A Thirst for Change

Written by Ryan Mulrooney

Photography by Aida Ebrahimi

If you plunge your hand into water, all you feel is a gentle shaping. Water doesn’t resist; it’s free flowing. It fuels our bodies, flows through our tributaries, and cleans our exteriors. However, if you dive your hand deeper into the water, the surroundings get darker and the currents become more powerful. It is in this darkness where UW-Madison student Nenad Jakovljevic considers the power water could have on our society. During Professor Caroline Druschke’s fall English 245 seminar, Jakovljevic wrote “Thirst” as an action project -- engaging the public in a subject he deeply cares about. Set in a dystopian society, his narrative shows characters thirsting for freedom, generosity, and water in an age where the liquid doesn’t just gently shape the world. Instead, water is the ultimate commodity, and Jakovljevic uses rhetoric to act as a catalyst for further climate discussion on campus and the wider Madison community. Madison in the year 2100 is much different than today in Jakovljevic’s “Thirst.” Large corporations have gained control of all water and the government rations out this supply as currency. His story doesn’t focus on the technicolored Memorial Union Terrace or grandeur of the State Capital that we all know today; rather, the story flies the reader over the “burnt and dilapidated remnants of a dairy farm” and “countryside that could be observed through the fences reinforced with barbwire” where rebels have to fend for themselves without the government’s water. As rebels try to survive without this supply, Jakovljevic leaves the reader without a clear ending. His lack of resolution, obscurity, and localization of the story are all tools to initiate his public call to action. What is Jakovljevic trying to accomplish with this dystopian narrative? Based on his experiences in English 245, and currently in English 533 (Rhetoric, Science & Engagement), he has realized how polarized the climate change discussion is. With the mention of mere “climate change,” the public can retract, such as if the water is pouring down in a torrential rainstorm. He believes the best way to stimulate a depolarized discussion is to focus on a smaller aspect of climate change, such as water as a basic human right, to create the feeling of a summer afternoon drizzle instead. Publication by the UW Illumination Journal is one resource he is using to increase public involvement regarding climate change. He doesn’t want to stop there. Jakovljevic then asks, “When you’re around the same people, how do you then impact the average Joe?” Currently, the author is attempting to work with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies to develop a creative forum where aspects of climate change can be discussed in a depolarized setting as writers, artists, public officials, and Madison students and citizens gather to share their ideas and interpretations. Jakovljevic is an exceptional example of the Wisconsin Idea. Taking his knowledge and experiences from Druschke’s classes and attempting to have a conversation with the Madison community is ultimately what this Idea encompasses. “Rhetoric is the fuel that fuels our power,” he says, and he wants to put that power in the hands of the local people. Engaging the public now gives increases the odds of impacting our local climate, and Jakovljevic clearly thirsts for change. Writing “Thirst” and trying to organize an action project to discuss climate change “is like using CPR -- you build pressure. When you stop, the heart stops beating.” Although 2100 might appear far, far away, this piece illuminates the Madison upcoming generations may experience, and Jakovljevic doesn’t want those generations to thirst.Editors note: This article was based on Nenad Jakoveljovic's creative piece, "Thirst."