Anyone and everyone can make a difference.
“A changemaker has empathy for others and is driven by the genuine goal of making the world a better place…Being a changemaker is not possible without also being creative. They have the courage to see and do things differently than they are already being done.” –changemakers.com/learninglab
Being a changemaker takes courage and it takes action. Especially when it comes to making change among our peers. The first step is to recognize that some social change would benefit the community. The second is connecting to the motivation to act — intention is not enough here. We need to mobilize our desire to do something good into Compassionate Action. Then we need to connect to our innate strengths of bravery and creativity so that we can be the spark for a collaborative approach to deep and lasting change. Here are three ways you can begin today:
3-Ways to Create a Better Dartmouth
- Accept a friend’s choice to take a night off from drinking, to be sober curious, or abstain from alcohol altogether. All too often we question the choices of our friends and this makes trying something new, or maintaining something that feels “different from the norm,” harder than it should be. We all hold different values and reasons we do what we do. Try not to judge others or add social pressure just because it might be different from what you would do.
- Look out for one another. Especially when there is a situation where there can be potential harm (e.g. maybe a friend drank a little too much, someone is being discriminated against, or you are worried about another’s mental health). You can take action by doing something yourself like saying to a friend “I’m worried about you. Can I get you home?”. Or you can play a role by bringing others in when it feels like it might be too much for just you to handle. What’s imperative is that you do SOMETHING. Even the smallest acts of kindness can go a long way in making a safer Dartmouth. Check out the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative website for more ingenious tips and tricks to take action against harm.
- Take steps to create more equity at Dartmouth. As individuals it can be daunting to see how we can help shift the balance of inequity felt by many within our community. But our voice and action, albeit seemingly small, can make big differences in creating a culture where everyone is on an equal playing field. Speaking up against insensitive comments, uplifting the voices of others, and simply learning to take a step back and listen are all ways we can begin to shift the inequity scale starting now.
How do you plan to be an active changemaker?