Blanket of apathy stifles Rice’s silent majority

On November 3, 1969, President Richard Nixon asked Americans who were not politically active and did not regularly engage in public discourse to join together and support the U.S. cause in the Vietnam War. Nixon called them the silent majority — the conservative, blue-collar backbone of the United States.

Today on the Rice campus, there is a new silent majority — and ironically, its attitudes are the opposite of Nixon’s version. This silent majority wants to be socially and politically active. We are a group of students who believe we can create deep and positive change, not only in our own community but in the world. And we are not afraid to stand up for our beliefs. We may be conservative or liberal, pro-life or pro-choice, doves or hawks — the dichotomy does not matter. But be assured, we are not apathetic.

The silent majority at Rice believes change is necessary on this planet. We are deeply concerned about issues such as poverty, hunger and the lack of opportunity that plagues so much of the world. We want to do something, and we try our hardest to speak out and rally the masses. But we are silenced by a vocal minority complacent with apathy and smug about the so-called lack of activism at Rice.

This minority perpetuates the belief that political and social apathy is ingrained in the Rice culture. That idea could not be further from the truth. All it takes is a quick look at some history and statistics.

In 1961, Rice undergraduates participated in a sit-in at Houston’s Union Station to protest a segregated lunch counter. In 2005, Rice ranked in the top 25 of small colleges and universities producing Peace Corps volunteers. These are not signs of a Rice culture of apathy.

Three weeks ago, 14 Rice students attended a national conference on campus outreach and activism. Surrounded by 1,500 of the most socially and politically active students in the country, we saw that people our age do have the ability to change the world. We went so we could learn how to begin the change on our own campus.

But 14 is not enough. We need fellow students, faculty and staff to join us as we stand, declare and act on our commitment for change. It requires time and plenty of effort to go from heated late-night debates in college rooms to debates that will actually have an effect, but we must take our words and create action.

Professors, as you deliver your next lecture, remember that in front of you there is a silent majority — students who want to be involved and create change in the world but who do not know where to begin. When professors speak, students listen. So if you are also concerned, please speak out. Tell us how we can be more active and find our niche, whether it is on the local or global scale.

I know most opinion columns tend to be conceited lectures that oversimplify issues and do not get much action after the Friday publication. I attest to this because I am one of those regular rant-writers. But this time you will see action complementing the column. In the next weeks and months, look out for new initiatives and projects on campus. If you want to join, talk to me or anyone wearing an orange band. Ask us what it is.

Soon, Rice will debut the Center for Civic Engagement, intended to empower and mobilize students in their quest for a better local and global community. But the center will not do this alone. We must take the initiative and rise up.

So today, more than 35 years after Nixon’s famous speech, I ask you, the great silent majority at Rice, for your support. Our beliefs may differ and our opinions clash, but we will not resort to complacency. We will speak up, we will act and we will change the world. We are silent no more.

Apoorva Shah is a Sid Richardson College sophomore.

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