What are our next steps after the Racial Justice Teach-In?
There was a lot of great energy and ideas in teach-in. I don't want that to get lost during our disconnected remote learning. What are some next steps y'all have in mind to channel the student energy?
5 answers3 replies
3
ajaraya0
5d ago
Not a direct answer to the question, but I saw a lot of trauma brought up towards the end, with a lot of students asking for some type of closure. I found myself not really knowing what to do with myself afterwards. I think either a "grounding" component at the end of these events or discussion groups with mental health professionals like we had for the Black and Asian Solidarity Dialogue would be extremely helpful.
3
ajaraya0
5d ago
Idea for remaining connected over the summer: CSJ book club to keep the momentum from first Friday's rolling. Students will likely not be as busy so it won't be as difficult to get them involved as it has been over the school year.
annalise.leonelli
5d ago
I LOVE THIS IDEA
2
heidi.simpson18
5d ago
I agree, the energy today was great, and we need to do what we can to keep it going. I'm not sure what the best way forward is, especially given the timing, as many of us might not have the ability to do much in the few weeks between now and finals. I would love, however, to hear from the 1Ls and 2Ls about what they think needs to be done (and how those of us who are about to graduate can help in the next month) to make sure that this energy is maintained next fall, and St. John's becomes an institution that actively practices anti-racism & racial justice, rather than just talking about it once or twice a year.
2
Catherine Sims
3d ago
I'd like to see more public dialogue among students similar. Maybe a 2.0 of "No More Talking: What are We Gonna Do About It?" could be planned for June to measure our progress and think about where we want to go as an institution?
Before student orgs plan all their programming for the fall, recentering, grounding, and evaluating how we do things and why might be a great place for us as students to continue this work amongst ourselves and push for administrators to do the same along with us in a truly authentic rather than performative way.
I love that folks are inspired by the FFBC and that's one way to go, however, I think it limits the discussion to issues raised by the books chosen.
annalise.leonelli
3d ago
Agreed Catherine. CSJ will be holding a town hall at some point toward the end of the semester although I am not sure about the date just now. I believe it will be students only.
1
jay.hedges18
5d ago
It's been really hard to connect with first year students this year on NLG. Has CSJ fared better in connecting with first years? Especially ones that were active in the chat today, I hope they are getting plugged in.
heidi.simpson18
5d ago
I think we have probably fared a little better - we have some very active and helpful 1L reps who have been increasing attendance at our events & awareness of our org, but I think the Zoom/WebEx fatigue, lack of real in person interaction, and inability to provide incentives (like food at meetings) in the virtual environment has definitely hurt our engagement
Not a direct answer to the question, but I saw a lot of trauma brought up towards the end, with a lot of students asking for some type of closure. I found myself not really knowing what to do with myself afterwards. I think either a "grounding" component at the end of these events or discussion groups with mental health professionals like we had for the Black and Asian Solidarity Dialogue would be extremely helpful.
Idea for remaining connected over the summer: CSJ book club to keep the momentum from first Friday's rolling. Students will likely not be as busy so it won't be as difficult to get them involved as it has been over the school year.
I LOVE THIS IDEA
I agree, the energy today was great, and we need to do what we can to keep it going. I'm not sure what the best way forward is, especially given the timing, as many of us might not have the ability to do much in the few weeks between now and finals. I would love, however, to hear from the 1Ls and 2Ls about what they think needs to be done (and how those of us who are about to graduate can help in the next month) to make sure that this energy is maintained next fall, and St. John's becomes an institution that actively practices anti-racism & racial justice, rather than just talking about it once or twice a year.
I'd like to see more public dialogue among students similar. Maybe a 2.0 of "No More Talking: What are We Gonna Do About It?" could be planned for June to measure our progress and think about where we want to go as an institution?
Before student orgs plan all their programming for the fall, recentering, grounding, and evaluating how we do things and why might be a great place for us as students to continue this work amongst ourselves and push for administrators to do the same along with us in a truly authentic rather than performative way.
I love that folks are inspired by the FFBC and that's one way to go, however, I think it limits the discussion to issues raised by the books chosen.
Agreed Catherine. CSJ will be holding a town hall at some point toward the end of the semester although I am not sure about the date just now. I believe it will be students only.
It's been really hard to connect with first year students this year on NLG. Has CSJ fared better in connecting with first years? Especially ones that were active in the chat today, I hope they are getting plugged in.
I think we have probably fared a little better - we have some very active and helpful 1L reps who have been increasing attendance at our events & awareness of our org, but I think the Zoom/WebEx fatigue, lack of real in person interaction, and inability to provide incentives (like food at meetings) in the virtual environment has definitely hurt our engagement