The Mental and Academic Costs of Campus Activism
Maxwell C. Little wasn’t in a good place last fall. Many days he stayed up until 3 a.m. to meet with fellow founding members of Concerned Student 1950, the student group protesting racism at the University of Missouri at Columbia, going home for just a few hours and regrouping in the morning. He was tired all the time — physically, mentally, and emotionally. As the campus protests escalated, it became harder for Mr. Little to juggle being an activist and a full-time student. Meeting with administrators and other student groups and, eventually, going on a hunger strike took priority over schoolwork. He started missing classes and asking professors for extensions.