CESP Blog

The day I decided to lead a RAP session about the connect between Justice and spirituality, I assumed the RAP session would be attended by mostly white, Christian women. And so I was not surprised to walk into the room and find just that. And to be honest, I was not thrilled about it, often being the only non-Christian in the faith conversations. But then! I learned, felt, experienced, was challenged, and was able to grow more than I thought possible! The session seemed extremely helpful and hopeful for people. It was a space were we could honestly delve into important topics that reflect our reasons for being involved in liberation work.

We began the conversation with a quick movement exercise- essential in this stale learning environment where we are taught only to learn sitting in a seat! (or in an awesome community engagement course- thanks CCLC) We then went around in a circle explaining why we were present in the room, a bit about our faith background, and what we wanted to get out of the two hour session. These answers helped me sway the conversation toward a more open structure because of the diversity in reasons for being there. I think this was positive.

We then went in a circle with the question: what was our ah-ha moment and if/how it is connected to our spirituality. This question triggered very rich and interesting stories. From these stories, I felt it was important to merely open the space for people to comment on, or further question what was said. As we flowed more organically into discussion, it became obvious how crucial of a conversation we were engaging in and creating. We all needed it in some shape or form.

Although I was a bit concerned that it was not an equal sharing space (some people spoke more than others- and I know I was guilty of taking up a lot of space! Even as the facilitator) I feel that the dynamic was still a safe space for sharing. People really listened to each other and brought up related issues that kept the organically flow. There were stories told that are going to stay with me a long time. And they helped me remember why I do what I do in this world.

The last exercise was administered on a whim. I felt that people needed to touch each other in some sort of affirming way, but did not want to whip out a hand holding session. So! I was excited about testing a very special activity that is usually administered in a group of people who have known and worked with each other over a long period of time. It was not by chance that it worked so well even on a group that had only known each other for two hours. I believe that we each saw something new, exciting, and challenging in the others in the group and we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable in order for others to penetrate that information. Therefore, the exercise to show that, (physical and anonymous) was affirmative, healing, and successful. Thanks for going along with it!

Big lessons learned:
-people are not encouraged to openly discuss their spirituality- how it ties with their life, their past, their social justice work, their future.
-People are apprehensive about disclosing their affiliation because of this negative environment and culture
-There needs to be more consistent spaces like this on University Campuses. Disconnecting our brains, from our hearts, from our spirits is not helpful in our overall learning and understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the interconnected world the university is so eager for us to understand. And we need more safe spaces to discuss these topics, on or off the University Campus

I am overwhelmingly pleased with this RAP session- I feel that participants were able to walk away with new awareness and understanding. I was able to learn and grow as a facilitator. And the CESP was able to hold space for a new type of RAP session that proved helpful and effective.

This would be an exciting RAP session to develop and conduct again in the future.
(I would love help and feedback!!)

--Ilana Lerman

(Please post your reflections for this RAP session in the comments, don't forget to list which ABC's it is covering! And if you don't feel comfortable posting it publicly, shoot at email with the reflection to cesp@umn.edu and let us know if we can post it anonymously or if you would prefer we didn't)

Posted by reut0076 at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In this workshop we discussed a variety of health topics on a global and local level, including diabetes, health insurance and refugee aid. Then we focused more in depth on two particular topics: malnutrition and mental health in post-crisis communities. In small groups, we analyzed the statistics that demonstrated the urgency of these health crises and explained why the problems existed. Then we talked about the specific ways that student can address these issues. After outlining the key success factors for an effective intervention, we reconvened as a large group to share some of our tactics. Examples included donating left-over UDS food to shelters, creating an undergraduate health survey, forming a mental health peer support group, and publicizing nutrition facts to raise nutrition awareness. The last portion of this workshop was dedicated to creating a commitment to action, in which each participant wrote out a plan to tackle a health issue in a tangible and measurable way. An action plan could be as simple as creating flyers to support a cause. It was up to the individual to decide how they can use their skills and resources to make a change in their community.

In order to receive credit for this RAP session as a reflection, please post an answer (in the form of a comment to this entry, include your name and UMN email address, if you want to remain anonymous send your answer to cesp@umn.edu and let us know if we can still post it anonymously) to one of the three following categories (length of response should be, but is not limited to, about one page or 300 words):
A(ffect): What were your reactions to the workshop? How did you feel after talking about all of the health issues that our generation is facing? Reflect on your feelings surrounding the topics discussed.
B(ehavior): What was your commitment to action that you wrote down at the end? What other steps would you like to see other students take in order to address the health issues discussed? How can you apply what you learned in this workshop to your daily life?
C(ognition): Did you learn anything new about the health care issues that other students mentioned? Expand on a different health care issue that wasn’t covered as in depth and explain how students are important agents in addressing it.

Additional Links:

Vote for the presidential candidate that supports your beliefs:
http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/

Attend this annual conference to learn about global health issues and commit to changing the world:
http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=1871&srcid=2134

Find resources to promote mental health awareness on campus:
http://www.bhs.umn.edu/programs/index.htm

Find out what nutrition services Boynton offers:
http://www.bhs.umn.edu/services/nutrition.htm

Create a survey like the HRRI Pulse Survey that measures the health of undergraduate students:
http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/Page6134.aspx

Here is a reflection from Jenna Raci:

I found the RAP session to be very interesting and helpful. What spurred my thinking the most was just the monstrous, overlying cloud that is looming over all of the health issues that our generation is facing. Talking about mental health and nutrition issues made me realize that they can be directly related, as can many other health problems, but that could help us find the root of all the problems. For example, it is known that underdeveloped countries have malnutrition problems in their populations because of factors such as poverty, limited education, access to resources, etc. The reasons are innumerable, but poverty and limited educational or vocational opportunities can happen to those people who suffer from a mental illness. Another example, probably more directed towards the US, would be that we could potentially draw a connection depression and mental statuses following a catastrophic event and obesity, or even malnutrition, in a population. Depressed mood can cause extreme behavior, whether it be overeating or under eating in this case.
So to complete my thought about this overlying cloud, I personally would make a connection between health issues such as mental stability, obesity/malnutrition, and many other preventable diseases to overall quality of life. I know it sounds obvious, but it’s the truth. Therefore, my commitment to action would be to instate a campus-wide (starting small here) Random Act of Kindness day or week. I really feel that telling a random person “Oh, I really like your shirt�, holding the door open for them, or just smiling could potentially brighten their day. Not to mention, those who would participate would feel better about themselves also. This could be something that catches fire too. If everyone were to just be a little bit nicer, imagine how much better our world could be. It sounds incredibly simple, and that it is. Being happy improves quality of life, and I think would therefore decrease depression occurrence and improve eating habits.
Prior to attending this meeting, I wasn’t aware of the mental health problems surrounding the Hmong population. One girl in the group mentioned that it is hard to address mental health issues with Hmong people because it simply isn’t in their vocabulary. That’s so interesting to think about because American’s technically defined and “created� the disease of depression.
Another issue discussed in the meeting was the health care system. One way students can address this issue would be voting for the presidential candidate that hopes to implement the type of health care system that they would like to see in America. With record numbers of young voters, especially of the college age, we have the power to see what we would like done with our health care system.

Posted by reut0076 at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My first time at an official privilege workshop was as a facilitator, needless to say, I was a little anxious about it would go. However, everyone had a lot of great things to say and we got through a lot of really intense stuff. My only wish is that it could have been a longer session. I felt like we ended up leaving a lot of ground untouched, that many of us would have liked to cover. I’ve looked at privilege from many angles as a social justice student, and in some of my other classes, as well as in my own community work. However, every time I sit down to actually have a discussion about “privilege� whether white, class, or other, I realize something new.

The main way that we explored the topic of privilege was from sharing our own experiences, which I find as one of the most powerful and meaningful ways of connecting to an issue. It was good to talk about privilege with people who do a lot of community work because we ended up talking about why we do this work. We talked about how often we feel like we are learning as much or more from the people we are there “to serve� than they get from us.

One specific example of an “aha� moment for me was when one girl brought up how the crime alerts on campus often describe the perpetrator as a “Somali� male, but how could they have known if he was Somali without asking or seeing ID? We get used to assuming people belong to one category or another without actually knowing anything about them besides their race. We also talked some about what to do to actively confront our friends/other people when they say something racist/classist/etc, which I think is an important conversation to have because it’s such an uncomfortable position to be in.

Amelia

a summary from another student:

Wow! It seems that we got a lot out on the table during Thursday’s RAP session. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about other people’s views and knowledge about the topic of privilege concerning race and class. For me, it was an eye opening meeting filled with many “aha� moments as people shared their experiences with the topic in their classes, community experiences and life in general.

During the first part of the workshop, we started out by the facilitator reading a list of statements, and those to whom it applied to would stand up. It was described as “learning at the expense of each other� because some of the statements were embarrassing to be associated with. Nevertheless, I thought it was a great way to see how many of us consider ourselves privileged and what we think that privilege is based on the statements.

Another part of the workshop was on class privilege. In this part, we looked at what things were asked on employment applications. We came up with many ideas such as GPA, experiences, credentials, degrees, etc. Some people also suggested that employers would want to know about a person’s hygiene. We talked about issues were we expect people from certain classes, such as the upper class to be dressed in a certain manner and to display a certain hygiene and to use certain language.

In this workshop, I discovered the various definitions for privilege out there and what others think it means. This workshop was a great reflection for me because I was able to recognize my own perceptions about privilege and how to respond to prejudice that I hear from others. We helped each other brainstorm ways to react to inflammatory comments made by people we love, respect, etc. These are people we generally would have a hard time saying something like, “what you said was racist� to. This workshop helped me to find what an appropriate response would be to comments that were prejudiced.

One more summary from a student:

I was really interested in the workshop because it addressed an issue that I have often struggled with personally. I was also curious as to see how a room full of people who have chosen to dedicate so much time and energy to community work would approach the topic of privilege. I would guess that many of us are very aware of the disadvantages within many of the communities where work but I would say that we don’t think often enough about the subsequent privileges that we benefit from everyday. I feel this aspect of inequality is important to consider because it helps make one more self-aware.

I think that our discussion was moving towards the conclusion that self-awareness is necessary because as individuals benefiting from various forms social privilege (ingrained in the system) we have a responsibility to use this privilege to confront the system and individuals within it.

Sometimes I feel that there is a belief that the person who is non-white, the person who is poor, the subordinated women, the homosexual, .. etc. is supposed to fight against existing (and discriminatory) systemic inequalities more than others ……simply because the person is obviously marginalized and it is their self interest.
But we must come to the realization that it is in the interest of all to address inequality. As beneficiaries of certain privilege we have a responsibility to take the position of undeserved power given to us and use it to speak out against the system. We should have high expectations for our own involvement and commitment to issues of equity and equality.

Accordingly, we should come to community service with knowledge of the privilege that has gotten us there. We must come with the firm commitment to use this privilege to help others AND help ourselves break free. The professor of my service-learning course right now, Kathleen Ganley, often uses the following quote in class (one which I believe is appropriate for this discussions)

"If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But, if you have come because your liberation is bound up in mine, come and let us work together.�
This quote was mentioned briefly at our RAP session and I believe these words are what we keep coming back to in any discussion of privilege.

Posted by cesp at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)