#Activism Amplified, Action Required: a Qualitative Case Study of One Institution's Response to a Student-Led Social Media Campaign

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Date
2021
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Publisher
University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

Student activism has been part of the American college experience since the beginning of American higher education (Thelin, 2004). American college students participated in physical demonstrations and protests throughout the history of higher education in the United States. College students continue to protest for their concerns and issues on campus today. However, social media and technology changed how American college students engage in student activism and activist behaviors. Technology and social media platforms give college students open access to information processing and sharing. More specifically, social media creates opportunities for students to engage in activism in a digital space. Due to the rapid nature of information sharing through social media, institutions of higher education choose how to respond to student-led social media campaigns. This qualitative study was conducted to learn about how one institution responded to a student-led social media campaign calling the institution to take action to improve the process in which sexual misconduct is handled on campus. Document analysis, participant interviews, and member checking focus groups were the data sources selected for this study. The data collected is used to examine how one institution responded to a social media campaign against campus sexual violence and to better understand why the institution responded the way that the institution did. Various factors come into play when responding in these types of situations and administrators must know their institutions and rely on guidance and feedback from internal campus experts and external organizations in order to respond.

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Keywords
institutional response, Social media, student activism
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