Political activism moves into digital age

ESCANABA - The future of political activism may be digital, and students at Bay College are no exception.

Mike Young, sociology instructor, said he talks with his students often about activism and social movements and how they are especially relevant during the current election year.

"When most people look at it, they they don't see a lot of (social movement or protesting) unless the authorities get involved. We don't see a lot of the peaceful movements because a small handful of companies control what we see (in the media)," said Young.

Young cited research on what people have to do to change society and mentioned resource mobilization - a theory that any time a protesting group wants to change something, the group that has the most resources is going to be noticed.

"There are lots of people out there with something to say. The problem is that they need a medium for people to see them and that's not happening," Young said.

This year, Young said he asked his students about the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and whether there had been protesters at either. Only a handful of students saw any sort of protesting, and they only thought it was at the Republican convention. In reality, there were thousands of protesters at each.

"What I realized at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, this time around technology was brought in as another resource for these groups that had something to say," said Young.

Because the mainstream media does not always cover protests, etc., people who want to stay informed have to go to other avenues, according to Young.

"Those other avenues have now become twitter, text messaging, online Web sites that display these things," said Young. Twitter is a new social networking and micro-blogging service, a way to stay connected. You can twitter on your cell phone.

As technology came into the mix at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, protesters would text message or twitter each other and tell each other what was going on - they took power by using new technology to monitor police.

"It's really become a whole new medium," said Young. "There used to be a time in this country when the media would address both sides fairly, and citizens would have an avenue to speak out. You don't see an NBC newsman chasing down protesters saying, 'What are you protesting about?' I think (modern-day) protesters realize that's gone now, so they take it into their own hands."

Young cited http://www.perspctv.com/#charts as an interesting site to check out if you are interested in more information on the election.

But what do students think about this year's election? And how will digital technology enter into the equation?

Bay College Political Science Instructor Molly Campbell said on a recent survey, a student wrote "IDK," which in text message-speak, stands for "I don't know." Campbell said she had to ask what the letters stood for because she doesn't text message, and most of her students were shocked that she even had to ask.

Kaylene Bigelow, a second-year student at Bay majoring in communication, said she and a group she is part of, the Young Democrats of Delta County, rely on digital means to convey their message.

The group uses both MySpace and a site called my.barackobama.com.

"(Internet Web sites) are used locally to get all of us together. What's really cool is you can post info on these things to get out the word on events you're hosting," said Bigelow. "The group that I am part of, the Young Democrats of Delta County, has been using things like MySpace to get together."

Bigelow said her group definitely uses the Internet and other digital technology quite a bit. It's a resource, she said, that especially helps reach younger people.

"It would definitely be more difficult (without the Internet), especially to reach younger people. (Just look at) how many people are on the Internet every day," said Bigelow. "(Maybe) you could reach them on TV, but how many times are you going to see Barack Obama or John McCain on MTV... or Nickelodeon? We have to reach them somehow."

Bigelow said there is no group of young Republicans in the area, and she actually hopes they form one.

"How the Internet has affected us, is information is travelling faster now and so people are more informed. But on the swing side of that you do have misinformation also because the internet is so free (of restrictions)," said Bigelow.

A recent mock election held at the college yielded results with a mostly Democratic sweep, which Bigelow said was surprising. For more information on the results please see the story on page 1A.