by SIERRA HAWTHORNE AND KAYLA BICKHAM
A LOOK INTO
VIRTUAL PROTESTING
Drafts
Their strategy was simple. Four students sat at lunch counter, asked for service and refused to leave after expecting to be denied. On Feb. 1, 1960, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond’s first attempt to execute their plan was recorded in Marvin Syke’s article, “Negro college students sit at Woolworth lunch counter.” However, their names continued to headline many articles to come as their journey continued.
Segregation in the 1960’s was prominent, but these black students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University were striving for more than a seat at the table. The Greensboro Four protested for six months until they were served justice.
Almost 60 years later, sit-ins, marches and boycotts now live alongside virtual protests. In August of 2018, Ball State University students’ accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook acted as the Greensboro Four’s seats at Woolworth. The University's decision to obtain their partnership with John Schnatter of Papa John’s after his use of the n-word sparked the need for a social media rally. Mostly comprised of minority students, the Black Student Association offered words of encouragement for its members. Each leader of the Student Government Association wrote a personal statement detailing their disappointment in the University’s initial stance. The University’s faculty and alumni trailed behind by retweeting students’ posts in agreement and drafting their own 140-character opinions.
During Ball State’s 2018 summer break, Twitter proved to be a fitting place to assemble in a time where off-campus students needed to come together. The students used social media as an opportunity to collectively evolve into social activists. Although organized marches and signed petitions continue to serve as the foundation for traditional protesting, social media rallies have emerged from its existence.
Sierra Hawthorne and Kayla Bickham are journalism students at Ball State University (Muncie, IN). Hawthorne and Bickham are studying a concentration in Magazine Media. To contact them, email Kayla at kbickham@bsu.edu/Sierra (slhawthorne@bsu.edu).
Editor: Kayla Bickham
Designer: Sierra Hawthorne
Copy Editor: M. Massé
Images: Twitter, Ball State Daily News, Associated Press (AP).
Tweet reactions to Ball State's Board of Trustees decision to keep ties with John Schnatter of Papa John's.
Slacktivism vs. Activism
“You have this notion that liking something or using a hashtag is activism, but it’s really only activism for slackers,” political science professor Brandon Waite said. He believes this is what activism looks like for those who do not want to put themselves at risk. To him, the nature of liking, sharing and following does not equate to possible isolation, physical abuse or jail time.
Waite has identified three main components to define successful activism; organized protests with a distinct leader whose participants are at risk eventually resulting in policy change. The absence of all three is what he clarifies as slacktivism.
Waite questions the impact of liking or sharing a post. He, too, has fallen victim to slacktivism. His 30 seconds of outrage get him to re-share Facebook posts before he is quickly distracted by cat videos on Youtube. “This gives people a false perception of political participation. They feel like they are doing something when they really aren’t,” he said. Participation, to him, is going to an organized march to the Capitol, calling a congressman, making a campaign donation or volunteering for the community.
Political Science Professor Brandon Waite maps out the three key elements of a true activist.
Video by Kayla Bickham
Activism requires 3 keys things. It requires risk,
hierarchical organization and a strategy. It's hard to really
make a difference without risking anything.
At Ball State, Brooke Keeylen has created the Women’s Empowerment Organization (W.E). A sexual assault survivor and advocate, she hopes that her own sexual assault story will help others tell theirs. Keeylen is the founder and president of W.E. that was created near the end of March 2018. Diana Cueto said her membership within organization allowed her to become more comfortable in telling her own story.
The expulsion of the Theta Chi fraternity on October 3 ignited Keeylen’s and Cueto’s voices. They responded by using Twitter to express their opinions and concerns. Keeylen and Cueto both feel as though their tweets were impactful because it allowed other victims who suffered similar experiences to share and communicate feelings they hadn’t disclosed before. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reported that ninety percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report their assaults. Keeylen spoke for those who felt silenced in a tweet that stated:
“To the multiple girls who suffered by the hands of a Theta Chi member and feeling guilty for speaking up because now they’re getting revoked and people are more worried about how the members feel and parties, thank you for speaking up. You deserve the justice. Don’t feel bad.”
They share a mutual feeling of a certain contentment towards the expulsion of the Theta Chi fraternity. Cueto said that the expulsion was “a good thing,” while Keelyen willingly broadcasted never being upset at their removal.
Cueto was aware that sexual assault cases were a problem on many campuses. In 2002, The NSVRC revealed false allegations of sexual assault in a study that 63.3 percent of men at one university self-reported acts that qualified as rape or attempted rape. However, she didn’t feel that blaming every member of every fraternity for the actions of individuals brought her closer to a resolution. Speaking openly about her truth is how she felt she was doing her part in bringing awareness to the issue.
The Risk of a Retweet
Although Waite believes the notion of liking a post is for people who do not want to put themselves at risk, Keeylen took a chance by putting herself at the forefront of an issue. Using her personal platform not only exposed her to victims of Theta Chi, but supporters of the fraternity too.
Like Keeylen, Tarana Burke was a survivor of sexual violence who began traveling to Philadelphia and Alabama in 1998 to share her experience. After inviting women to join her journey and tell their stories, they responded via social media. The Cut traces the use of her Me Too signature phrase on social media to October of 2017. Her community of uplifted women turned global movement has opened the door for users to make accusations and engross in drama.
Keeylen’s tweet produced nearly 200 retweets and over 1,000 likes. Not many followers commented on the original post, but a few found their way to her direct messages. Keeylen clarifies that her positive message to sexual assault survivors also attract some rather negative responses. Some followers accused Keeylen for making the fraternity “look bad” while others stood with her for publicizing her position.
Aside from Theta Chi members, other fraternities on the campus responded by putting banners up with information regarding consent. Cueto noticed the banners on the fraternity houses and didn’t believe it brought anyone closer to a resolution. “Just putting a banner up and telling people what consent is, that’s not making a change,” Cueto said. “I think more things need to be done.”
The Direct Message
Women’s Empowerment organized a silent march against sexual assault in April 2018. Members walked around the Bell Tower for two hours with their mouths hidden behind colored duct tape. Written on each hand-torn piece were messages such as “me too” or “my clothes don’t mean consent.” Each member endorsed the phrase they wore.
The fact that the organization addressed key issues, intrigued those students who walked by and followers that scrolled through the images online. Sexual assault, according to Keeylen, is a topic many people try to stay away from. Keeylen encourages the discussion of the tough topic off and online.
“What #MeToo allowed people to do was create community with these shared experiences,” Burke told The Cut in 2018. “You have a built-in group of people who automatically gets you, who automatically believes you, who automatically wants to hear you. That’s the wildfire of it.” Like Keelyen, Burke sees the significance of using social media to connect with others as a tool to spread a message.
Keelyen trusts that the possible push-back is worth it if the result is a collective understanding between the two parties. Her need to combat incomprehension regardless of the backlash that follows is her drive to continue to the conversations. Her goal is to spread her message even when others don’t want to receive it.
Waite believes that the W.E.’s efforts lacked impact. Despite its walk being organized and led by a leader, the march is insufficient. Sure, the message was spread, but there was no real risk or shifts that resulted. The W.E.’s attempt was just the first step toward real activism, but policy change is still necessary.
“We don’t get to restoring rights without first having the conversation,” Waite said. Sexual assault victim, Cueto, agrees. She believes her peers aren’t knowledgeable on certain topics such as the one she experiences firsthand. “It’s something at a deeper level and people that don’t go through it, don’t acknowledge it.” Cueto is certain that educating others welcomes change. The issue is not disagreement but unfamiliarity. Education through discussion sets the tone for real changes to be made.
Ball State's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter and other fraternities hung bedsheets with messages of consent in front of their houses Oct. 15, 2018.
(Photo: Stephanie Amador, DN)
At left, founders of W.E., Cheyenne Harris and Brooke Keeylen stand with W.E. member Kiara Brantley with different messages covering their mouths. At right, members of W.E. stand together with signs saying, "I Am Not A Victim, I Am A Survivor" and "I Love Consentual Sex." This sexual assault march was their first group event.
(Photo: Courtesy of Women's Empowerment Organization)
According to Professor Waite, hierarchical organization is one of the three key elements to a true activist. Without some form of organization and a leader -- it's difficult to maintain order. There needs to be someone in charge and other people to plan, set up and organize.
strategy
According to Professor Waite, a strategy is one of the three key elements of a true activist. W.E. organization had a strategy in mind to walk around the Ball State Bell Tower for hours with messages covering their mouths. According to Waite, the actions of W.E.'s march wasn't necessarily true activism, but a step toward a change.
hierarchical organization
Social Networks and Sit ins
Miles Wolff, author of “How It All Began: The Greensboro Sit-ins,” said about 300 University students joined the movement. Although these demonstrations were birthed in North Carolina, Wolff confirmed that they grew beyond the southern states. Originally rooted in Virginia and Tennessee, sit-ins appeared in Kentucky, Ohio and Nevada. “The movement was helped largely in part by sympathetic newspapers and TV coverage,” Jordan Hale reported on the North Carolina History website. Similar to retweeting the trending hashtag #PapaJohns on Twitter, the Greensboro sit-ins of the 1960s quickly traveled from state to state.
John Schnatter Timeline
A timeline of events during the John Schnatter incident from Aug. 3 to Aug. 16.
Black Student Assocation (BSA) propose a statement on Aug. 4.
Whether it be on Twitter or on foot in the streets, most of the time, movements are not in the hands of those who ignite them. According to Brandon Waite, the change is controlled by the people with money and not those who are protesting whether it be virtually or traditionally.
In her book, “Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins,” Carole Boston Weatherford offers a possible cause to policy change that mirrors Waite’s theory. The purpose of the sit-ins was to desegregate this public place of business but affected its profits in the process. Even though it is easy to believe that the Greensboro Four pushed for change, it is, in fact, the one third of dropped sales that pressured the Woolworth chain to integrate in July of 1960.
risk
According to Professor Waite, the risk that these demonstrators took, was one of the three key elements of a true activist. These demonstrators risked their lives to fight for change. As a result, Woolworth and other establishments changed their segregationist policies. Waite believes policy change is essential. Without a policy change, nothing is really resolved.
To right, on May 28, 1963, sit-in demonstration at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Jackson, Miss., turned violent when whites poured sugar, ketchup and mustard over the heads of demonstrators, from left, John Salter, Joan Trumpauer and Anne Moody.
(Photo: Fred Blackwell / Associated Press)
This same threat of monetary loss is what caught the attention of Ball State’s Board of Trustees regarding the “Papa John’s” issue. There is no evidence of a correlation between typed personal statements, viral tweets and publicly questioned mission statements and the removal of Schnatter’s name from the university. Waite believes it was the university donors’ promises to withhold further donations that pressured the board to break ties on Aug. 16, 2018.
“This is what happens when a community comes together, stands up and speaks up for what’s right,” said WCIU Reporter and Anchor Brandon Pope on Facebook. Like others within the Ball State and Muncie community, the journalism alumni board member’s efforts played a role in this change of policy. Their strategy was simple. Letters were written, editorials were published, meetings were held and posts were retweeted.