With the student protest against the cuts to the University System of Ga. (USG) set for Monday morning, students need to understand the importance of this event. With students coming from across the state show their displeasure with the ongoing budget situation, Tech must be well represented at this event, and this goal can only be achieved through a whole-hearted effort by the student body. Tech is a flagship institute of the USG, and our students have an opportunity to reinforce and strengthen this status in the minds of our fellow students.
This march will only be effective if people and the media are forced to acknowledge it, and such acknowledgment will only come from the power of the masses. Every student that marches makes the voice of the student population as a whole that much louder, and regardless of if the legislature is in session on the day of the protest, a large mass of people marching through the streets of Atlanta and rallying cannot be ignored.
An effective protest is just as much about what is not said or done as what is said or done. Students must show respect and, if needed, restraint. The protest on Monday will take place on the same streets that many of the most effective protests in our nation’s history took place; those protests were so effective because the people protesting were peaceable and did not incite chaos. A repeat of the protest in California will do nothing to advance the cause of students; it will only make students seem irrational in a time when rational thought is needed.
Students should also take great pride in knowing that their Student Government Association was the leading body organizing this protest. SGA should continue to use this influence to lead the student movement through this time of uncertainty and in the future. Hopefully, this strong leadership at the top will lead to a strong voice of the students throughout.