Photos of\u00a0JustPeace\u00a0collaborations with\u00a0NorthWest\u00a0Bronx Indivisible meeting \u201cBrainstorming the Resistance,\u201d taken Feb 1. ZENDRAH BONNICK \/ THE QUADRANGLE\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zendrah Bonnick Asst. News Editor<\/p>\n
On Feb. 1, Manhattan University\u2019s (MU) JustPeace Club hosted a brainstorming session at MU\u2019s Kelly Commons. The event, \u201cBrainstorming the Resistance,\u201d was a collaboration between MU\u2019s JustPeace and Northwest Bronx Indivisible (NWBI), the northwest chapter of the Indivisible movement, a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting democracy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This meeting was dedicated to groups planning and organizing events aimed at mitigating the effects of various issues in the U.S. As topics were divided into committees to allow for more direct one-on-one discussions, these committees included: democracy, justice, immigration, health and environment. Some topics covered during the meeting were organizing a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as the Department of Homeland Security for their raids and deportations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to this, conversations were had over the legal actions taken by the Trump administration that threaten democracy, threats to the environment, inequity in the justice systems and the NWBI\u2019s ongoing push for Medicaid for all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elle Feneide, a senior political science major and president of the JustPeace club, told The Quadrangle about her hopes for the collaboration between MU and NWBI.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that it\u2019s also healthy for people to have this relationship with their community and with their country and with their politics,\u201d Feneide said. \u201c\u2026I think that if people pretend politics don\u2019t exist, then you either control your relationships with politics or politics controls its relationship with you. The space is to engage with politics in ways that are more than just voting, because voting is important, but democracy is more than just voting, and people don\u2019t acknowledge that as much.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kathy Solomon, a NWBI member who has worked on various committees, also expressed her feelings on this collaboration and efforts to increase community involvement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need it. It\u2019s always good to get new blood, to get new people, to hear new ideas,\u201d Solomon said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Solomon also expressed a desire for younger people to be able to help with their programs\u2019 use of the internet and social media. Solomon told The Quadrangle about how they have utilized advancing technology in their organization to stay informed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe resist and unsubscribe website\u2026 Scott Gallway, who interviewed Timothy Snyder, explains what people can do to send a message to those propping up Trump,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cNew ideas were presented to me. I think we have something to teach younger people, because let\u2019s remember, we started protesting and fighting the government in the \u201860s\u2026 And we certainly are not skilled at social media. We need to work together.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Solomon elaborated on how she views the impact of politics on young people while not being representative of that demographic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last 40 years, there\u2019s been a tremendous transfer of wealth from young people to old people,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cAnd some of that is because of our laws and structures, and because a lot of wealth is tied to mortgages\u2026There\u2019s just younger people who aren\u2019t represented in our government, I feel. And there\u2019s just so many ways in which our economy works to the benefit of older people. And not to the benefit of younger people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While being interviewed by The Quadrangle, Betty Golomb, steering committee member and co-chair of the democracy committee, discussed a reason she observed community members may be hesitant in participating in NWBI, or social action in general.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not only people who feel vulnerable, because they\u2019re brown-skinned or Latino,\u201d Golomb said. \u201cIt\u2019s also people who are my age, white people, who are afraid to put their names to something, that somehow, it\u2019s going to come back, that the government\u2019s going to target them. There\u2019s a lot of fear out there. So that\u2019s been hard for us. People want to participate but not include names. Sometimes wearing masks, as if they\u2019re worried about getting sick, but they\u2019re really worried about being identified. There\u2019s a lot of fear out there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Golomb further added that although she acknowledges the potential dangers present, he accepts them as part of continuing the work that she believes is important.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just say, do what you can, I\u2019m not going to tell somebody they\u2019re safe,\u201d Golomb said. \u201cI have no idea. Truth be told, I mean, I recognize it\u2019s a possibility that I\u2019m exposing myself by being out there. So be it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similarly, for the JustPeace Club, one of their goals is to increase community involvement of MU students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere JustPeace is supposed to come in is you say what\u2019s wrong, and we all acknowledge it, and we all hold space for that, and then we all kind of go, \u2018what can we do about this?,\u2019\u201d Feneide said. \u201cAnd then once we\u2019ve decided that it\u2019s kind of up to you to take that next step and figure it out, hopefully.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later during the interview, Feneide went on to express her thoughts on fear impacting students\u2019 willingness to participate in politics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTimothy Snyder\u2019s book, \u2018On Tyranny Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,\u2019 is about how to prepare for a tyrannical government,\u201d Feneide said. \u201cLesson number one is \u2018do not obey in advance\u2019 and I think that\u2019s a problem that we\u2019re having. I think a lot of students are obeying in advance. Students who are afraid that there will be repercussions for them speaking out\u2026 JustPeace is a way of combating that. Creating a community, especially with despair and the struggle to cope with politics. JustPeace is largely about not feeling alone in that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like this:<\/p>\n
Like Loading…<\/p>\n