President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “Talking about economics is a little like pissing on your leg. It may seem hot to you, but it never does to anyone else.” These days, student activism often provokes similar reactions. Who in their time at Columbia has not encountered the over-aggressive pamphleteer or the shrieking student on Low Plaza and opted to ignore the display, regardless of the merit of the cause? I, for one, am guilty as charged. We’re busy people. We have things to do, places to go, people to see, and the events on Low Plaza have increasingly acquired a quotidian, repetitive quality.

It’s not that we’re apathetic or ignorant. We want the war to stop. We want affordable health care. We want the campus to expand responsibly. We want a Core Curriculum that reflects the diversity and nuance of the society in which we are expected to function. All of those things are important to us, but how can our actions truly effect change? Will signing a petition really make a difference? Will a call to the intern answering the phone in the Capitol really be heard above the din of the lobbyists in the adjoining room? Will a 50-person rally awaken the electorate? Will any of this amount to anything more than pissing on our legs?

Yes, we just have to aim better. If students wish to once again become a force with which to be reckoned, we must forge ourselves into a demographic to which our leaders—be they Columbia administrators or politicians—must be accountable. Until now, our generation has been easily dismissed. Even at this University, known around the country as bastion of political action, only a shade above half of the student body votes. Unfortunately, our campus is no anomaly. In 2004, a youth (18-29) turnout of 51.6 percent was characterized as a “surge” by Rock the Vote. We cannot expect to be taken seriously if we do not participate in larger numbers.

Luckily, this primary season provides our generation with unprecedented opportunities to wage effective activism. Heavy youth turnout for Senator Barack Obama has newspapers writing articles on a nearly weekly basis about youth involvement in politics. Reporters discuss Facebook and YouTube as if they were some mysterious elements with unknown and riveting properties in the political world. Suddenly, our demographic is a part of the political zeitgeist. Regardless of who the Democrats eventually pick as a nominee or who eventually wins the presidency, history has reserved a place for the youth in the story of the 2008 election. But how are we to capitalize on our prominent role?

Student activism should seek to build relationships with those who hold decision-making power. Now that this generation is beginning to carve out a niche in the political world, student activists have an opportunity to insert themselves into the public discourse. Over the past four years, the Columbia University College Democrats have conducted campaign trips during the Election Day break. Each year, students have boosted voter turnout in electoral pressure points around the country, efforts which have cultivated lasting relationships with elected officials and their staffs.
These relationships can be converted into tangible activist victories. This past summer, connections forged while campaigning for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in 2006 allowed students to gain an audience with the senator to discuss the need for the federal government’s involvement in repairing the Gulf Coast’s health care infrastructure that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Since this summer, the federal government has worked more closely with the state of Louisiana to address this issue, although more action is desperately needed.

At the state political level, students are well positioned to gain the ear of Albany. The Activist Council of the Columbia University Democrats has recently adopted the 15th Senate District, located in Queens. In 2006, Senator Serphin Maltese (R-SD15) narrowly defeated his relatively unknown opponent by a 783-vote margin, and the Activist Council is now working to unseat Senator Maltese in this election cycle. By taking charge in an important race while control of the state Senate hangs in the balance, these student activists stand to dramatically increase their clout in state politics. This elevated role will establish a platform on which students can have a greater say in issues confronting the state.

The path to more effective activism is threefold. First, our generation has already begun to vote in larger numbers, but we must sustain our involvement. 100 percent of eligible voters on this campus should be registered to vote—it’s time we set an example for our contemporaries. Secondly, we must increase our involvement in electoral politics. Campaigns are occurring constantly. As soon as one ends, another begins. Activists can greatly widen their influence by building meaningful relationships with elected officials when they run for office. Finally, activists must take advantage of alliances developed through the electoral process to make direct and reasoned appeals on the important issues of the day. This approach will elevate student activism so that it must be confronted both by elected officials on the national, state, and local level and by University administrators. Better aim is the only means to avoid the perception that student activism is an exercise tantamount to pissing on one’s own leg. Students on this campus and around the country have the will and the means to fashion more effective activism that produces results.

The author is a Columbia College sophomore. He is the media director for the Columbia University College Democrats.