TCU challenges its students to be agents of change, conscientious citizens and motivated leaders. From the first day of Academic Orientation to the last walk toward a waiting diploma, the mission sums up the purpose of the university and the legacy it hopes to leave: “To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.”
The TCU student body appears to fulfill its purpose, with ever-higher academic prestige and the ubiquity of school spirit accelerating to the future. But there is more to do, far more. It took a semester abroad in Spain and following a mass student protest on Nov. 17 to figure out just what “more to do” means.
What are the keys to creating change? How did Spanish students mobilize thousands of classmates into the streets to demand secure funding and policies for their universities? If American collegians open the doors of perspective, commitment and community, the ability to etch an impact on the world will unfold.
With a national debt crisis even more dire than the one confronting the United States, Spain faces the imminent possibility of cuts to education, health and social support programs. Combined with a new constitutional amendment prohibiting large deficits, students recognized the threat posed to their education by reduced spending and a decline in quality. They responded accordingly.
Knowing how democracy functions, the students pulled together right before the Nov. 20 election date to present comprehensive criticisms and objectives and to make their voices heard. What gave them success was perspective, which is the ability to identify and predict the outcomes of the need for change. The beginning must always entail the search for what must be fixed.
Student organizations are unhappily familiar with the word retention. Keeping members and participants interested in the message and activities of a group over time requires force of appeal. The Spanish succeeded brilliantly, with recruiting, motivation and excitement brimming in the days leading up to, and continuing throughout, the student protest. The passion of participants was evident in their signs, songs and cheers.
It is the responsibility of the individual to see a desire for change from beginning to end and to display a commitment admired by friends, colleagues and employers in the face of any need. To see a problem is one thing; to encourage others to respond and watch with interest is another. A plan of action is the critical step to progress.
An ocean of possibility becomes one of probability when a plan of action meets a friend. To share in work toward a common outcome is an incredible multiplication of effect. Spanish students collected into groups of friends, clubs and political affiliations to express their agenda at the protest.
Margaret Mead’s familiar quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world,” has its proof above. The potential to change the world lies in each member of the TCU community, starting with the earnest words: “more to do, far more.”
Pearce Edwards is a junior political science and history double major from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
