Recent Activism
Recent years have witnessed activism by student groups on the issues of the Iraq war, race, globalization, and women's reproductive rights.
In April 2002 about a hundred Wesleyan students gathered on The Mall in Washington, D.C. during a weekend of protests for an array of causes, including the Middle East crisis, and also to denounce lending policies of the World Bank. In February 2003 approximately 100 OWU students travelled to New York City to protest US actions in Iraq, with partial funding from the Wesleyan Chaplain's office.
During Ohio Wesleyan University Against the War on October 5 and November 17, 2004, more than one hundred students held peace rallies in front of Delaware's City Hall.
In 2004 the awarding of the Lilly Grant, "Vocation: Identity, Intellect, and Life Choices: A Move Toward Wholeness", and the prospect of the participation by Ohio Wesleyan in the Lilly Endowment program on vocation, evoked an intense and adverse response from a significant group of faculty members. An open letter signed by more than 40 faculty members questioned the appropriateness of the predominantly Christian focus of the grant.
On March 17, 2005, the Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA) and the College Democrats organized a protest on Sandusky Street in Delaware against racial injustice on campus and in the country. University president Mark Huddleston also participated in the protest. During his own college years, President Huddleston had mediated between protesters and administration, favoring classic liberal education over brick-throwers.
Academic pursuit and activism have found an intersection in the form of an annual event called The Sagan National Colloquium. Established in 1984, the SNC annually spotlights an issue of concern in the liberal arts — the impact of science on society, race and reality, censorship and power, and the role of globalization.
Read more about this topic: Activism At Ohio Wesleyan University