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Williams College Students Put No Dirty Gold on the Table
In November, students affiliated with Students for Social Justice and Greensense at Williams College in Massachusetts tabled for the No Dirty Gold campaign at an Alternative Gift Fair which was being held on campus. A small crew of volunteers staffed the table, engaging in conversation with anyone who paused as they walked by the table. Nearly everyone reacted very positively and was very interested, despite the fact that few had any prior knowledge of the harmful effects of extractive industries.
After introducing the issues the campaign is trying to address, a number of people showed skepticism about what could be done and were especially wary of calls for a boycott, but when students explained that the campaign's main tactic is to shed light on these abuses and exert public pressure, nearly everyone was enthusiastic and willing to sign a postcard calling for more just mining practices. More than 70 cards were signed in just six hours of tabling in an area with relatively light traffic.
Visibility was definitely the key to the success of the No Dirty Gold table. People who did not see the table merely passed by, but students were successfully able to engage with anyone who paused to figure out what exactly the banners meant. Placing photos of mining-related damage (available in many No Dirty Gold pamphlets) in prominent places was another successful attention-getter, and gave people a more concrete understanding of the situation.
The table took only about half an hour to set up, and it was not necessary to use any information besides that provided by the No Dirty Gold campaign. The students who staffed the table were each familiar with the basic idea of the campaign, but none were experts on mining - very few people asked difficult questions, and when they did, the students just referred them to the No Dirty Gold website and to the various reports and booklets that were on hand.
During the spring, Students for Social Justice and Greensense plan to collaborate on a number of actions, such as teach-ins, dinner discussions, and an awareness campaign during class ring sales. The students plan to table at dining halls to collect signed class ring postcards, which they will then deliver to either the class ring representative or the parent company.
Martin Williams, Williams College
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