Ohio University Student Union has changed the life of Ryan Powers and he hopes to continue his activism when he graduates.
Ryan Powers is feeling the burden of student debt. And he knows this burden will affect him for his entire life.
“It made me feel like a part of my freedom and my autonomy was being taken away from me, and would be for a long time,” Powers, a junior studying philosophy, said.
That’s when he discovered the Ohio University Student Union his freshman year.
He was already politically inclined before he came to OU but had never had an outlet to participate in activism, he said.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="624f5f78-735d-11e5-a8c6-c323c75d8bfd"}}
“When I heard about this group called the Student Union, who was actually trying to do something about the rising cost of tuition, and actually values students’ experiences and values what kind of a role a student can play in their own education … I was immediately drawn to that,” he said.
OU Student Union has completely changed Powers’ worldview, he said. The group has made him more conscious of how his life is affected by wider systems and the institutions he interacts with, he said.
“It’s made me aware of the relationships I have with other people, the power dynamics between myself and administrators, between myself and police officers,” Powers said.
Campus activism hasn’t just given Powers experience with OU Student Union, but also other groups at OU. Student Union gives these groups a reason to come together, he said, whether it’s Black Lives Action Coalition, F--kRapeCulture or Sierra Student Coalition.
“All of these groups, the reason they have formed is because they’re reacting to an actual existing form of oppression,” Powers said. “They are trying to combat those forms of oppression to try and free themselves and not feel burdened or weighed down. … All of us have that in common.”
Liberation, Powers said, is the ultimate goal of all political activism on campus and in the OU Student Union.
Powers said his main goals for OU Student Union are to force the university to adopt anti-racist policies, force the university to meaningfully address rape culture and to see the university recognize the right of all student workers to unionize.
“We need to make the university uncomfortable,” Powers said. “Ultimately, I want to see ... every single person who works at this university — be it students, faculty or staff — I want to see them all treated fairly and with respect amongst each other and by the university structure.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7ea75956-7384-11e5-ae0e-1fd8dcb35000"}}
In terms of what Powers will take with him from OU Student Union and campus activism after he graduates and leaves OU, activism will not be left behind as a college phase. Powers said once a person begins to attain the knowledge and ideals he has, it’s impossible to go back.
“Once you decide that the vision of a democratic society is both possible and desirable … you’re either fighting oppression or you’re letting oppression continue to exist, it is morally impossible for me to not continue being an activist after I graduate,” he said. “Activism shouldn’t just be a college thing.”
When asked what Powers would say to people who are afraid of getting involved in campus activism, he said for them to ask themselves: “Why are they afraid of affecting change? Why are they afraid of voicing their concerns? Why are they afraid of confronting the actual systems and structures and people who are limiting their life?”
@taymaple
tm255312@ohio.edu
