by Amy Lineham

Yesterday marked the start of Somerville-Oriel Equalities festival, a week promoting freedom from discrimination of any kind through a series of events including talks, workshops and film screenings.

There are a vast number of reasons such events should be run, however they could all be said to boil down to the same fact – we live in an unequal society. If, as I do, you believe this needs to change, it is clear that action needs to be taken. Change does not arrive of its own accord, all we can expect from ignoring a problem is stasis and if this stasis is at an unsatisfactory point then passivity is unsatisfactory. If equality is to be achieved, or even moved towards, the issues such a word encompasses must be engaged with, discussed, and positively acted upon.

Obviously one week of events cannot suddenly turn the world into a fair and just place, but this is a terrible argument for not running it – as with so many things, if everyone thinks they alone will make no difference and so does nothing, nothing will happen. We have very little to lose by trying to make a difference, much more from sticking our heads in the sand and waiting for everything to turn out alright in the mean time. 

Unfortunately this is necessarily brief thanks to a lurking coursework deadline, however I hope readers agree with the importance of actively confronting inequality and feel inspired to attend some of the events in store this week. A timetable can be found on the Equalities Week Facebook page, along with information about each event – active engagement is the first step to positive change, don’t let apathy allow inequality to thrive.