“The Vagina Monologues” ended last week with a plea to stop violence against women worldwide. The closing line asked how it is possible to make the plights of others who are miles away seem real. They hit the nail on the head. Human beings have a duty to take care of each other. But the reality is it’s too easy to get caught up in everyday life here at TCU to the point that the problems of the world seem distant and surreal.The small, sparse student activism groups on campus have been working hard – mostly unnoticed – to change that. It’s time they received some credit from the student body and help with their cause. It’s in TCU’s mission statement, after all, “to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens.”

It’s well-known that grades and partying tend to take priority over most other issues during these four years – and why shouldn’t they? After all, it is college. But some students, in the midst of their beer and textbooks, are attempting to bring social injustices to light by leading organizations such as Frogs for Fair Trade, Hunger Week and The One Campaign.

These groups aren’t asking for much. No one is demanding you put your education on hold to join the Peace Corps and move to Bali for three years. Campaigns such as The One Campaign say just awareness of issues can help create change. One by one we can fight AIDS and poverty, The One Campaign, a Facebook group, says of its cause. And Frogs for Fair Trade has provided an easy, thoughtless way to make a difference. Instead of purchasing coffee that takes advantage of South American farmers, purchase the already-offered fair trade-certified coffee that promises to treat these farmers as human beings and pay them living wages.

The point of these student-led activist groups is not to demand all of our time and money but, instead, to ask for small changes that when added up make a world of difference.

Features editor Amber Parcher for the editorial board.