This week, the “Feminists of Trinity” online campaign, launched by the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union’s Gender Equality Committee, has propelled itself into Facebook feeds across the country. With the aim of starting a conversation and dispelling myths about the feminist movement, the “Humans of New York”-style campaign has been very successful, with its most successful post accumulating a reach of over 99,000 people.
While many reject the potential for students’ unions to effect real change, this campaign demonstrates that if a small group of students get together to execute a well-planned campaign with an important message, people will listen and engage.
Featuring prominent members of student societies and clubs, producing consistent and regular content throughout the week and delivering a coherent message, it is clear why this campaign has garnered so much attention online. Through its strong online presence, the campaign has inevitably reached far beyond the liberal bubble of Trinity, opening a conversation with a wider online community and shedding a light for the public on an issue that students feel strongly about. Although the comments section features some negative and cynical remarks, this has sparked a constructive and healthy debate and the response overall has been overwhelmingly positive.
In the wake of the success of the marriage equality campaign, it’s time for us to realise what a small team of dedicated students can achieve. As the oft-quoted Margaret Mead has pointed out, not only should we not doubt the ability of a small group of thoughtful and committed people to change the world, but we should realise that it is the only thing that ever has.
Already this year, we have seen an impressive campaign from Fossil Free TCD who have managed to gather over 1,000 signatures on petitions, 80 of which are from public figures such as Noam Chomsky, David McWilliams and Fr Peter McVerry – calling on Trinity to divest from €6 million in fossil fuel-related assets.
Whether your goal is to start a difficult conversation about a controversial issue or to achieve a specific goal such as fossil fuel divestment, student-led campaigns can go a long way towards getting a message out in the open. Students need to capitalise on this potential and keep the momentum of these powerful campaigns going in the future.
