It is common knowledge around campus that Brandeis has a strong legacy of student activism. As a sociology major, I have been exposed to many tales of building takeovers, protests, campus movements and the like. Up until this semester, I thought that had all been in the past. To me, it seemed like one third of the school was pre-med (I can say that because I used to be one), another third was pre-law and the last third was a just a motley crew of people who had no clue what to do after graduation. Yes, this was a gross generalization. In an academically competitive environment such as Brandeis, however, it felt as though everyone was focused on his or her own personal goals.
I longed to jump in a time machine and go back to the days when college students were passionate about social justice and change-back to the time when Brandeis was a haven for peaceniks and activists. It just seemed so much more exciting than writing up a chemistry lab.

My impression of Brandeis' present status in regard to passionate student activism could not have been more wrong. Campus activism is alive and well, and involved students are accomplishing amazing and honorable things. A prime example is the Brandeis Labor Coalition, a movement that started in the spring of 2002 as a result of a sociology class project. After compiling specific worker grievances from janitorial workers, BLC organized and began to advocate for employees' rights on campus. The ultimate goal of BLC is to establish an institutionalized labor code known as the "Guiding Principles of Labor Practices at Brandeis University." Weekly meetings, a few of which I have attended, are held to discuss ideas and strategies on how to implement ethical labor practices on campus. The meetings created an environment where both students and workers have the opportunity to take active roles in the process.

BLC has made extraordinary progress in opening the lines of communication between the Administration, Hurley of America, an outsourcing company which Brandeis uses for janitorial labor, and the workers themselves. Just last week, BLC successfully gained support from the Student Union Senate to implement the Guiding Principles of Labor Practices. In addition, a campus-wide teach-in was held to educate the Brandeis Community on the labor movement. This week, BLC is planning its first annual Worker Appreciation Barbeque to show gratitude to the people that keep our campus up and running. BLC operates on standards that Louis Brandeis himself promoted. As a fervent supporter of labor union rights, Brandeis argued that affairs should be operated "under conditions which were fair to the workers-fair as to wages, hours of work, and sanitary conditions."

BLC is only one example of campus activism. This past weekend, over 100 Brandeis students traveled to Washington to take part in the March for Women's Lives-a march to uphold women's rights on "choice, justice, access, health, abortion, global and family planning," according to the official Web site, www.marchforwomen.org.
Brandeis' chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance chartered buses to bring the student voice to our nation's capital.

Aside from student activism, the institution of Brandeis itself is also working toward social justice and change. This weekend, Brandeis hosted the Global Studies Association conference on "Globalization, Empires and Resistance." The conference featured leading scholars on these issues, including those with radical visions. Two weeks ago, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management celebrated 45 years of progress in the social justice arena. The entire weekend was devoted to social justice, and many notable figures, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., attended and spoke at the event.

To say the least, my initial judgment of Brandeis was unfair. As my days at this university come to a close, I have finally come to realize that the spirit of activism still thrives on our campus. And of course, activism is relative to the times in which we are living.

The world is going through a turbulent period, but I am comforted by the fact that there will always be people here to fight for social justice and humanitarian causes. The important lesson that I have learned from my small brush with activism this semester is one that Louis Brandeis was teaching a century ago: "Neutrality is at times a graver sin than belligerence." To know and not act is far worse than ignorance.