Staying Involved & Woke: The Definitive List of Sources That'll Keep College Students Politically Aware
By Ellice Ellis ‘20
‘Woke’ is such a buzzword these days. I see people arguing on Twitter whether their favorite celebrity is ‘woke’ and hear my friends telling each other to ‘stay woke.’ It’s also a popular slogan thrown on clothes, accessories, and across protest posters. Many people may understand the concept of being ‘woke’ as a person aligning themselves with the ideal of liberals and ‘the left’ side of the political spectrum.
I’m going to take a different stance and disagree.
‘Wokeness’ is being aware of what’s around you and what’s going on in the world. Whether it be a protest in Downtown Los Angeles, a new initiative by the United Nations, or a movement started here at USC; being ‘woke’ is about being in tune with the social and political happenings of the world.
Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve been called out for my admirable wokeness and ability to keep up with it all. It’s something that I cultivated from a very young age when I was forced to watch morning and nightly news with my parents. It also helps that I’m a journalism major and to function in the world of media you must be up to date.
If your wokeness hasn’t come yet, don’t fret! It can be heard in college to focus on your studies and stay involved and aware. I have personally, turned to popular Twitter accounts, newsletters and more forms of media to not only inform myself of the world around me but to also help me digest it all.
Here is your definitive list of sources to keep you woke and sharp on the world around you.
Jake Tapper: @jaketapper on Twitter
If you want to stay up-to-date on breaking news and you’re not following Jake Tapper, you’re living wrong. Jake Tapper is the chief Washington Correspondent for CNN. He also serves as the lead anchor for CNN’s The Lead and CNN State Of The Union.
(Source: SCOTT EISEN/GETTY)
In journalism, we talk a lot about gatekeepers of news and who decides what is and is not important. If you are looking for that authoritative voice, follow Tapper.
For college students, I suggest following Tapper over watching his show because his tweets are direct and easy to digest. We may also not have time in our schedule to watch an entire television program.
Jamilah Lemieux: @JamilahLemieux on Twitter
If you are into topics such as intersectional feminism, pop culture, and all things going on with Black American, follow Jamilah. She is an African-American columnist, cultural critic, and editor based in New York City. She currently serves became the vice president of news and men’s programming for Interactive One, part of Radio One, Inc.
(Source: BETNetworks’ Youtube)
Jamilah isn’t necessarily a traditional journalist but she is constantly breaking down current events and live tweets a lot of cool conferences and events.
New York Time’s ‘The Daily’: https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/the-daily
‘The Daily’ is the New York Times’ daily news podcast. The episodes usually don’t go longer than 30 minutes and feature interviews with experts, politicians, and figures pertinent to that day’s news.
(Source: New York Times)
Podcasts are great for on-the-go listening and you can multi-task, shower, and even do laundry while listening.
The ‘#Wokeletter’ from Teen Vogue: http://www.teenvogue.com/newsletter/subscribe?newsletterId=248815
“Welcome to Wokeletter!” is how every edition of the newsletter begins.
Every Friday, the publication will send you an email with the break down that week’s trending news, politics, and lifestyle stories. The goal is to keep you informed and enlightened.
Many power players in media have noted how over the past year, Teen Vogue has become increasingly political. Whether you view that as a good or bad thing, if you’re trying to stay ‘woke’, subscribe to the ‘#Wokeletter.’
(Source: Teen Vogue)
Check Out Speakers and Activist that Come to Your Campus
There are always talks, forums, and conferences at USC with cool speakers, professors, and activists. It can be super easy to just breeze over a flyer about some speaker that you’ve never heard of, but what they present is usually informative and interesting.
(Source: USC Annenberg)
Just yesterday, I attended a talk hosted by USC Annenberg on Colin Kaepernick and the history of activism in sports. Magazine editors, sociologists and more were on a panel discussing the hot-button news topic. Going to events such as these is a great way to stay informed and get your tuition worth.
Pod Save the People
If you’re not familiar with DeRay Mckesson then you might need to work on your wokeness. He is a community organizer and host of a podcast titled Pod Save the People. The podcast discusses all things social justice and usually gives the listener concrete steps to taking action in their community.
(Source: Crooked Media)
It is described as “conversations about culture, social justice, and politics by exploring the history, language, and people who are shaping the struggle for progress — and talking about the steps that each of us can take to make a difference.”
If that’s not enough for you make sure to follow @Deray on twitter. He speaks on current events and is very involved with several progressive movements.
Tim Miller: @Timodc on Twitter
Tim Miller is a former campaign staffer for Jeb Bush and now is a widely respected conservative columnist for Crooked Media.
Miller is constantly tweeting and retweeting about the latest news and can give people on both sides of the political spectrum insight into conservative politics.
(Source: Off Message)
Miller is also one of the popular pundits representing the never-Trump movement.
Push Alerts
Whether it be the Fox News app or Buzzfeed, push alerts are a great way to gather real-time information. Push alerts are messages that pop up on your mobile device. They come from various apps and don’t’ require you to open the app to receive them. For example, if USC wins a football game, I can receive an alert from a college sports app telling me when they do.
(Source: Quora)
Most news apps have these alerts and give you an option to turn them on and what to be alerted on. For those who may not have time to check Twitter for trending news or go to the CNN or ABC website, I suggest push-alerts.
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That is all my friends. Remember, staying woke takes time. Nobody becomes a news buff or 100% politically informed overnight. Build your list of trusted sources, favorite news sites, and influencers to help you stay politically aware. We should all strive to educate ourselves on world problems outside of our ethnicity, race, class, gender, etc. In the pursuit of becoming better human beings, being ‘woke’ and opening our eyes to the world around us makes all the difference.
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