On numerous occasions over the past few years, there has been conversation between students and faculty about holding events on campus that foster discussion on the subject of social justice, not only at Elizabethtown College, but across the world. This small idea, which began as only a debate where students could discuss the pros and cons of social justice, has grown into a special week-long event to promote this large component of the College’s mission.
This past summer, students and faculty from several departments, including religious studies, sociology and anthropology and social work came together to create Social Justice Week at the College. The week-long proceedings will include seven events that will take place on campus, held from Monday, Oct. 22 through Friday, Oct. 26, coinciding with United Nations Day.
Dr. Rita Shah, associate professor of sociology and one of the faculty advisors for this event, spoke about the importance of such a week and how it could help the campus community. “All of us putting the week together really want to reach as many in the Elizabethtown College community as possible,” Shah said. “Too often events on campus are designed for students, for faculty, or for students and faculty, and we want to make sure that these events are designed for and open to everyone, whether they be students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, families or people otherwise connected to the Etown community.”
The first event, which will take place on Monday in Musser Auditorium in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., will be the UgandaSpeaks Panel. This panel and discussion is a follow-up presentation to the Kony 2012 discussion, which occurred last semester. The event, which will examine how social justice can be achieved in Uganda, will include a 45-minute documentary followed by a question-and-answer session. Junior Owen Howson, who participated in the Kony 2012 event last semester, spoke of this new discussion and how it can help raise awareness about what is occurring in Uganda. “I think that this is a great idea. The reason for the movement is still present and relief is still present. Also, the movement didn’t stop on April 20th last year, and has been brought to the UN. So I feel this is a great opportunity.”
There will also be a gun violence discussion that will occur on Tuesday in Hoover 110 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The students in the panel will talk about how to address the recent gun violence that has been occurring across the country.
The second event on Tuesday will be a poetry slam session in the Blue Bean from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to express themselves creatively through not only words, but through music and short plays.
Two events will be held on Wednesday as well. The first of these is a human trafficking awareness and response session in Musser Auditorium from 11 a.m. to noon. Kathleen Davis, director of National Training & Technical Assistance at Polaris Project, will be present to talk to students, staff and faculty about how her organization fights human trafficking and how the subject relates to Pennsylvania.
Following this event, the College’s United Nations Club will simulate a session of the United Nations Security Council. The group will discuss the human rights crisis in Syria and how they can address the situation. The event, titled “Model UN: Addressing Syria,” will be held in Hoover 110 from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
Thursday will feature the Social Justice Debate that sparked the idea for the week’s events. Panelists for this debate will include Dr. Maia Cucchiara, assistant professor of urban education, Dr. Matthew Woessner, associate professor of public policy, and senior Lauren Stine. The panel hopes to create a worthwhile discussion on both sides of social justice issues. The Social Justice Week webpage states, “With individuals representing both sides of the social justice issue, this panel hopes to open up dialogue as to the definitions of social justice, its worth, and whether or not educational institutions should play a role in social justice activities.”
The week’s festivities will conclude in Hoover 110 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with an event called “Social Justice in Action.” This final panel will concern how social justice effects various fields of study and how to go about achieving social justice.
These events will help to inform the College community on issues of social justice that are impacting the world. Shah concluded by saying, “We hope that this is the beginning of a series of events that will facilitate conversations about social justice within our community.”
For additional information on the week’s events, contact senior Angela Wilt or Dr. Shah, or click on the Social Justice Week link on the sociology and anthropology page of the College website.