How organizers on campus define their workâand themselves.
"I just won't feel like I can do anything as a person if I'm not working against the system that I know is actively waging war against myself and my communities. I would just feel futile. It's like punching at air." - Jessica Ogwumike
"People think activism is this very sexy thing, but it's really not. It's just talking to people, building relationships and getting people to see that they have power ... It's going to meetings and trying to struggle together. Making sure that no one is being left behind." - Seri Lee
"I'm just going to do this because it's what's right. I don't need to talk about politics to be an activist. I can be political in my action and be bold." - Tamara Kissoon
"I think it means doing what you know is right. Even if it's hard or even if it makes you uncomfortable or puts you in a position of questioning how you're hurting other people. I think it should boil down to uplifting the most oppressed people." - Eliza Gonring
"Activism means being in community with people. Sharing the same vision of the world that you do. To me, it's really about giving up privilege. Also empathy and a praxis of love and forgiveness and solidarity building and always being intersectional and not just in a buzzword way." - Sharmain Siddiqui
"Because like at the end of the day, it's about the love that you have for your people, and obviously, it can be a lot of energy and labor when it's added on to academics and other things ... [but] it's through doing this that I've been able to find a lot of happiness." - Isabella Ko
"These are my communities. These are the people who support me and see me. These are the people who make me feel most powerful." - Jessica Ogwumike (not pictured)