Students Tackle Issues of Social Justice at Weekend Workshop

Eighteen students, including myself, traveled to the Warren Conference Center in Ashland and engaged in-depth conversations, activities, and reflections on contemplative action and living a life of intent during Holy Cross’ inaugural social justice weekend workshop last month. The retreat, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Education, featured speakers from various academic and professional areas from Holy Cross and other organizations.

Titled “Walk With Me,” the workshop tackled important questions such as “What are our obligations to one another?” and “How do we build communities marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility?”

We started with a reflection exercise on our call to service facilitated by Kristine Cyr Goodwin, associate dean for student life. During the workshop, we discussed balancing contemplation with action. Two faculty members from the Hiatt Center for Social Justice Education at Beaver Country Day School — Robert Principe, director of educational leadership, and Katherine Beaudowin, director of community engagement — provided an interactive presentation on “Social Action: The Humanity of It All” and offered concrete strategies for change.

Other presenters included Jacqueline Peterson, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students; assistant chaplains Rev. Gregory Lynch, S.J. and Virginia Coakley; Jonathan Mulrooney, associate professor of English; and Diane Fox, visiting assistant professor of history.

The workshop was powerful and truly life changing. In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it enlightened us to issues of social justice, race, war, and poverty from a global perspective to our own Holy Cross community. These issues are often undermined and easily put on the back burner and many times not acknowledged.

As Desmond Tutu has stated, however, “Each one of us can make a contribution. Too frequently we think we have to do spectacular things. Yet if we remember that the sea is actually made up of drops of water and each drop counts, each one of us can do our little bit where we are. These little bits can come together and almost overwhelm the world. Each of us can be an oasis of peace.” We are the drops of water that make up our community, our city, our world. Grassroots activism is necessary to bring about change.

Social justice is the foundation for righteousness and moral standing in any profession. We learned and understood how to promote social justice from a Jesuit perspective, teacher’s perspective, administrative perspective, artist’s perspective, historian perspective, and Chaplains’ perspective. We can start by making people aware of disparities which exist and go unnoticed in our everyday encounters at Holy Cross. Civil rights activist Cesar Chaves once said, “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed.”

Here are some reflections and comments from workshop participants:

“The social justice workshop was an extremely worthwhile experience, not just because of the enlightening lectures and discussions, but because it gave me an opportunity to meet more people outside of my usual circle of friends. I would highly recommend the workshop to further consider the meaning of the Jesuit vision to be ‘men and women for others.’ ” — Marjorie Corbman ’09

“It is unbelievable how this retreat brought a handful of Holy Cross students together, all very passionate about different causes. Having spent the weekend reflecting upon one another’s experiences has further opened my eyes to the unique experiences many students have to offer. The speakers were great, and really encouraged us as students and advocates for social justice, to take action, no matter how small that action may be. Overall, it turned out to be a weekend about finding hope and rejuvenation in what may seem like an overwhelming undertaking.” — Kasandra Antoine ’09

“The weekend retreat was a wonderful opportunity to bring together various campus leaders to have a thoughtful and thorough discussion on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We also got the opportunity to hear from several faculty members and administrators in a setting outside the classroom, which helped us all take note that diversity is an issue that all of us can and should be addressing in whatever capacity we can. — Grace Campion ’09

By Kledia Spiro ’ 10

Spiro, of Worcester, is a psychology and visual arts double major with a concentration in Asian Studies. She is a Nutrition, Exercise, and Eating Disorder peer educator; a Student Program for Urban Development volunteer for an Apolistic church; and member of Holy Cross’ “Hate: Not Here!” committee.