Politics and Culture Abroad
Keeping up with events on campus is a tedious task involving piecing together Facebook posts, chats from friends, and Snapstories to have some hope of a fuller picture of what is going on. One issue in particular has stood out to me from the influx of posts from my fellow classmates and even alumni: the two Babson students that paraded their political views and were insensitive on our sister campus of Wellesley College that has caused a domino effect on our tri-campus area of fear and hurt. In light of recent events, this has made me question my identity as a Babson student and what really defines #myBabson.
No student wants to see their school make national news for an event as negative as this, but what has followed has given me hope that things will be alright the next four years. Dean Ward, always a calming force on campus and confidante of many students, sent out an initial email reminding everyone to stay strong and stay empathetic. One of my closest friends at Olin shared the activism he is doing by reaching out to Wellesley students. Babson campus leaders on Student Government and ONE have been taking steps to host public events to effectively talk about campus sentiment, inclusion, and what to do moving forward. Even in our campus bubble, we are capable of outreach and support something I strongly believe that America should reflect as well.
Being abroad, I feel in part safer but also in part guilty for not being there for my peers. Social media is often viewed as a negative platform with dissenting users who feel strongly about their own views while not always being well informed. On the flipside, taking a break from the screen has students doing something more important- actually getting together and talking about the real issues. Voicing their opinions. Starting an awesome social media campaign of #EqualAndOpposite. Simply spending some time actively choosing to say “I am there for you.”
We couldn’t do anything to stop what those students did, but we can do something more to make sure it doesn’t happen again: by saying no to hate. We are 40% international students, and domestically hail from almost every state, but the way that our community has handled this situation abounds any state or international lines and makes me proud to call it #myBabson at home and abroad.