Students and experts who attended a U symposium about social justice over the weekend had different ideas about what defines social justice and what must be done to move toward it.
“It’s our specialization and different interpretations of social justice that make it great,” said Kristi Ryujin, the director for diversity initiatives at the University of Missouri-Kansas.
On Friday and Saturday, students enrolled in the class Historic and Contemporary Issues in Social Justice presented papers about issues of social justice. Question-and-answer sessions followed the presentations.
Each student defined social justice differently and saw it practiced in numerous ways. Despite these differences, a common theme of the discussion was the importance of building coalition. Speakers said people can only work toward social justice when they come together.
“It’s important that we recognize there are diverse ways of doing this work,” said David Quijada, an assistant professor in the department of education. “We’re not all on the same page, but we can have conflict and coalition in the work we do.”
The students analyzed social injustices related to class, education, environment and human rights.
After presenting their research, students had to propose solutions as to how they could fix the social injustices they perceive.
“When you take a class on social justice, it is framed as another topic or subject, which is the starting point for understanding,” said Jarred Martinez, a senior in social justice and education. “Social justice is more than a subject — it permeates all spheres of life. It’s something you learn, recognize and live.”
Martinez sees social justice as something that comes from the bottom up, as a collection of feelings and emotions cultivated and attached to communities. Quoting Ghandi, Martinez said social justice is best practiced by being “the change you want to see in the world.”
armela Willden, a junior in social justice and education, interprets social justice another way.
“Social justice, to me, is the belief that every individual and group is entitled to fair and equal rights and participation in social and educational opportunities,” Willden said. “We haven’t seen social justice put into practice for some time, but being an activist and engaging with the community is a start.”
Willden recognized that social justice is very different for each person, adding that some people choose to focus on issues that only affect them or their families, not acknowledging issues that affect everyone or other groups of people.
Ryujin said it is this failure to be inclusive that keeps social justice from happening.
She described people as bricks placed in mortar to create a wall. The wall is a symbol of oppression that encases all people. Some people are higher or lower in the wall than others, creating the wall’s strength and making people their own oppressors, she said.
Ryujin said that because individuals insist on fighting for their own interests, people are blind to the idea that if all the bricks shimmied together, the wall would collapse.
Ryujin and other members of the keynote panel spoke about the daily struggles that accompany social justice in academia and outside institutions, saying it is a daily fight that must be made. Ryujin applauded the students enrolled in the course for taking up such exhausting work.
“I’m moved by (their) passion and commitment,” said Helga Shugart, an associate professor in the department of communication. “These students are sharp young minds that I find inspiring. They remind me why we do this work–they’re the waves behind us.”
Jarad ReddekoppU student Laura York listens in on a student speaker during the Exploring Social Justice panel Friday afternoon.