Name: Elan Axelbank
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Highland Park, New Jersey
Major: Sociology
Student Involvement: Outdoors Club (NUHOC), Socialist Alternative (SA)
How did you get involved with Socialist Alternative?
When I was in highschool, I played a lot of soccer, but I had shoulder surgery and couldn’t play for months. During that time, I decided to join the school’s academic team ask him also about the guy in the picture as a caption as the “current events” guy and started reading the news. I realized how messed up the world is, so I came into college looking to be involved politically. When choosing my classes first semester, I saw “Markets, Governments, and Economic Justice” being offered and thought it would help me better understand the political system. I learned an incredible amount about several political systems including socialism, which I hadn’t really thought about before. Also, one day coming out of my dorm building, I saw someone selling newspapers for SA and giving compelling arguments for socialism. These circumstances ended up inspiring me into fighting for the rights of the average people, the people who don’t have a say in their lives.
What does the organization aim to do and how does it execute this plan?
We are composed of young people, students, and workers fighting for the rights of other young people, students, and workers. We are a half grassroots, half political party, and we aim to eradicate oppression, whether it be homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia while striving to improve the standards for the average worker. Of course, improving the living standards of the average worker is not an end, rather, it’s the means to an end–socialism. While capitalism is still in place, we aim to improve it by waging several battles (like the 15 Now Campaign). Ideally, however, the result of our endeavors should be socialism.
Why should other people join SA?
People should get involved in with civic engagement because they should want to take control of their lives. Not just simply choosing what you’re going to eat this morning, or choosing a class for your next semester, but really taking control of your life. Politics dictates our lives, and if we really want to control our lives, we need to fight for a world in which we, the average people, can control our lives–not the one percent. It is more and more clear that capitalism doesn’t work and that this system was built to serve the elite. We need to fight for solutions, not for bandaids, which is why we need socialism.
What is the 15 Now Campaign?
It is a student referendum to require all campus workers to earn a minimum of $15/hour living wage. Several years ago, 15 fast-food workers in New York walked out of their work and called for a $15 minimum wage as well as a union. Soon after, that number increased to 50, then 100, then it spread to different states, and now, it’s a nationwide campaign!
If you’re interested in becoming a part of the 15 Now Campaign, feel free to shoot Elan an e-mail at axelbank.e@husky.neu.edu and fight for the wages of our workers at Northeastern!