SHU Celebrates Social Justice Week
Talks, workshops and other offerings highlight ways to reach a more equitable society
Sacred Heart University’s La Hispanidad club recently sponsored and organized its annual Social Justice Week—a week designed to celebrate and promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Junior Amanda Bonet, La Hispanidad president, coordinated the week’s agenda and helped with her organization’s event as well. La Hispanidad, a club that helps SHU students connect to their Hispanic heritage, hosted a unity walk to demonstrate the value of diversity while promoting the ideals of the University’s Catholic intellectual tradition.
“Social justice, in many ways, is the bedrock upon which SHU was built, and La Hispanidad truly demonstrates its commitment to SHU’s mission by leading social justice initiatives,” said Maurice Nelson, chief diversity and inclusion officer for the office of inclusive excellence.
Campus groups, including the English, biology and criminal justice clubs, as well as the Gender Sexuality Alliance, Pride Club and student events team, held activities, including gatherings to celebrate their members and to discuss social justice implementation on campus. Other themes explored during the week included the role of equity and inclusion in various professions and the need to counteract prejudice at all levels.
The social work club assembled a panel of underrepresented students—those typically among minority populations—to talk about their experiences and their work to bring about change.
“Talking about social justice topics and highlighting underrepresented students is a great way to spread and acknowledge the diversity we have on campus. I wanted students who are or feel underrepresented to have an opportunity to hear from student leaders who have similar experiences,” said Chnoa-Nadine Manso-Vargas, club president.
A number of departments, including biology, the office of residential life, the office of student accessibility, counselor education, teacher education and the center for teaching and learning, also orchestrated unique activities. These included an information session about diversity in the classroom, a lesson about integrating service learning into curriculum and a presentation highlighting the importance of inclusive language.
The psychology department hosted “Speak Up, Stand Up,” a workshop about confronting prejudice that explored the social science behind various reactions to prejudice. “The psychology department was so excited to participate in Social Justice Week. This year, we talked about evidence-based strategies for challenging prejudice in our interpersonal interactions,” said Kathryn (Katie) Kroeper, assistant professor of psychology.
The campus ministry office, as part of its Lenten Friday lunch series, led a discussion about how Catholics can practice diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as part of their faith. “We are called to celebrate diversity and uniqueness in others by welcoming it, not by judging others who look different, come from different backgrounds or don’t have the same privileges we do,” said Devon James, campus minister.
As a Catholic university, Sacred Heart is particularly committed to social justice and encourages its students, faculty and staff to respect the dignity of every person, to promote the common good and to serve others. The week of activities highlighted the importance of celebrating diversity as it exists within higher education.
“Social Justice Week is an important SHU initiative because it celebrates our advances while also challenging us to continue pursuing social justice, perhaps in ways that we haven’t before,” said Nelson.