Because most NIU students aren’t as active as they were in the 1960s, some NIU professors believe today’s college students should be more actively involved in important issues.

NIU philosophy professor and Earth First coordinator Sherman Stanage said student activism has gone down during the 24 years he has been at NIU.

“It (college) should be a time when a student is able to find their own identity and get their voice heard,” he said.

Stanage also said there is no comparison to the activism of today compared to thirty years ago. He added that the student activists of the Vietnam era will be better remembered than the activists during the recent Persian Gulf War.

Charles Cappell, an NIU sociology professor, said that although student activism has decreased, the level of volunteerism has seen an increase in recent years.

Because more students are working in order to go to college, the decreasing number of student activists could be a result of simply a lack of time to actually protest, Cappell said.

Although it might not be considered activism, Cappell said the NIU greek organizations and the student government have always been known for their continual involvement.

NIU sociology professor Eleanor Godfrey said the most noticeable student activism with today’s students concerns the environment. However, Godfrey feels more students should get involved in these issues.

“I would hope that students become more involved than they were in the 1980’s,” Godfrey said.

Sociology professor Robert Suchner said a big event was the development of the peace corps, because it gave students the chance to become involved in the national government and opened doors for student activists.