The recent election has spawned a new age of protest. Protest the government. Protest the politicians. Protest the president elect. Protest the social inequities and injustices. Protest. I was talking to someone much wiser than myself about the topic. I felt confused about the message of the protest on my campus, because it was not for just a single cause or purpose. I felt lost, because there were so many messages being thrown around that it did not seem as cohesive as I thought and hoped it would be.

Talking to this person who understood more than I did, I found answers to some of the questions I had about the protests sweeping the nation. However, it was the abundance of answers to questions I did not even know I had that made me decide to talk a little about public protest. Today, the youth is being brought up in a generation that does not know much about how to truly organize and demonstrate for a cause. Tons of people are out in the streets protesting so many different things, but that is all a fair amount of them are doing.

Protests are just part of a larger picture.

Protesting should be a means to an end. What happens after the protest? Do we all go back to being “slacktivists.” Millennials have been labeled with this term since we tend to share posts on social media to try to support the ideals we believe in, but due to this trend we have no realistic concept of how to fight injustice in the “real world.” While we have developed new forms of activism, such as “hacktivism,” we lack the life experience and information needed to socially organize and act in the name of the ideas we want to protect.

What happens after the protest? Did you shout what you don’t want from the oppressors? Which approach seems more likely to succeed in getting the desired result, screaming about what you don’t want, or demanding what you do want? This crucial difference could allow for completely different reactions and scenarios. Was the protest all there was? What about sitting down and organizing new and inventive ways to get your points across? Not all actions taken on in the name of social justice require a large mass of people. The reasoning behind the mass is to increase visibility, establish the concept of unity, and to show that there are plenty of people supporting your cause to win over others.

Social activism does not end at the protest, so what is the next step? What do all these groups have planned? Will we only see protests, or will we see fliers litter the streets to fight for our cause? Is rioting a necessary, or can we arrange a new way to fight the injustice other than what we are already doing? Only protesting for your cause is not enough. While we don't need to resort to violence and destruction, we need more than what we already have.

While taking part in your local protest is nice, make sure to heavily educate yourself on the subject matter at hand. If you want to be one of the best activists, try following these tips.

• Stand firm in your beliefs.
  It is not enough to say you support something, advocating for your beliefs is important! Stick to your guns and don’t hesitate to stand up for what you believe in.
• Organize in new and original ways if possible.
  While traditional techniques generally get results, you cannot go around doing the same thing every day unless you want people to lose interest.
• Volunteer at local organizations that support your cause!
  Helping at homeless shelters or free counselling centers for battered women might be a step in the right direction. Of course, only join organizations your support (the ones I gave were just examples).
• Organize a festival or bake sale to support organizations that fight for the things you believe in.
  Games, carnivals, festivals, and fun always attract people, so use it all to benefit your cause. Raise money that will go towards the causes you believe in and the people affect by them. Including food in anything you do is a sure-fire way to raise money for people you believe need it!
• Mobilize the public and supporters.
  What is a movement without supporters? Mobilizing the people who also want to fight injustice is necessary for getting your message out into the world.

There is so much more to activism than just protesting, and it seems people might be losing sight of the fact. Hopefully this article gave you some news ideas if you are looking to support a cause. As the amazing author and man Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”