At the end of August, I came to Tufts as an incoming freshman and was extraordinarily pleased to see vibrant student activism at my new school. I saw signs for SLAM and thought that this group might be a good one to get involved with. If you were to ask me now, though, I would tell you that I would not associate myself with that group in a million years.
I, a na??ve freshman, write this viewpoint to the leaders of SLAM and all leaders of any cause who have not a clue about how to sell their cause to the general community.
I have tried to talk to members of SLAM about what they are advocating, in order to learn the specifics. I have done this several times, and I didn't get one explanation. I did, however, get the most defensive, militant arguments about their platform. I wasn't attacking, but it appeared to the SLAM advocates that I was.
The wording of their posters, the style of their advocacy, and even the emails they send out to those who are on their mailing list have the sense of either, "you're with us or you're against us."
This is a terrible tact when trying to reach out and gain community support. SLAM is not alone in this blunder of poor outreach skills. Take our sub-par president, George W. Bush for example. When he decided to start this military war against terrorism, he basically told the world that you are with him or against him.
Well, George W. Bush is clearly a moron. I don't like terrorists, and I would rather see a world in which they didn't exist, but I think bombing Afghanistan is a terribly stupid idea. So where does that leave me? I guess I am against Bush. And so, too, has SLAM alienated itself from the Tufts community.
People want liberty and people want to live in a just world. But SLAM has put itself on the fringes. We are taught to be cautious and mindful of radicals of any sort. The general population does not want to be associated with something "radical." The leaders of SLAM, however, don't understand this. They don't understand how to sell their product.
I basically agree with much of what they have to say. I think the cause is a noble one. Nevertheless, perception wins out over a reason. I, and I suspect many Tufts students, perceive this group to be one composed of irrational radicals, who are defensive and militant about their cause.
Perhaps some day the SLAM leadership will have an epiphany of some sort, and realize that their public relations is hurting a bit. Until then, I will stand back and watch, as a mere spectator, the actions of this group.
Eitan Hersh is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
