How do we engage in social justice when social distancing? It’s a riddle communities across the U.S. have grappled with since shutting down to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving individuals to spread apart to keep each other safe. At Santa Clara University, where all undergraduates are required to participate in experiential learning for social justice, the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education is attempting to fill the gap in creative ways.
When the program began 30 years ago, “it was about allowing students to make connections between what they’re learning in the classroom with what it means to have a relationship on the ground with someone who is living in a marginalized circumstance,” says Jennifer Merritt, director of Community-based Learning (CBL) in the Ignatian Center. And it’s still about that today, in-person or not.
Following quarantine orders, Ignatian Center staff compiled different ways for students to engage with community partners virtually. These included video interviews with Merritt asking partners questions related to specific courses. “It could be anything from food security for a food justice class, to questions about depression during quarantine for an abnormal psychology class,” she says. What was discussed was then folded into class assignments and discussions.
[Read full story: Social Justice, Hold the Socializing]