As a member of the SIUC family, I have the privilege of working with the amazing staff and students in University Housing. I am the Coordinator for Student Involvement and Leadership Development, which is a department in Student Life & Intercultural Relations. Two years ago, we embarked on a journey to create a program for students that challenges them to think about how power, privilege, and oppression operate in their daily lives. With the commitment and partnership of many departments on campus, we launched the inaugural Social Justice Leadership Institute (SJLI) in the spring 2010 semester. University Housing has been a partner and advocate of this program from the inception.
This spring semester, we are working with our second cohort of SJLI participants. To date, students have participated in workshops and simulations to include P2O: Power, Privilege, & Oppression facilitated by Dr. Corey Seemiller from the Sonoran Center for Leadership Development. Learn more about P2O at: http://www.sonoranleadership.org/p2o.htm. Students also participated in workshops about “Reflexivity & Identity” facilitated by Shannon Lindsey-Toth, Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction and “The “Innocence” of Popular Culture: Deconstructing Representations of Violence against Women as Entertainment, facilitated by Dr. Rachel Griffin and Josh Phillips from Speech Communication. Coming up, students will learn about the “Politics of Food” and attend a keynote by Jessica Pettit entitled, “If Not Us, Then Who? Let’s Rise.” Learn more about Jessica Pettitt and her work at: http://www.jessicapettitt.com/.
Unique to SJLI this year, is the addition of Cluster Leaders. Graduates of SJLI volunteer to serve as Cluster Leaders for a small group (cluster) of current SJLI participants. Through this role, they create a community with their small group to process feelings, emotions, and overall thoughts regarding the SJLI workshops and simulations. Faculty, staff, and graduate students committed to social justice work and issues, were encouraged to serve as Mentors for each cluster.
At the conclusion of the semester-long institute, we ask the following of SJLI participants: How can you impact social change as a leader committed to social justice? What will you do with this experience to make a difference? While we are in the infancy stages of this program, we are excited about the future and possibilities. With the support from progressive departments, like University Housing, we look forward to a bright future for the Social Justice Leadership Institute. For more information about SJLI, contact Amanda Phillips, Student Involvement & Leadership Development, at phillips@siu.edu.
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