Protests for any cause can be done in an endless amount of ways, resulting in a blurry line of what is effective and what isn’t. Although they all have one goal in common — change for what they’re advocating for — they should make being productive a top priority, rather than a shock factor. 

The recent protest demonstration by two young Just Stop Oil activists in London is an example of over-prioritzing shock factor. The two protesters went into the National Gallery and threw tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Sunflowers” oil painting and glued their hands to the wall next to it.

While one could argue it was a productive protest in that it brought attention to their cause, it also could have possibly ruined a piece of art history that has little to do with the issue they were advocating for. The protestors said they were acting against the government’s inaction regarding the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis.

The can of soup was meant to represent a simple food item that families are struggling to afford. Their message was to question what we value more — art or life. The group also wants the U.K. government to end all new oil and gas projects in the country. 

While I certainly understand the motive for their actions, I can’t help but see the flaws in them as well. Protests have proven to work, even if it takes years, but they have also unfortunately resulted in a lot of inaction and sometimes violence.

These two protesters have been arrested for criminal damage and aggravated trespass, essentially making them unable to further advocate for their group for an undetermined amount of time. 

We have a lot of power as college students to protest for causes and improve the world around us. One successful example of student protests include the student debt protests at New York University held by their Student Labor Action Movement. For years, students would gather to protest the insanely high prices for their higher education. In 2018, a student was threatened by a housing official who said his financial aid would be at risk if he didn’t stop protesting. 

This long-standing protest, along with social media dialogue, is arguably the reason why one of President Joe Biden’s first actions in office was to address the student debt crisis and relieve a collective billions of dollars of debt. 

Another example of a highly effective student protest was conducted by students of the UNC system when the pandemic caused classes to move online in 2020. They clearly stated a list of demands with the issues they were facing at the time with their education. They also gained over 20,000 signatures supporting their petition. This led to a number of accommodations given to students to help them at the time and ensure their success in finishing a semester like no other.

In fact, there have been multiple notable student-led protests on NC State’s campus for decades, two of which spoke out against President Richard Nixon. One did so by peacefully protesting and one held up a sign that read “Nixon said he would end the war and bring the country together. Look what he did!” Protests have continued to be held on campus and can create great impact.

No protest is flawless or immediately brings change without difficulty as they go against complex issues. However, we can learn from successful student protests that brought effective solutions moving forward.