Political activism is a reality here. The protests in Washington, D.C. this past weekend came on the heels of the sit-in at the Office of Admission, showing that students are affecting change both inside and outside the Wesleyan bubble.

Nearly 10 percent of the student body trekked some 350 miles to Washington to protest the IMF and World Bank. Wesleyan very likely had the largest presence in terms of sheer numbers–outside, perhaps, of Washington DC universities–of any college in the nation.

Many of Wesleyan’s leaders in the Washington protests–Jean Friedman-Rudovsky ’02, Jen Barkan ’02 and Abe Walker ’03, for example–are underclassmen. These individuals will likely continue leading the campus activist community in the next few years.

Wesleyan students have acquired a head start by informing themselves of and taking an interest in the issue of globalization. Regardless of our individual political views on it, globalization is clearly becoming a major issue facing our generation. This weekend of protests can and should be seen as a beginning, rather than an end.

New faces and issues are emerging, and we are growing accustomed to making our voices heard again. Activism, in short, is returning to Wesleyan.