Writing 420: Minor in Writing Capstone Project
The University of Michigan has a national perception as a progressive institution. How did it get such a reputation? Perhaps it’s the culmination of decades of student activists using Ann Arbor to pursue social changes. Maybe it’s the end of our institutional mission statement: “in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.” Or it could be the plethora of social justice and policy advancements that the University of Michigan has provided the world through its discovery and innovation. Needless to say, the University of Michigan, although certainly not perfect, has incubated a space for students and community members to challenge norms on our campus—and across the world.
Within Michigan’s activist achievements lays a community of student leaders who dedicate their college years to social justice. Yes, they are students enrolled at the University, but how much of their Michigan experience is them receiving benefit from the University versus the student activists giving to the University community? Contextualized in our current turbulent national political dialogue, one could argue there is (relative) peak engagement of student activists. From national movements, like the Women’s Mach and Black Lives Matter, to on-campus policy advocacy, such as La Casa’s S.C.O.P.E. group to #BBUM (Being Black at University of Michigan), student activists are leading the charge on many fronts. But, how often do the faces and young adults behind these movements get recognized? Even in the past few years, policies on our campus and nationally have changed as a product of student activism, but do we take time to acknowledge the students who helped pursue the change?
Yes, a part of activism may be purposeful anonymity, or portraying one’s self as only one individual as a part of a larger movement, or having principles that require no credit claiming (for example, in Judaism, a mitzvah—a good deed—requires not taking credit for the action). However, given the time, effort, obstacles, and energy that activism requires, the effort indubitably takes a toll on student leaders. This project seeks to shed light on the efforts of student activist leaders and humanize their work.
Throughout my Michigan experience, I have had the privilege to work with student activist leaders on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses, especially in the past year as I served as the student body president. Now that my time at Michigan is coming to an end, I hope to use my capstone project to give back to the student leaders who inspired me. Hence, I created a student-centric platform to share these students’ incredible work and experiences through a series of one-on-one podcasts with various student leaders.
The interviews explore the student activist leaders’ experiences, including highlighting their student organizational involvement, discussing personal frustrations, and seeking advice for future student leaders. Ultimately, this project hopes to explore and humanize the student activist experience, explore social movements on college campuses, understand their motivations and desires, and provide other current and future student activists with recommendations and insight about how to pursue change.