USD Magazine, Fall 1992

ALCALA A . Faculty to Students: .

ACTIVE' treatment of animals. She also recy– cles and buys products in bulk to save on packaging. "Activism can be a part of every day life," Perry says. "It can be as simple as what we eat or the prod– ucts we choose to buy." Greg Harkless, vice president of USD's Conservation Club and edi– tor of The Vista, says another form of activism can be as simple as writ– ing a letter to the editor. "I see activism as standing up for what you know is right, even when others tell you it isn't," he says. Visual arts assistant professor John Halaka uses visual means to promote activism. Since 1987, the native Egyptian has painted a series of works serving as an homage to Palestinians. The artist says his work is successful if the visualiza– tions motivate others to learn more about the Palestinian issue and racism against Arab-Americans. Two other forum speakers said they had never thought of them– selves as activists before. Economics professor Joan Anderson, active in Habitat for Humanity and several South American peace groups, and Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences Betsy Winters, a community volun– teer since junior high school, say people with strong convictions can make a difference. "I don't believe a person makes a commitment to become an activist," Winters says. "The commitment is to say, 'Yes, I can do something to change my little corner.

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During the 1960s, U.S. college campuses were rife with sit-ins, marches and rallies. But, as the old song says, the times they are a'changing. Now, instead of seeking ways to stifle activism, campus leaders nationwide are trying to stimulate involvement among students per– ceived by many as apathetic. Students attending a USD forum early this fall came away with the realization that activism isn't just protest marches, it's a way of life that extends from the foods one eats to the products one buys. The forum, sponsored by Associ ated Students and the Social Issues Committee, was designed to help students redefine existing behaviors as a form of activism. Faculty, staff members and students spoke about their own roles as activists-roles ranging from choosing a vegetarian diet to spending six months in a Caribbean jail. Father Orlando Espin' s body still bears the scars suffered at the hands of Dominican prison guards. Like many college students of the '60s, Father Espfn, associate professor of religious studies, rebelled against his family's values. But as the product of an atheist/agnostic Hispanic mid– dle-class family, his route was differ– ent from most-he entered seminary. During six years at a mission near the north-central Haiti-Dominican Republic border, Father Espfn felt he had been transported to another planet. There, in the poorest spot in the Western Hemisphere, three life– altering experiences changed forever his view of activism.

First, a 2-year-old girl died in his arms from hunger as he raced toward a hospital; next, three fami– lies asked him to take their children because they couldn't afford to feed them (he ended up adopting three sons); and, finally, he got in trouble with the Dominican army during a coup and "disappeared" for six months. Father Espfn found Christianity there and decided to study theology as a way to explain why bad things

Orlando Espin

happen to good people. Now, he uses his training to help AIDS patients, among others. Activism doesn't have to be that dramatic. Although forum modera– tor Linda Perry has a photograph of herself being arrested during a protest to help Native Americans regain control of their land, she says most activism is on a smaller, every– day scale. The associate professor of commu– nication studies became a vegetari– an, for example, to help protect rain forests and topsoil and to protest the

---Dianne Ludlam