Journal of Student Research 2018

Becoming the Change and changing the World On Paper Isn’t Enough Amber Georgakopoulos (First Place) Junior, Applied Social Science Concentration: Sociology and Anthropology

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Thanks to my education, I know how to write an acceptable essay. My professors taught me how to write a composition, how to cite properly, and to marshal my thoughts in a way that will be clear and easy to understand. The liberal arts lens taught me how to communicate with people who are different than me. A liberal arts education offers not just depth, but breadth, and fosters an empathetic approach to the world and its people. It firmly ingrained a habit of the mind towards intellectual curiosity, humanity, and a compassionate courage as a way to interact across lines of gender, ethnicity, class, and culture. An essay that could convey that would be a powerful thing. This is not that essay. Regardless of political affiliation, our world is changing faster than we can keep up. Many people who were trained for one specific job are feeling frustrated and obsolete, as social and technological changes leave them standing on shifting sand. Education, a broad and compassionate liberal arts curriculum, is preparation for life, not just for a job. It doesn’t shape a person to fit a particular slot, but rather gives them the tools to shape that space and adapt it to their own infinite potential. Taken from the cumulative teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, the admonition to “be the change you wish to see in the world” reaches across disciplines to gently knock us down from an elitist pedestal. To be a force for change requires self-reflection, softens our human tendency to judge others, and offers a course of action. Coming from a place of humility is a starting point for connection and change. Education is a tool, and as Nelson Mandela said so eloquently, a powerful weapon. As we struggle against the degradation of hope, we need our weapons in good working order. The battle that looms on the horizon is against diversity and against common decency. This war brings indifference and paranoia, hauls dangerous and brutish ideologies into the light of day and gives them shape and form and power. Now is the time when we need our weapons. We need to gather all the tools at our disposal and use them to rage against the forces that would prefer us blind and meek. They can make rules to strip the people of their rights, but they cannot take away the ability