16 Opinions
3 may 2022
opinions Red & Black
Letter To The Editor: Petitions & Power Kevin Carriere, MPP, PhD W&J assisstant professor of psychology
Petitions when well organized build POWER. If you’re thinking about starting a petition, use this quick mnemonic device to ensure that you are utilizing your POWER appropriately “to cultivate the active participation of community members in decision-making to ensure the success of the College” -- to make change.
Petitions are Personal You, dear reader, are an identifiable member of the
Washington & Jefferson Community. Anonymous, we falter. “Together, we thrive”. We need real names on petitions (with graduation years) to be sure that the petition is not a movement concocted by internet trolls. Connected with this, petitions are best delivered personally. 1. Handing over a nicely typeset letter with fifty signatories in person, filming you and your group’s march across campus live on Instagram will always be more impactful than to have some weblink to pass around. 2. You can ignore a link. 3. You cannot ignore someone in front of you. Petitions build you power.
Petitions are On Target and On Message
do I not have any power over the bird, but we are also now all much more interested in the A good petition identifies bird than the difficulty of my not just the receiver, but also class. You’ve lost your audience who has the power to make and your message. Petitions that change. To lobby your build you power. psychology professor to move the exam deadline, you do not Petitions are Well Cited go to your history professor. If you are going to make any Once we’ve identified who is claim, never mind multiple receiving your petition, you serious and defamatory claims, want to focus your efforts on each claim needs to be justified clear, targeted grievances.4 If with citations. National you want to complain that my statistics, stories from the class has increased in difficulty Red and Black, peer reviewed every week, do not also talk research, think tanks, examples about the rainbow bird outside from peer institutions, motions your window that wakes you from the Student Government up in the morning. Not only Association, words on our
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