Mar. 23, 2007 Communique

Hope for the long haul

An award-winning author’s visit to UCCS changed what traditionally is one of the quietest days on campus – the Friday before spring break.

More than 150 students and faculty members listened to author Paul Rogat Loeb speak about civic engagement and social responsibility on college campuses and in communities. In a morning session with students, followed by an afternoon meeting with faculty, Loeb discussed how citizens from all walks of life can promote social change and become leaders in the effort to create a culture of civic consciousness.

Loeb used current events such as the Iraq war and the global warming crisis to illustrate the challenges society faces in creating awareness and promoting activism.

“Normal human inclination is to throw up your hands, say, ‘Nothing I do is really going to make a difference,’” he said, “but the message I’d like to convey is that larger public decisions come back to affect our lives.”

Loeb is the author of five books related to civic engagement and social justice, including his 2004 work, “The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a time of Fear,” which was ranked the #3 political book of the year by the History Channel and the American Book Association. His 1999 release, “Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time,” has more than 95,000 copies in print. Loeb also is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications, and he has lectured on more than 300 college campuses nation-wide.

Loeb also pointed out that many well-known leaders in the social justice movement including Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, didn’t simply decide to be leaders one day. Rather, they were slowly integrated into a growing activist culture, and only over time and through involvement with people who had similar goals did they reach their potential as leaders.

“It’s useful to look at how people in the most difficult situations have acted,” Loeb said. “When you’re acting for social change, the outcome matters, but bringing people in matters too.”

The author led a faculty discussion on how to engage students in “the hard issues of our time,” and stated that faculty setting personal examples inspires students to participate in acts of social responsibility, whether it be volunteering, joining a civic group or organizing events to increase awareness about global warming, environmental sustainability or other current issues.

“We have to be able to help (students) deal with very real and sometimes terrifying issues,” he said. “To be a patriot is to ask the hardest questions at the hardest times.”

Following his appearance at UCCS, Loeb was scheduled to give the keynote address at the American Bar Association’s Equal Justice Conference in Boulder March 24.