Lyndie Duich ’20 is an environmental science and psychology major with a passion for social justice. Keep reading to learn more about Lyndie and about activism on campus!
Name: Lyndie Duich
Class Year: 2020
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Majors: Environmental Science & Psychology
HC: How did you choose your majors?
LD: I started out thinking that I wanted to study Neuroscience and be a doctor, but I realized this past summer that I was forcing myself to do what I thought my family expected of me, and not something I was really passionate about. I picked my majors because I have been passionate about the environment for my entire life, I want to be able to preserve the planet for future generations, and I felt like a Psychology major could help me gain skills that would help me work with people to make essential changes. I also feel like I can find a way to combine those two majors and fit social justice somewhere in the middle, but I’m still figuring that part out.
HC: What are you involved in on campus?
LD: I’m the general manager for the Peddler, the Panhellenic Alternate for Kappa Alpha Theta, and the logistics chair for Colleges Against Cancer.
HC: Why is it important to get involved with activism on campus?
LD: You know that saying “silence equals violence”? It’s true. Staying silent about an issue is essentially saying you don’t want it to change, and I don’t think people are really that passive. Being an activist on campus not only helps you express what you want to see change, but it allows you to show support for those who are being affected by issues on campus. The Halloween incident is a perfect example. Even if you were not directly affected due to your race or ethnicity, you standing behind those that were and supporting them is incredibly powerful. Students need to present a united front in order for institution-wide changes to happen.
HC: How can Dickinson students get involved with social justice on campus?
LD: Conversations are the best place to start. I’ve had some of my most powerful experiences by walking up to someone and starting a conversation with them about something that is either uncomfortable, unfamiliar, or a current issue on campus. Aside from that, be on the lookout for meetings surrounding current campus issues, or the weekly meetings of social justice related clubs. You can gain a whole new perspective just by being present at a meeting, and you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to! Opening yourself up to the ideas of others and actively listening is so important, and it is a foundational piece of being involved in social justice movements.
HC: What change would you like to see at Dickinson in the upcoming years?
LD: I would love to see Dickinson implement new policies regarding inappropriate costumes on campus in light of what happened on Halloween. I would also love it if more student-based committees could be formed surrounding social justice and policy change issues on campus – I know some already exist, but it seems as though there aren’t opportunities for many different people to be on them, which is a problem in itself.
HC: What are your goals for after college?
LD: Honestly, I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out how my two majors fit together, and I change my mind at least once or twice a day. At this point I’m just crossing my fingers that I know what I’m doing by graduation!