Be the Change: The role of student protest in a QUB education.
By Abi Connolly McGreevy
‘We were born into an unjust system; we are not prepared to grow old in it’ – Bernadette Devlin.
This International Women’s Month, it’s hard to ignore the grim realities of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland. With 41 femicides since 2017, it is easy to feel like nothing is changing. You might feel powerless. You might see yourself as just one student against a world of uncertainty and instability. Yet, we cannot give up. We must not forget the power and necessity of student protest. Change has been inspired by QUB students before, and it will be again.
A historical connection to today
I urge you to look back on students who came before us. Protest is intertwined into the DNA of QUB. The reorganisation of QUB in 1908 saw a massive increase in female students, leading to the organisation of Women’s Suffrage meetings in December 1913. Female activists, like Nell McCaffery and Bernadette Devlin, who boldly challenged the status quo of women’s rights and civil rights in the 1960s walked across the quad before us. Fossil Free QUB fought a 2-year campaign to secure the university’s complete disinvestment from fossil fuels. Protest has provided QUB students a voice for over a century. Protest gives us an ability to share our perspectives with a world we think has forgotten to listen. If you ever feel too small to be heard or make a change, remember these students who attended the very institution you stand in today.
Being a student does not mean being silent
Protest is inseparable from education. Classrooms and lectures do not constitute our university education alone. Our education extends itself into every aspect of our being, informing our understanding and interaction with the world around us. Protest might very well be the liveliest part of such an education. It allows us to expand our worldview, guided by the experiences of others. It is a source of inspiration.
What can you do to help
So, make your voice heard. Join a society, or a teach-in. Create a space you believe the university needs. In QUB, there are so many outlets for your voice; opportunities for your issues, concerns and causes in your heart to be heard. Whether it be like what I’m doing right now; and writing and publishing my opinion; or be it attending talks or asking questions, or even sending emails and contacting people! If you feel there is something wrong, the chances are someone else feels the same way! Don’t be afraid for what might happen; be afraid for what won’t if you do not speak out about what matters to you. Together, we can bring real meaning to this International Women’s Month. Change starts with us.
