{"id":112375,"date":"2017-09-29T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?p=112375"},"modified":"2020-09-17T10:24:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T14:24:47","slug":"what-it-means-to-be-an-activist","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2017\/what-it-means-to-be-an-activist\/","title":{"rendered":"What It Means to Be an Activist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 29, 2017<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\"thumbnail-kaepernick-kneeling\"A student in my class recently told me that the problem with the way the government operates today is\u2014wait for it\u2014 \u201cold people.\u201d If old people would just get out of the way and let young people come in and run the thing, he surmised, everything would be so much better. <\/span><\/p>\n

Admittedly it was a bit of a shock to hear this, especially since I am a person of a certain age. But I understood the sentiment. There is impatience and a desire to change things these days, felt by young and old alike. And the list of what we as public health professionals want to change is especially long. We want adequate health insurance for all; universal and affordable access to healthful foods; appropriate sex education programs for school-age students; and so much more. Like the student in my class, we all possess a fire in our bellies for change.\"think-teach-do(red)-icon-200x200\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In <\/span>a previous Dean\u2019s Note<\/span><\/a>, Dean Sandro Galea and I discussed how an activist role\u2014i.e. one that aims to bring about foundational change\u2014is unavoidable if one aspires to promote the production of population health. Advocacy, then, is a critical component of the public health discipline. <\/span>This is one of the reasons why we\u2019ve made advocacy training a priority not only for the <\/span>Activist Lab<\/span><\/a>, but also for the curriculum at SPH. We want to teach our students relevant skills that are eminently transferable to both their careers and their personal goals. And we aim to prepare them to be a positive influence in whatever challenging situation they themselves may face in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective advocacy includes understanding a problem, disseminating how best to engage others in the problem, utilizing appropriate strategies to get attention, and communicating effectively. These are the basic skills, but it all starts with a problem you want to fix and a desire to see change occur. Combining a passion for change with the appropriate actions, we can advocate for improved conditions in many arenas.<\/p>\n

It is important to acknowledge that activism looks different for different people. For some, like the participants in the Washington, DC, <\/span>Women\u2019s March<\/span><\/a>, this may mean attending rallies and organizing awareness campaigns. For others, like the parents from Sandy Hook, this may mean traveling to the nation’s capital just a month after the shooting massacre\u00a0to\u00a0talk\u00a0with\u00a0legislators about\u00a0common-sense gun safety<\/a>. In the instance of NFL football players, it may mean taking a knee during the National Anthem<\/a> to protest racism and police brutality. So, acknowledge what puts the fire in your belly, own what you want to change, and start chipping away at it in the way that makes sense to you. The possibilities are endless, as is your capacity to create a positive, sustainable difference in this world.<\/span><\/p>\n

My student wrote me a few days after he made his \u201cold people\u201d comment to say he had come to the realization that many people, young and old, have been and will continue to be involved with making improvements in health conditions around the world. He also acknowledged that he still has a lot to learn. I agree. And when it comes to understanding world problems, finding appropriate solutions, and joining with others to advocate for change, so do I. Fortunately, I think we are both on the right track. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

October is Activist Month at SPH. Learn about the activities planned, and tell your own stories via social media as you #Act4Change.<\/em><\/p>\n

Harold Cox<\/span><\/a> is associate dean of public health practice and associate dean of community health sciences. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advocacy is a critical component of the public health discipline. As Activist Month at SPH begins, we ask: How best to effect change? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7174,"featured_media":112431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[2433,2537],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3517,3518,3543],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/112375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112375"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/112375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173742,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/112375\/revisions\/173742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=112375"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=112375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}