Opinion: 2017 is no time for complacency

Do not let 2017 lessen your anger.

Do not let a new year and its resolutions keep you from remembering why you have been fighting. This is not the time to let bygones be bygones.

On Jan. 20, we will have a new president of the United States; if that scares you as much as it scares me, then you need to keep fighting.

I will fight with you, and I will never stop.

I will continue fighting to prove that sexual assault is a legitimate problem, and that all people deserve a world in which we do not need to fear being touched without consent.

I will fight for a world in which “grabbing her by the pussy”— or sexually harassing anybody — is unacceptable. I will fight for a country that is not led by a man who thinks he can do anything he wants to people solely because he is famous.

I will fight for the rights of queer individuals. I will support bans on conversion therapy and condemn politicians who support the practice. I will boycott companies that do not believe trans individuals have the right to their own gender identity and the right to use the corresponding bathroom.

I will continue to bring awareness to the fact that queer people can be denied housing for being queer. I will march in pride parades and shout louder than I ever have before.

I will support Black Lives Matter. I will march in solidarity with people who are oppressed based on the color of their skin and amplify their voices when I have a platform to do so. I will build foundations of peace and love with Hispanic and Latino people and tear down the walls of hate.

I will make a larger effort to ensure accessibility on our campus and in our community. I will help improve awareness regarding disabilities and try my best to help eliminate the stigma surrounding those embattled by them.

I will donate to organizations actively helping individuals with uteri maintain autonomy of their bodies. I will donate to organizations protecting reproductive rights, and I will volunteer or attend their special events.

I will use every platform I have to speak up for what I believe is right, and — when I graduate from Kent State this May — I will seek out a profession in which I can help other people.

I will do everything I can to rectify the wrong I see in this world, and I will be relentless.

Fighting continuously is exhausting. I know it is.

I am tired, but we cannot give up. We cannot let the new year change how we feel.

We cannot lose our fire or let our passion sizzle out.

My resolution this year is to keep up the fight, no matter how ineffective the efforts may feel. My resolution is to make positive changes in my little corner of the world before working my way out and beyond, and I hope you are with me.

Bobbie Szacbo is a columnist, contact her at [email protected].