Over the past week, hashtags #ConcernedStudent1950 and #InSolidarityWithMizzou have become viral on a variety of social media platforms, tacked on to the end of some variation of the following statement: “To the students of color at Mizzou, we, student allies at Northwestern University, stand with you in solidarity. To those who would threaten their sense of safety, we are watching.”

Looking through all of our Facebook friends, we noticed three kinds of reactions to what was happening at Mizzou: There were people who blindly posted the above statement, people who actively shared and expressed their views and people who remained silent about the events recently brought to light at universities around the country.

While it’s great that this status is being shared and raising awareness, something that many are failing to do — and something that needs to be reiterated — is that activism cannot and must not start and end with a status.

To use a metaphor that has been circulating recently: Battling institutional oppression is like using a moving walkway at the airport. Taking a stance requires effort; if you are not actively speaking out against the issues facing marginalized identities then you are going with the flow and effectively upholding dangerous and life-threatening systems of power. Posting a viral status doesn’t mean that you can automatically claim your golden ticket for being an ally.

So what, then, makes an ally?

Recognize that what is happening at universities like Yale, Mizzou and Howard are not isolated incidents — these incidents happen at every institution around the country and have occurred for decades. A marginalized student doesn’t need a bomb threat to feel unsafe on this or any other campus. The hurt is in the everyday incidents that make your skin crawl. This fight doesn’t end when the media stops talking about it. This fight is ongoing.

Be active. You don’t need a hashtag as an excuse to feel comfortable speaking out. Be honest with yourself about your privilege and recognize that it’s OK to not know everything as long as you are also willing to learn. But also recognize that your first resource when you have a question should be Google. By asking friends from traditionally marginalized communities for answers, you turn them into representatives speaking on behalf of an entire group of people. Beyond that, understand that being active in a fight can look a lot of different ways and that you don’t have to be on the frontlines of a protest to be an ally. Educate yourself so that you can engage in conversation with peers. Share articles. Talk to friends. Be heartfelt. Not speaking out is being complicit, and if you aren’t making a stance and making your opinion be known, then you’re not forcing change. Of course, taking time to figure out what to say is important, but silence makes a statement. If you feel uneducated, make it a priority to learn. If you feel uncomfortable saying what you think, share an article and let the author do the talking for you.

Causing change requires making people feel uncomfortable, even if that person is yourself. It is OK to feel uncomfortable, and those feelings are entirely valid, but understand the difference between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe. As an ally, it is impossible to understand entirely what it feels like to be unsafe in a particular identity that you do not claim. Accept those feelings as they are and don’t question them or ask for proof of any marginalized group’s experience, whether that is the black experience, the immigrant experience or the queer experience, among many others.

Finally, in order to be an ally, we must recognize that self-education is an ongoing process. Activism does not start or end with posting a status or reading one article. Constantly be critical of yourself and your actions and how your identity plays into your role on this campus. If you make the decision to post that status and call yourself an ally to students of color, be intentional in that decision. As students on NU’s campus, we all have a vital part to play in improving the experiences of people with marginalized identities. It takes more than a hashtag or a status.

Vicky Ho is a Weinberg senior. She can be reached at [email protected]. Ritika Rastogi is a Weinberg senior. She can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].

The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.