Not everyone can protest with the reckless gusto of Bernie Sanders, getting wrestled to the ground at a civil rights rally in the sixties, and that is just fine.

Fortunately for students today, the internet has provided a safe space for protesting the most controversial topics.

Young people are wearing digital anonymity like a suit of dull armor in their quest to defeat tyranny.

Students are too brave to risk a dash of pepper spray in their eyes. When they protest, these courageous souls put the most precious thing they own at risk: their online reputation.

Issues like racism, immigration, and whatever leaves Donald Trump’s mouth are topics that need to be discussed.

Thanks to the ever-expanding capabilities of technology, the screens upon which these issues are hotly debated come in all shapes and sizes.

Students can save the world by composing a Facebook post from their desk or shooting out a tweet while sitting on the toilet at Taco Bell.

The resolution on these screens is so incredible it is almost possible to see that nothing is actually being resolved.

Immigrants do not need to stand hand in hand in public defending their right to pursue the American dream.

Real change comes from forming a Facebook group so all their friends can know what they believe in.

Civil rights do not need gung ho activists marching in the streets demanding change anymore. Bernie Sanders was a brave man in his day, but if he had any grasp on how to resolve American political controversy, he would hop on his Twitter account and sling hashtags around until his fingers fell off.

Maybe, back before computers, people spent more time doing things about pressing political issues but American students have evolved beyond that, utilizing technology for its true purpose.

The modern activist is the shadowy figure locked away in a bunker protected from impending assassins, or worse yet face-to-face encounters with dissenting opinions, pounding on a keyboard and preaching to an audience of potentially dozens of friends and bloggers.

This is where Linfield students shine. The fieriest political discussions on campus are not happening down Linfield Ave.

They are online. Yik Yak has been the saving grace on this campus for productive discussion.

Students doubled down not only on social media but anonymity as well.

There is a revolution happening in the students’ pockets and it begs the question, “Is that a platform for political discussion in your pocket or are you just happy to be here in the protective bubble we call Linfield?”

Enough stands have been taken in decades past, in large part due to the efforts of educated and impassioned students.

It is time to take a seat in the face of political discourse. Standing, marching, and yelling are all great exercise but that is a roadmap straight to exhaustion.

Thankfully Linfield students are ahead of the curve and behind their electronic screens, taking the ‘active’ out of activism.