Performative activism distracts from real issues

Slactivism pervades political discussion, creating outrage but hindering true change

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021

Met Gala dress exemplifies how individuals use performative activism to gain social capital rather than actively promote change.

Performative activism typically entails fruitless and pointless actions from celebrities and influencers that take away from the voices of people with less social or political influence and overshadow their initiatives. This type of activism puts on a façade for people to show that they care about an issue but does nothing to actively aid the cause.

As the youngest female member of Congress, AOC has increased her popularity through her active social media presence, serving as a voice for the younger generation. A politician turned influencer, AOC has a total of 8.7 million followers on Instagram and regularly uses her platform to inform followers on policy changes she’s working on implementing.

While AOC does use her platform to promote awareness and is a figure who doesn’t just talk the talk, there is a sense of irony in her wearing a white dress with the statement “Tax the Rich” streaked on it.

AOC’s political viewpoints rally against elitism, yet she’s gaining social clout from her statement dress at the Met Gala—an event revolving around elitist celebrities. The issue isn’t solely her interaction with celebrities but specifically her voluntary affiliation with rich public figures such as Lauryn Hill—who has a history and means of avoiding taxation—all while wearing that dress. It’s ironic that political opponent Ben Shapiro could take the high ground here, stating on Twitter, “Actual revolutionaries eat the rich. They don’t eat cake with the rich, then declare their virtue by wearing a shirt saying ‘eat the rich.’” AOC’s dress was on display for elitists who will continue to do nothing to support progressive tax reform.

While people can argue that her remark raised awareness, the statement only further publicized the Met Gala as tax reform took a back seat to celebrity fashion choices.

Performative activism isn’t only seen through the actions of celebrities and public figures but regular people as well. A prominent example is when people posted black squares on social media to “support” the Black Lives Matter movement.

While it is important to raise awareness, it is perhaps more important to participate in activism that directly benefits the cause. Instead of reposting black squares, some better alternatives would have been to support AfricanAmerican-owned businesses, get educated about systemic racism throughout our nation’s history or join a protest. Another example of performative activism is when businesses use pride and LGBTQ+ history months to make a profit. Popular companies often use this month of October to market rainbow-colored products and draw more attention to their brands rather than raise awareness for the cause. Adidas promotes who wish to remain at home.

The administration has already done its part: in-person courses can operate at full density. Faculty should now focus their efforts on creating a flexible instructional plan for the remainder of this semester that allows for and even recommends fully in-person attendance but does not mandate it. Like the implementation of de-densification—which was, from the outset, a suggestion rather than a policy—this judgment will have to be discretionary; the semester is too far gone for one-size-fits-all uniformity. And ultimately, the burden will fall to the students to respect these policies and capitalize on the benefits of in-person learning, all while ensuring that pandemic best practices are maintained. It’s time for Comets to re-learn how to learn.

Beautiful space comic embodies creative spirit

Wandering Star is so much more than a different take on intergalactic warfare and the space opera genre faces the rude awakening that Earth and its inhabitants aren’t well-regarded by other galactic species. She faces discrimination and bullying for her humanity but is eventually able to befriend the other outcasts, who later become the supporting cast and key characters that help in winning the war against the Bono Kiro. a Pride Collection each year with rainbow-colored apparel but doesn’t do anything to actually benefit the LGBTQ+ community. Instead of focusing on how to increase profit, companies could increase diversity training within their workplace or donate a portion of their profit to LGBTQ+ institutions.

“Wandering Star” by Teri Sue Wood centers around Cassandra, a big deal space-war hero. But Wood’s visuals, themes and opening scene make it immediately clear that this series is no generic war hero’s narrative.

The series starts with Cassandra being interviewed about her time fighting the main antagonists of her galactic universe—the Bono Kiro—after they make a sudden reappearance. From the outset, we see our protagonist depicted as a tired, cynical, older woman who recounts fighting in a war in her youth without any traces of patriotism or pride. She’s a major contrast from the usual headstrong and optimistic protagonist that dominates the sci-fi and coming-of-age genres.

This framework makes her recollection feel intimate and real, but it also sets the stage for Wood’s worldbuilding, allowing the comic to emphasize a war of truly galactic proportions – not just the standard two-species conflict. That, in turn, prevents the series from falling into the trap of having humans come in as the allied third party to help out the good side and save the day, enabling the comic to capture the complexity of war from all sides.

Speaking of the Bono Kiro, while they are universally accepted as the bad guys, the author does a good job of portraying them as dangerous and smart enemies. Wood depicts them as brutal but calculating, and their leader is always calm, collected and diplomatic. That cunning is on full display in an arc where their leader takes advantage of Cassandra's father’s desperation to find a solution to Earth's problems. By portraying themselves as a necessary evil, the Bono Kiro entice her father into an alliance, despite his daughter’s affiliation with the Galactic Academy.

Some may argue that AOC’s stunt acted as a slap in the face to the rich figures at the Met Gala who use the current tax code to their benefit. But at the end of the day, AOC’s statement— like so many others—has done nothing to aid the cause.

Performative activism promotes false advocacy, which consists of stunts that do nothing more than show the world you supposedly care about a cause. Instead of posting black squares on social media and only raising awareness for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month, let’s attend and lead protests, volunteer to lobby for Congress, boy cott companies with unethical prac tices and genuinely use our time and voices to make a difference.

From that interview, the reader learns that Cassandra is the daughter of the President of the United Nations. She is also the first human to be accepted into the Galactic Academy. Now, despite those two impressive facts, she is a bit naive, wide-eyed and excited at this stage in her life. Surrounded by many different types of creatures and cultures, cast against the backdrop of cool and beautiful scenes of space, it’s no wonder Cassandra is a bit awe-struck at first.

However, soon after being accepted into the Galactic Academy, Cassandra

The Bono Kiro aren’t the only ones wellpersonified: Wood also makes it a point to highlight that the main cast are naive, idealistic and hopeful kids. This makes their reactions and experiences more relatable, especially when moments of destruction and grief are shown. Conversely, in moments of solidarity, as they seek each other out when they are fighting or upset with one another, their compassion for each other can be felt through the pages. But most importantly, the reminder that the characters are kids throughout the story makes the coming-of-age aspect of “Wandering Star” payoff. When reading this se-