Why are Imperial students so apathetic about politics?

The students of Imperial are, in my experience, greatly lacking in their enthusiasm for political and social issues when compared to their contemporaries at other institutions. While it might be true that there is growing resentment and disillusionment among students towards the political class, this does not excuse the alarming lack of visible activism and demonstration across campus.

This might seem strange for a university that prides itself in having the largest election turnout in England & Wales, but it is the logical conclusion for a student population that is more interested in becoming part of the establishment than making the world a better place.

Sustaining pressure on the government and other bodies (including college) is incredibly important. Our involvement and engagement in politics must extend beyond voting in general and local elections. We vote politicians into power, and rely on leaders who continually break their promises. In the past, we have seen that students are often the most vulnerable to such shameless reversals of policy, and yet now we are almost silent. Have we been so demoralised by the failure of students in the past to overcome an increase in tuition fees that we have given up? Thousands are still fighting back at universities across the country, so why aren’t we among them? Imperial and its students live in a bubble.

It would be unfair not to highlight the good work that many students contribute to through the student union and its many societies. Huge amounts of volunteering and fundraising take place throughout the year, and last year alone students managed raise over £100,000 for charity. To be fully effective, this needs to be done alongside concerted efforts to lobby government or other appropriate institutions. Changing policy is the ultimate solution; anything else merely solves the problem in the short term.

While the Union must remain non-partisan, it will campaign on issues that are brought forward to Union Council. A list of the policies that have passed Council is available online and some of these are very progressive, but in the past, very few have been publicised to the extent necessary to encourage student participation in these specific causes.

There is obviously some appetite for mass protest at Imperial and we have seen this in the recent action against the proposed changes to junior doctor contracts. This passion needs to continue and spread to other causes, ones which not only affect us as students, but also those which affect the weakest in society.

There are members of our elected union who do care enough to get involved in political action. The Deputy President of Welfare and this year’s Campaigns Officer are both attending the upcoming National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts demonstration on the 4th of November. Similarly, our Union President is an avid elephant activist and I hope she can extend this enthusiasm to the thousands of students she represents. If the leader of the Labour party can take time out to show solidarity with student activists surely our president can too.

The Union’s communication is ultimately its downfall; with so many passionate students representing us, it’s a shame that their voices are never loud enough. While the NUS may be a controversial institution, their promotion and defence of the rights of students is often heard on a national level.

Why is it that our students are less interested in bottom-up politics than those at other universities? It is possible that the multiple failed campaigns of the Union in the past, including their failure to stop the closure of Weeks and Garden Halls, have fostered a sense of powerlessness among students. Of course, in most of these cases it’s the College which is completely at fault, but, our union could do more to become a dissenting voice.

General apathy could also be as a result of the large percentage of foreign students studying at Imperial. I would be afraid of protesting in a country that wasn’t my own, but when the government is attempting to place counter-intuitive restrictions on foreign students, they must stand with us. However, there are other universities where a similarly large proportion of the student population is from abroad and some of these are well known for their activism.

As a university specialising in science and technology, students are more familiar working with fact and analysis than they are with opinions. It seems as if most students are just coming to Imperial in the hope that they will one day work for the banks and large corporations that are the cause all of our problems. They would rather join the powerful than work on the side of the exploited.

When a very large amount of opportunities that are available to students are at companies with no discernible benefit to society, it is easy to understand why so few of us at Imperial are willing to stand up to injustice. The College and careers services should do more to attract companies that have a positive impact on the world, and they should encourage students to create startups that actually solve real problems, rather than build companies around interesting technological advancements. Only when students start to see others around them contributing are they likely to want to help.

For me, this is the very first step in acknowledging my own failure to act. It’s time for you and I to get involved. This is my impassioned call to arms: protest, occupy and overcome the insurmountable. Find a cause and make a difference; there is no better time than at university to make your voice heard.