a thing or two about protests. After partaking in them as a student during the height of the Vietnam anti-war movement in the 1960s, he went on to complete a Ph.D. in sociology. He’s now a distinguished professor at Stanford who’s written 18 books and 85 articles on social movements and contentious…

  • The Improbable Journey of Howard Mechanic

    The temperature was in the low 50s in St. Louis on the night of May 4, 1970, but the thousand-plus Washington University students marching towards the rally site were anything but chilly. Earlier that day, the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four unarmed student protesters at Kent State University. They were peacefully demonstrating against…

  • Illustration by Caroline Dierksheide

    The Stubborn Nails of China

    For over a year, Luo Baogen and his wife lived in a house in the middle of a major road in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. The government asked them to move to make room for a highway but, unwilling to give up their recently renovated home for inadequate compensation, they stayed put and…