Avi Joshi ’26 is an English major. He is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and consistently hitchhikes on the spirit highway. Contact him at asjoshi@wm.edu.
Liam McMahon ’27 is an international relations major. He contributes to the video section of The Flat Hat and is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Contact him at ltmcmahon@wm.edu
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Wednesday, March 19, a walkout was held on the Terrace of the Sadler Center. This walkout was originally intended to protest the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at universities, most notably the recent Board of Visitors vote at the University of Virginia to close their DEI office. While student protests can be an effective way of sending a message to college administration, walkouts are far too often plagued by a variety of issues natural to a college environment. Alternatives would be a far better subject of our attention.
The first question we asked ourselves about the recent walkout was what was the message? At the height of the protest, signs with messaging for DEI were obstructed by people holding Palestinian flags, the use of anti-Trump rhetoric and anti-capitalist chants. For a protest to be effective, it needs to bring attention to a specific issue and inhibit its continuation in some way. For this recent walkout, the original message — that administrators need to stand in opposition to DEI cuts — was obstructed by a variety of other students using the provided publicity to protest issues as far removed from the original matter as the genocide in Palestine. While ongoing matters like the conflict in Palestine 1000% deserve student representation in the form of protest, a conglomerate presentation of raging emotions on all different kinds of issues does not help to demonstrate any meaningful message.
The overwhelming vision created by a variety of student groups is not a one-off case at this protest; rather, it is a symptom of modern walkouts. Given the nature of a college campus and the variety of groups we have at the College of William and Mary, organizations will always use the available publicity of such a movement to make their own voices heard. Again, these messages usually have merit, but a movement trying to protest hundreds of different issues is ineffective at opposing any.
In addition, the messaging behind walkouts doesn’t do nearly what students believe it does. None of the rich, old, predominantly white people, largely appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on the Board of Visitors truly care that students are skipping their class at noon to stand outside and protest for an hour — about anything. The persuasion that donors and politicians have over these officials far outweigh any emotional appeal that a student walkout or protest could have. Point being, it is hard to gain any respect or legitimacy as a college student in the face of bureaucratic bull-crap. Walkouts especially fail to distinguish the voice of students.
While someone could argue that these walkouts allow students to come together as a community, encouraging further support for whatever cause, walkouts —which in theory tend to precede further action — often never actually lead to further action. Yes, walkouts are a joyous symbol of unity among community members that want to be heard. But where do their voices go? The Board of Visitors isn’t listening, Trump isn’t, and, believe it or not, lots of people on this campus are not listening either. On top of the minimal impact a form of protest like a walkout has, it is hard to sustain walkout efforts over the long term. Again, yes, it is important that students retain the right to gather and protest. However, we feel that there is a lot more personal interest in the act of protesting, due to its ease, than in continuing the messaging of the protest. A walkout will happen, students will pat themselves on the back for “doing their part” and continue on with their day. Haphazard participation like this is not meaningful protest, It is clout chasing to prove to yourself that you are a good person.
Unfortunately, we find that one of the biggest problems with walkouts on this campus is how forgettable they are. There is no energy or momentum backing these protests on a campus wide level. You are either the kind of student that participates in the protest, or you don’t, and either passively support the act or dismiss it entirely as just another protest. Given this insignificance and the inability of walkouts to make any sort of effective emotional appeal, what are the alternatives? If walkouts don’t work, what can? Well, given that the messaging behind student walkouts and a passionate show of emotions are not going to persuade administrators, monetary protests are the natural conclusion. Students writing to alumni, attempting to convince them to continue donations only under the condition that the needs of our students are met, would do far more to help administration grasp how pressing issues such as DEI cuts really are. Another possible alternative is to inform incoming students, who only are aware of what has been spoonfed from tours and administration, of the real problems happening on this campus. Deterring students from applying to the College unless the desires of the current student body are accepted would also pressure administration to listen to student voices. We completely agree that student protests are important. In fact, it is probably a waste of your four years if you don’t use this relatively free period of time in your life to protest anything. However, given the urgency of issues such as DEI spending cuts and the ineffectiveness of walkouts, maybe it is time to reconsider how we as students organize.
