Session A - Community Organizing as a Model for Student Empowerment (MCLA)

Session Information

Title: Community Organizing as a Model for Student Empowerment
Session: 10:25 - 11:15 A.M.
Location: FCSI 121
Author(s):
- Kerri Leyda Nicoll, Associate Professor of Social Work
- Jerome Socolof, Associate Professor of Fine & Performing Arts
- George Hamaoui, Assistant Professor of Biology; MCLA Student Representatives

Abstract

Community organizing has long been used by structurally disempowered communities to transform their material and social circumstances. During the 2021-2022 academic year, a Social Work class at MCLA used a progressive community organizing model to envision a campus environment that would better support student wellbeing and to achieve a major policy change at the institutional level. In this presentation, we will share the theories, methods, and concrete practices that empowered students to transform their own community, resulting in a substantially revised MCLA Class Attendance Policy that accounts for student mental health and wellbeing, promotes student agency in making decisions about self-care, and encourages mutually respectful relationships between students and faculty. Participants will leave with resources and inspiration for employing a similar model on their own campuses.

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