By Sharif Nankoe '99

On September 25 Harry Wu — the well-known and respected human rights crusader — came to Ithaca College to discuss human rights violations in China and his personal experience as a political prisoner in the Chinese laogai (labor prisons). To all that attended his keynote speech during Professionals Symposium weekend, Wu brought awareness of human rights problems in China. Yet for a number of us, Wu’s speech — as well as his presence — did something more: they electrified the issue of political action on campus.

The College was very fortunate to host Wu; the founder and executive director of the Laogai Research Foundation, he is constantly on the lecture circuit. This man has literally been threatened, beaten, tortured, and starved, yet he refuses to even contemplate giving up his fight against human rights violations. Despite having spent 19 years incarcerated in the Chinese labor and reform system, he has continued to risk his life by returning to China to document human rights atrocities. During one of his visits Wu was arrested and found guilty of stealing state secrets, sentenced to 15 years in prison, and then expelled from the country with the stipulation that if he ever returns to his home- land, he will serve that sentence. It is amazing that a person who has endured so much continues to be such a major force for change.

With that in mind, a group of student leaders met to contemplate his cause and to discuss the lack of political action on the Ithaca College campus. The general silence characterizing the student body at Ithaca College, we agreed, is both alarming and unacceptable. The only thing we seem to get excited about is Fountain Day.

No matter what their political affiliation, many people will agree that we live in a world marred by problems — poverty, environmental degradation, the lack of adequate health care, to name a few. So why do we never hear students debating or raising concerns on our campus? Does the lack of debate mean that my fellow students believe the world is a perfect place? Or perhaps they are so caught up in personal affairs that they can ignore their discomfort with an imperfect world? I do wonder, like some of the other campus leaders, what it will take to mobilize my generation. Activism is a good and healthy endeavor, and college students are supposed to be a major force in stimulating political and social change.

Harry Wu’s passionate speech and visit made me think more about the problem of fostering political activism at Ithaca College. Certainly Wu must be facing the same dilemma as the campus leaders. After all, the issue of human rights violations in China isn’t exactly a hot item in the news these days. I then reflected on Wu’s method, which is to nurture a dialogue on human rights, thereby directing people’s attention to the issue. And I thought that perhaps our problem of political apathy on campus can combated using Wu’s technique.

Ithaca College needs a proper forum for sustained debate, at which students can discuss topics ranging from campus issues to world affairs. With this goal in mind, several cam- pus leaders recently founded the Ithaca Political Action Committee, an organization that aims to serve as exactly that kind of forum. With connections to local activists and an enthusiastic leadership, IPAC looks very promising. I am hopeful that this organization will be effective in galvanizing the political activism that my campus so desperately needs. Thanks, Mr. Wu, for the inspiration.

Sharif Nankoe ’99 graduates in December with a double major in politics and history. Raised in the Netherlands, he is a leader of the Ithaca College Model United Nations team. This semester he has been the student intern at the Ithaca College Quarterly.

The photo shows human rights activist Harry Wu with Tibetan monks at the 1999 Professionals Symposium at Ithaca College.