University activist groups face challenges

By Crystal Villarreal

Barriers to activism on the University of Georgia’s campus may deter students from taking a stand.

Bobby Andres, president of Young Democrats of UGA, said student organizations are often restricted in their advocacy efforts by space and money. He said many advocacy groups are lacking in membership and wondering why students aren’t more active.

The obstacles clubs face — such as the process of registering through the Center for Student Organizations — could be part of the problem, he said.

The Center for Student Organizations is a department within Campus Life and is a resource for student activist groups on campus, said Joshua Podvin, assistant director for student activities and organizations. CSO provides classroom space, meeting rooms and once registered, an organization can fundraise.

But the group has to follow CSO's rules.

“Student groups have many resources provided to them such as advisement and funding,” Podvin said. “But they also must follow policies and guidelines that are outlined for them.”

Clubs have access to free speech zones, including Memorial Hall and Tate Plaza, but must reserve them through Campus Life. An individual can protest at Tate as long as he or she contacts Campus Life prior to the demonstration.

The university has the ability to limit free speech by time, place, and manner, he said, but students protesting in the Tate Plaza would only ever be asked to leave if another organization had booked the plaza for the whole day. Marches and protests must be arranged with Campus Life as well in order for the university to make necessary accommodations.

But Groups can also choose not to be a part of CSO.

Though UGA Living Wage chooses to be separate from the Center for Student Organizations, the group is still active on campus.

The group held a rally for workers rights on Labor Day, said Maggie Kilgo, a fifth year student from Woodstock.

For Kilgo, activism is essential for her college experience. She said she can’t live in Athens and just ignore the poverty problem. More students should get passionate about an issue and choose to voice their opinions, she said.

“I think students don’t get active anymore because the conversation on campuses has shifted from politics to popular culture,” she said.

Andres offered a similar sentiment about the lack of activism on campus.

“We definitely need more political activity on campus,” he said. “There just isn’t enough activism at UGA.”

But Andres wouldn’t necessarily call himself an activist.

“[We’re] more about raising awareness on prominent democratic issues,” he said. “But when there is one main issue that we’re all rallying for, like health care, we take action.”

Last week, the Young Democrats hosted a rally for health care reform in the Tate plaza. They answered students’ questions and released balloons to represent people living without health care. Andres said that he and his group members felt like students wanted to know more, and his group wanted to get the information out to the campus community.

Though Hannah Barfield, a fifth-year student from Thomasville, said activism can be intimidating for some students, she said she thought the majority of students at the university are active on campus.

Barfield, the co-facilitator of the Women’s Studies Student Organization, said her group hosted a speaker in the Law School to inform students about reproductive justice — an issue within the women’s studies.

“Students have taken action for a lot of different causes,” said Barfield. “I choose to be an activist because I’m not a passive bystander and I want to see certain things change.”

Edited by Mimi Ensley