In Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Peter Sellers plays three major roles: a well-mannered and proper British military officer, the President of the United States and Dr. Strangelove, an eccentric ex-Nazi scientist advocate for the nation’s leaders hiding out an impending nuclear holocaust by creating a new eugenic subterranean society.
Many of you reading this right now will be in your first year of university, armed to the teeth with an optimism as to your university years of sufficient quantity to bring about a civilization-ending nuclear holocaust of optimism. I am guiltier than most of wiling away time and dollars at Sir John’s (in fact you’ll find me there most days), watching Game of Thrones in the Matheson Library and sinking pizza on the Menzies Lawn and while that’s all very important – that’s not all that’s important.
A versatile actor, Sellers played each role with aplomb and was instrumental in this classic film’s success. There is a lesson to be learned from this dynamic performance in one person’s adoption of such different personalities in the film and here’s the thing: all of us are Peter Sellers right now. At whichever junction of our lives we are, the role we play is a decision we make consciously or otherwise every single day.
In the film, Group Colonel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley and Dr. Strangelove all share one thing in common – they are all active and principled people (men, admittedly, Stanley Kubrik not renowned for his feminism) but most significantly they are leaders. Sellers didn’t choose to play the man responsible for the ultimate demise of human civilization, he had a pick and he picked the President.
So many at university by unfortunate coincidence never encounter the opportunity to get actively involved or engaged, to find a cause and contribute to it. It can be addressing everyday inconveniences in university life (“why won’t they install more myki machines at the bus loop!?” – more on this later in the program) or broader policy issues in whichever areas of injustice you are passionate about. This year, I want to address this missed opportunity and invite you to make the most of your time here.
The Student Representative Network (SRN) is a program in which you will learn the ins-and-outs of campaigns, activism, leadership and advocacy with guests from the National Union of Students, the Monash Student Association and other activist bodies. Besides being a very social program, the skills that you will learn will be invaluable as you enter the second half of the program as the SRN launches a campaign of their choosing under the guidance and assistance of the co-ordinating team of former SRN participants and seasoned student activists.
So wind back your Doomsday Clock and cast yourself as Insp. Jacques Clouseau (The Pink Panther, 1963) or Queen Victoria (The Great McGonagall, 1974), just like our friend Sellers. Your university and life experiences are what you choose them to be – come and make some friends, learn some skills and help to make a difference. Come involve yourself in the Student Representative Network! Shoot me an email for more information (below). I look forward to seeing you there!
Thomas Green is an Education (Public Affairs) Officer at the Monash Student Association (MSA) for 2014 and co-ordinator the Student Representative Network. You can email him for more information at thomas.green@monash.edu and look out for the SRN stall during O-week!
