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January 29, 2018 | ||
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University Project Supporting Sustainable Agriculture Continues on Campus Community Engagement Symposium to Feature Student Poster Competition Barry Observes MLK Day of Service with Community Projects Student Leaders Participate in Strategy-Building Event Supporting Farmworkers Faculty, Staff, and Students Invited to February Forum on Feminism Course Instructors Invited to Apply for Service-Learning Designation
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University Project Supporting Sustainable Agriculture Continues on Campus
After a successful first year, Barry University’s project to support sustainable agriculture is in progress this semester.
Barry FairShare is maintaining its initial focus on providing locally sourced organic produce to campus.
Faculty, staff, and students participate in the project by purchasing produce harvested from small farms in Miami-Dade that have adopted sustainable agricultural practices. The purchases provide revenue to the farmers.
In late 2016, the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) created Barry FairShare in partnership with Urban GreenWorks, a local environmental and food-access organization. The project was launched last January.
During its first four months of operation, the project yielded over $3,000 in sales to campus customers.
“Faculty, staff, and students may purchase a full share or a half share of assorted fruits, vegetables, and herbs,” explained Asha Starks, the project coordinator. “All produce is non-certified organic.”
Starks, who is coordinating the project with support from the Barry Service Corps Fellows on the Equitable Communities team, said Barry FairShare encourages healthy eating among young people and supports efforts to eradicate food deserts in low-income neighborhoods of the county, including
Students contribute to the harvesting, marketing, and distribution of the produce primarily through the Barry Service Corps.
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Community Engagement Symposium to Feature Student Poster Competition
A Student Poster Competition will be a feature of this year’s Community Engagement Symposium. The purpose of the competition is to showcase and recognize students’ course-based and co-curricular work focused on social responsibility.
Entries for the competition will be displayed during the Poster Session. Although any student, faculty, and staff member may participate in the Poster Session, the competition will be open only to undergraduates.
Representatives of Barry’s Community Advisory Committee will serve as judges. They will use such criteria as content, relevance, and visual appeal to assess the entries.
Scheduled for March 28, the Fifth Annual Community Engagement Symposium is being organized around the theme, “Demonstrating Social Responsibility through Experiential Learning.”
The Poster Session is slated for Room 112 of the Andreas Building, from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. Prizes will be presented during the Closing Session of the symposium, beginning at 3:30.
Poster Session proposals may be submitted for optional review at any time between now and the extended deadline of February 1.
Barry’s QEP is titled “Fostering Personal and Social Responsibility through Experiential Learning.” Key elements of social responsibility are identified as follows: “Becoming aware of the importance of contributing to the greater good; gaining civic knowledge and skills; and taking action with others to address issues affecting local, national, and/or global communities.”
Experiential learning includes service-learning, community-based research, fieldwork, clinical rotations, study abroad, capstones, and internships.
The social responsibility outcomes are linked primarily to the “community engagement and collaboration” category of the QEP.
For additional information on the Poster Session, including the Student Poster Competition, contact the coordinator at qep@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
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Barry Observes MLK Day of Service with Community Projects
Students, faculty, and staff members honored the late civil rights leader’s legacy through collaborative service at community sites. They engaged in neighborhood beautification, community garden maintenance, ecological restoration, and school grounds improvement.
“Where Do You Stand?” was the day’s theme. It refers to King’s “Strength to Love,” from his 1963 collection of sermons about racial segregation.
During a post-service barbecue on campus, students used social media and a visual art piece to promote the day’s theme.
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Student Leaders Participate in Strategy-Building Event Supporting Farmworkers
Two student leaders and a Barry alumna participated in a national strategy-building event in Columbus, Ohio, earlier this month, in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Campaign for Fair Food.
Paris Razor, Anel Ramirez, and Quayneshia Smith joined college students and young community organizers from across the country at the Student/Farmworker Alliance’s (SFA) Encuentro. The focus of the event was on the SFA-led a boycott of The Wendy’s Company restaurants.
The main features of Encuentro, which took place during the King holiday weekend (January 12–15), were workshops on fundraising and the use of social media, relationship-building activities, and a public demonstration against Wendy’s.
The participants also advanced plans for a five-day “Freedom Fast,” beginning March 11, in front of the office of Wendy’s Board Chairman Nelson Peltz.
SFA is a national organization of students and young people who work with the CIW to uproot exploitation in the fields and to build a food system based on justice, respect, and dignity for farmworkers. Razor is a member of the SFA Steering Committee and Smith is a former member.
A 2017 graduate of Barry’s School of Social Work and a former BSC fellow, Smith led several sessions at Encuentro. She drew upon her increased knowledge and improved skills resulting from her recent four-month internship with SFA in Immokalee.
For her part, Razor hosted a talent show called Café Cultura on the last night of the event. Performances included poetry reading, a photography slideshow, singing, and dancing.
“The purpose of the show was to create a sense of community and build relationships between participants,” Razor said. “It was an amazing event to be a part of, and it reminded me of the importance of solidarity and social justice.”
Ramirez found the experience inspiring.
“The CIW is very committed to their cause,” she said. “They have been fighting Wendy’s for years, and they are not going to give up until farmworkers are paid fairly for their work.”
Ramirez also noted the commitment of college students and community members.
“It was uplifting to see that people from other communities, far away from Immokalee, care enough to get together and make a difference,” she said.
Encuentro is described as “an SFA annual tradition where young organizers from across the country build strategy in the Campaign for Fair Food, share organizing skills, and reflect on their role in working shoulder-to-shoulder with farmworkers in the struggle for dignity in the fields.”
Instead of meeting as usual in Immokalee, SFA hosted Encuentro at The Ohio State University in Wendy’s Company territory.
SFA has been leading a boycott of Wendy’s restaurants because of the company’s refusal to support the CIW’s Fair Food Program. The program involves a partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail-food companies that “ensures humane wages and working conditions for the farmers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms.”
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Faculty, Staff, and Students Invited to February Forum on Feminism
The second forum in this year’s Deliberative Dialogue Series will explore the women’s rights movement from a contemporary perspective.
Titled “Feminism Today: Inclusive Modern Movement or Outdated Relic?” the 90-minute forum will be held on February 13 on the Miami Shores Campus in Room 112 of the Andreas Building, beginning at 4 p.m.
An all-female panel will discuss generational perspectives, the intersections of race and feminism, the Me Too movement (#MeToo), and current efforts in the larger fight for gender equality. Community partners and faculty members will be among the panelists.
Dr. Laura Finley, associate professor of sociology and criminology, will moderate the discussion.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) organizes the Deliberative Dialogue Series as a method of civic learning and engagement in addressing social issues of current concern. The series brings together campus and community stakeholders to weigh perspectives about the issues and to work toward practical solutions.
Participation is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
For further information, contact the CCSI at service@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
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Course Instructors Invited to Apply for Service-Learning Designation
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) is inviting faculty members whose courses include a service-learning component to apply for the service-learning designation.
Sections of courses, internships, practicum assignments, field education, capstones, community-based research, and similar community-focused or community-based work also may be designated as service-learning.
The Service-Learning Course Review Committee recently renewed the designation of sections of three courses in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. The course sections are SOC 200–01: Perspective Consciousness and Social Justice, SOC 246–01: Marriage and Family, and SOC 426/526–01: Sociology of Violence.
Dr. Laura Finley, an associate professor of sociology and criminology, is the instructor.
“Designating courses as service-learning promotes deep integration of thoughtfully organized community service into the curriculum and high standards of service-learning practice,” said Dr. Glenn Bowen, CCSI executive director. “Service-learning courses demonstrate the value of applied learning, student engagement with the community, and critical reflection.”
According to Bowen, the service-learning notation in the course schedule also confirms that Barry University is using the curriculum to meet its commitment to collaborative service in community settings. |
Community Engagement News
Posted On : January 29, 2018
