Social Justice January Goes “Beyond the Buzzwords”

Kennysha Woods | Managing Editor

On January 23, Campus Community Centers will join together to host the annual Social Justice January, a day dedicated to teaching members of the campus community about various subjects relating to social justice and activism. There will be four workshops held between 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the community centers on main campus.

This year’s theme is “Beyond the Buzzwords.”

Starting in 2015, the Women’s Center, GLBT Center, African American Cultural Center (AACC) and Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) collaborated to host Social Justice January. Previously, event attendance was limited to those invited by the community centers, but this year, Social Justice January is more open to the general campus community.

Andy DeRoin is the program coordinator of the GLBT Center and presenter of “Conversations about ‘The Other’ and the Cultural Construction of Oppression.”

“This is the first time we’re doing a whole day of events,” DeRoin said. “We’re looking to really bring people into the campus community centers who haven’t been before.”

According to DeRoin, the workshops will build upon each other as the content goes.

The day starts with “Unlearning Diversity,” which will be presented by Marcela Torres-Cervantes, the assistant director for community outreach and engagement of MSA. This workshop will introduce socialization and cultural narratives with a focus on how biases and stereotypes affect campus life.

Afterward is “Unpacking Privilege” presented by Sachelle Ford, the assistant director of the AACC.

“We all need to understand our privileges, and how they impact our experiences and also those of other people,” Ford said. “By bringing students together to ‘unpack privilege,’ this presentation helps the campus community identify ways we can all use our privileges to support equity and inclusion.”

Next will be “Conversations about ‘the Other’” by DeRoin, who will look at how representation of marginalized communities in the media informs an individual’s behavior, allow for bias, and perpetuate oppression.

Social Justice January concludes with “Immunity to Change,” presented by Carlyn Wright-Eakes, the rape prevention education coordinator of the Women’s Center. This workshop will teach attendees how they can make effective changes as a social justice advocate.

Workshops:

Unlearning Diversity
African American Cultural Center
Witherspoon 356 | 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Unpacking Privilege
GLBT Center
Talley 5230 | 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Conversations About ‘the Other’
Women’s Center
Talley 5210 | 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Immunity to Change
Multicultural Student Affairs
Talley 4261 | 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.