Students Today

Before I arrived at university, I had a romantic vision in my head; mainly of politically active, idealistic intellectuals who like to wear sweaters.

Then I came to Bournemouth.

During fresher’s week, I looked around at the political societies and saw nought but UKIP, Tory and New Labour. Are we really that apathetic? Where were the traditional leftist student groups? Where were the people who believed in change? Who saw the wrongs committed by their government and decided positive action was the way forward. People who GAVE A SHIT.
All I see is people who are far too fucking happy with their middle class, middle income homes. People who are far too stressed with the trivialities of their own comfortable lives to care about something which they don’t think they have a hand in.

They do.

Now, I’m not saying we be Communists or Anarchists, nothing quite so extreme, that’s not necessary. All we need is to be a little bit more aware. To know what’s going on. We need to believe that our actions can change things for the better. Because they can.

I’m not on about such clichés as taking on ‘the man’ or the Public Enemy Favourite ‘fight the power’, good activism starts at the grassroots level. Getting fair-trade food in the cafeterias (I know there already is, but hear me out, it’s hypothetical) is worth just as much as a major cultural change. Really, it is.

So let’s get it going, students of Bournemouth, let’s be young, and lets be crass enough to care.