Student activism, diversity, and the struggle for a just society.

Abstract

This introductory article provides a historical overview of various student movements and forms of student activism from the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to the present. Accordingly, the historical trajectory of student activism is framed in terms of 3 broad periods: the sixties, the postsixties, and the contemporary context. The author pays particular attention to student organizing to address racial inequality as well as other forms of diversity. The article serves as an introduction to this special issue and includes a brief summary of the remainder of the issue's content.

Stereotyping Online? Internet News, Social Media, and the Racial Typification of Crime

“…In fact, studies show that individuals who have more education tend to consume more news than those who are less educated (Ksiazek, Malthouse, and Webster 2010). Last, racial issues play a central role in social activism among college students (Hope, Keels, and Durkee 2016;Rhoads 2016) and it is possible that college students engage in crime and race-related stories differently than noncollege students. Thus, our sample is not generalizable to the public, and we recommend that future studies replicate this research with a more diverse group of adults.…”

Building Bridges: Rethinking Student Activist Leadership

“…Recent iterations of student activism manifest in diverse ways; college students deliberately engage in the causes that are important to them, including the dismantling of sweatshops, advocating free and fair trade, human trafficking, and immigration reform (Maule, ; Wilson & Curnow, ). A renewal of identity‐based activism has swept through the country and on college campuses, with student concerns centering on sexual assault, college affordability, racial justice, LGBT justice, and women's justice (Dickler, ; Linder, Lacy, Myers, & Riggle, ; Renn, ; Rhoads, ). Finally, although most research and literature examine student activism as public and more visible displays of advocacy (marches, protests, and sit‐ins), it is important to note that not all students engage in activism, although many do engage in resistance, which are two different but often conflated terms (Stewart & Williams, in press).…”

Understanding the Social Environment Determinants of Student Movements: A Consideration of Student Activism in Thailand and the Thai “Social Cage”

“…She found that student movements were fruitful to the extent that they were well connected to institutionalised political processes. Rhoads's (2016) review of over 50 years of student movements in the United States shows that student collective action has been most effective when it has been directly connected to organisational resources accessed through societal institutionalised structures and processes. Rhoads's discussion of the American experience indicates that movements that are marginalised from the mainstream of political institutionalised processes, such as early gay rights activity and the Occupy Wall Street movement, have tended to have only passing relevance.…”

“…A substantial body of literature has been dedicated to understanding student movements. They have been examined in terms of their ideological roots, their internal organisation, their leadership characteristics, and social and psychological dimensions associated with their participants (Altbach 1970;Boren 2001;Bevington and Dixon 2005;Boggs 2006;Haberman 2006;Gill and DeFronzo 2009;Rhoads 2016;Weiss and Aspinall 2012). Yet, student movements have not been adequately explained in terms of their organisational and institutional environment determinants.…”