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-035- THE ACTIVISTS Wi of the unlimited commuter meal plan for Speliman students and 14,000 free meal plans a year for commuting More house students. Hector says her proudest organizing ef fort was, “Definitely the 6-day hunger strike! When my organization (NAN) or ganized that hunger strike at Spelman and Morehouse, many members were afraid of how the administration would treat them moving forward. I won’t lie and act like my relationships with some people aren’t different now, because some are. "However, now commuter students at Spelman can walk in the cafe and eat, and frankly that’s all that matters. That was the most epic action with real results on / campus by far and I am be- y o n d K* proud.” Hector’s views work are clear and evident. Hec tor manages to bal ance school, work, life and play in the best way she knows how. “The hardest part about organizing and activism is when the very people you fight for will say you’re not working hard enough,” Hec tor says. “They’ll complain when you don’t move how they want you to. They’ll only see the awards and the glamor but they won’t see how lonely you are. You go against these systems of power and you are completely isolated. I am still working on finding balance in my life. It may look like I have it all together, but I don’t.” For River Lewis, activism looks differ ent. Focusing primarily on Atlanta’s inner-city youth, Lewis wants the next generation to know that someone cares. This, along with the advice from his grandmother, led him to start Operation Summer Exposure. “She told me that God doesn’t always have time to be here so he blesses oth ers knowing that they are going to bless more people," Lewis says. “So I always look at life like that, you know, in a sense of I need to bless more so that I can receive more so that I able to bless even more. It’s putting that good, posi tive energy within the universe to get it back." Nowadays, ripping kids away from their electronics can seem like an impossible task. Enter Operation Summer Expo sure. The summer program gives inner city youths the opportunity to engage in outdoor activities like rock climbing and canoeing. Capitalizing on the AUC’s party culture, he also began throwing social events with a community service twist. Most recently, Lewis held a canned food drive in the form of a day party. Rather than charge for admission, Lewis requested that entrants bring a canned food. "We go out and we spend all this money on buying sections at the club, buying bottles and things like that but we can party and do all that and have it geared towards the community so it’s uplifting so, in a sense, it’s helping the commu nity,” Lewis says. “And we’re still par tying and having fun and all that at the same time.” James Spikes, likes Lewis, takes a dif ferent approach to activism. Named Bonner Senior Intern prior to the start of 2017-18 school year, his work over the past four years has finally been recognized. The recognition, however, doesn’t motivate the Houston native. Spikes’ true motivation happens to be giving a voice to the voiceless. His work with homeless shelters and inner-city youths attest to this. “I work to liberate others by asserting that the future belongs to those who have choice,” Spikes says. “I believe that choice is a product of knowledge and by creating an environment where knowledge thrives you’ve created an op portunity for liberation. “In order to create this environment, you have to adapt a sense of commu nity. You have to be willing to listen to those that often go unheard. This mat ters because no one deserves to go un heard or without choice.” It is this work that makes Spikes unique. Whereas Gaines and Hector at tack injustice head on, Spikes focuses on working with those most affected by racism and prejudice. Only through the efforts of both sides will this country ever reach a place of understanding. “Having a deep concern about the wel fare of others and the existence of in justice can be overwhelming and psy chologically taxing,” says Spikes. “It’s important to acknowledge that there is good in the world and that although injustice exists, so does liberty and op portunity."