MLK Day gave me hope. Even as our group entered the breakout room, we were fiercely debating whether hate speech should be legal. “Only if flawed logics are exposed can it be rooted out.” “But what if some believe it and do bad things?” This polemic impetus drove the conversation as we dealt across topics of historical reparation to the Academy’s hypocrisies. Deerfield students, ignorant and apathetic as we may seem, do actually care about the world. We just need a primer to start synthesis.
These are exciting times. Student writers are palpably alarmed by our lack of knowledge and discussion on political issues; the Scrawl is increasingly inquisitive while Scroll op-eds serially rally for political literacy and involvement—mentalities crucial for a republic’s citizens. Beyond the individual spirit of inquiry, clubs and publications should take initiative to drive our renaissance.
Clubs could be great promoters of thought as they let students spontaneously meet and share ideas. Philosophy Club meetings always leave me pensive after hearing something marvelously heinous or fantastically provoking. However, especially compared to alliances, they could be more aware of contemporary issues. Like Asian Student Alliance’s talks on the white paper incidents and Deerfield Men of Color’s race dialogues, bodies like the Philosophy Club and Debate Club could organize meetings tangent to current events and national debates. Others, like Computer Science Club and Science Club, could cover recent innovations like the sickle cell CRISPR cure. Once students hear of a topic and see peer interest, they’re more likely to examine and ponder it individually. Awareness inspires interest, and interest burgeons knowledge.
Student publications hold even more potential to inspire civic engagement, because they’re wide distributors of ideas and events. In Deerfield, the Scroll and Scrawl seem best suited.
The Scroll’s main avenues are op-eds and news. While the paper’s local news remains valuable windows to Pocumtuck life, its global news will likely be a sparker of individual interest rather than an extensive source. We can’t expect young reporters in a Massachusetts valley to cover Ukrainian events immaculately or be more accurate than major news outlets. Meanwhile, student op-eds are candidly accepted, administration interests withstanding, and often stir chatter amongst students. In these respects, the Scroll is well developed in its capacity to promote discussion and awareness. However, the Scrawl’s potential to foster student thought is largely unexcavated. From Aristophanes to the Onion, satire has always been a potent vehicle of politics because it paints unconventional perspectives on mundanities, leaving readers thinking, “Woah, I haven’t thought about it that way before.” The past two Scrawl issues do not maximize this potential with their reserve to campus squabbles. Worst of all, they’re sometimes not very funny.
The articles often concern social issues, like Deerfield’s avian diet, theft epidemic, and phone use, but they could be more ambitious. The Scrawl should interact more with current events and policy, questioning existing policies and social institutions. Satire accomplishes such thought comedically by exposing falsehoods and contradictions in the world— like Martin Luther King revealing the paradoxically “free” yet racist America—that make society unjust and ridiculous. Embracing satire’s political nature would stimulate student thought and raise interest in the paper as readers become more aware of its value. It is a herculean task, and there is a difficult line between political satire and flippant burlesque, but its success will be an immense boon for the whole community.
Am I “politicizing everything?” Sure, because politics is fundamentally the question of “how should the world be?” and “how do we get there?” These are worthy and important queries. So important that we have shrouded them in a stigma of polemic and controversy. But, they are controversial because they need to be controverted. Citizen involvement and knowledge is the basis of democracy. Even for non-citizen students, insight into the world is undeniably salubrious.
Deerfield life sweeps us over with clubs and assignments all jousting for time, and the rest of our attention is usurped by digital procrastination. The world beyond becomes passing headlines; languor sinks us into torpor.
We don’t talk about political matters enough, but we do care. Clubs and publications introducing students to global issues will pique individual interest and foster growth through dialectic. These student initiatives could be even more effective than administrative change, as seeing our fellows caring about things ignites interest better than top-down edification. Classroom interludes like History & Social Science Teachers Ms. Rivellino-Lyons and Mr. Lim’s news titbits are valuable, but they are limited bites into the already jammed curriculum.
Of course, political topics are nuanced enough to require whole courses to begin understanding. Club dialogues cannot fully encapsulate them, and full insight comes from individual interest and research. As the Scroll’s Associate Editor Chloe Xue ’25 wrote in a recent op-ed, our knowledge is all too ephemeral. However, clubs will be valuable for students to first hear and become aware of an issue, see its importance, and engage in more thorough citizenship. While publications provide outlets for us to delineate and exchange ideas. These initiatives are limited as sources of erudition, but valuable as a springboard to inspire inquiries. For those interested, the library has great databases like Columbia International Affairs Online and Country Watch, while subscriptions to newsletters like Wall Street Breakfast could also let you receive glimpses of current events.
To inspire such interest and lead Deerfield students in political concern, clubs and publications should further engage with global issues. They could be engines for spontaneous thought and developing the curiosity and knowledge crucial to citizenship. It is time to fulfill these potentials. Freedom is difficult. Without effort, it is surrender.