Content Warning: This article mentions violence, sexual assault, and other upsetting topics.
My first semester has been great. I’ve found friends who I truly believe will be with me for the rest of my college experience and beyond. I’ve also joined a few clubs that I’ve come to really enjoy, including Her Campus. While reflecting on my growth over the last 15 or so weeks, I felt proud of my writing so far. I thought back to writing my bio, which was something that had to encapsulate everything I was about. I remember being told to include what kind of articles I wanted to write. In that bio, I said I wanted to write lighter pieces about pop culture, but also continue a long-time passion of mine: social advocacy.
Ever since I was old enough to form my own opinions, I remember caring deeply about others. I’ve always been a huge empath (or a cry-baby, according to my parents), but I truly believe my sense of empathy is just heightened. It’s a blessing and a curse, like most things, but it has shaped the way I see injustice and human rights. While reflecting on my writing this semester, I realized that despite everything I said in my bio, I haven’t written anything political or advocacy-focused, and that really disappointed me. I don’t think my passion has dwindled since coming to college, but it has admittedly been on the back burner.
I know how easy it is in college to get caught up in your own issues, just as I have, but we can’t let that happen. If we’re only worrying about ourselves, who will advocate for us when we need it? I’m tired of hearing political science majors say they have no idea what’s happening in the Middle East. Actually, I’m tired of hearing anyone say that. Ignorance is just another way of saying you don’t care, especially now, when you can inform yourself in five minutes with a simple Google search.
As easy as it would be to avoid political pieces and write a fun semester recap instead, it feels only right that my final article of the semester shines light on the issues that need it most, just like I promised myself I’d do at the beginning of the semester.
The Genocide in Palestine
No, I won’t call this “the Israel/Palestine conflict.” No, I won’t call it “a war.” I will be calling it what it is: a genocide. Despite what you might have heard about the so-called “peace president” Trump negotiating a “ceasefire,” Israel continues to find new ways to kill innocent Palestinians every day.
A couple of weeks ago, two boys—Fadi and Jumaa—were collecting firewood for their wheelchair-bound father early in the morning when they were killed by a drone strike carried out by the IDF. Both were under the age of 10. The IDF claimed they were “suspicious” and “posed an immediate threat” to soldiers nearby.
More than 70,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023. Twenty thousand of those were children. If you think this is remotely acceptable, I am begging you, person to person, to reevaluate your beliefs. These people deserved to live, no matter what bullshit excuses Israel and the United States continue to perpetuate.
Source: CNN
Trump’s Xenophobia
If you’re reading this as a Trump supporter, just know that I don’t want to debate. Not because I can’t, but because I’m done trying to. I’m not debating whether Trump is racist when the evidence is right in front of us, and some people still refuse to acknowledge it.
I’m not even talking about his past remarks, even though those alone make the point. Recently, Trump called Representative Ilhan Omar’s headscarf a “little turban” while encouraging the crowd to chant “send her back” to Somalia. He has also called Somalia “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime” and labeled all Somalis as “garbage,” saying he doesn’t want any of them in the U.S. He has even proposed a ban on immigration from every “third world country.”
Not to mention the unspeakable acts being carried out through ICE under his administration. I still can’t believe we live in a timeline where the official White House social media account posts a compilation of families being ripped apart to a Sabrina Carpenter song.
If you can’t take my word for it, maybe take Trump’s current vice president, J.D. Vance, who himself tweeted back in 2016, “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc.”
Source: CNN
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in South Africa
If you’re on TikTok, you’ve likely seen an abundance of purple profile pictures. What you might not know is that they’re being used to raise awareness for the gender-based violence currently happening in South Africa. Every day, fifteen women are murdered because of GBV.
Recently, there was a nationwide protest in which women withdrew from the economy entirely, making no purchases and selling nothing, for an entire day. At noon, women across the country lie down for 15 minutes to represent the 15 women killed daily. South African women are murdered at a rate five times higher than the global average.
In response to the protests, the government declared GBV a national disaster. Still, many citizens believe far more needs to be done to protect women.
Source: BBC
So, the title of this article isn’t just a message to anyone reading—it’s a message to myself, too. I need to wake up to these issues and reconnect with my passion for advocacy. Bigotry thrives on apathy; it’s easier to spread propaganda among those who choose not to stay informed.
Don’t let them win.