|
Barry Student Leaders Get Set for Social Justice Roles
Students enrolled in the Barry Service Corps (BSC) Fellows Program recently received diversity training, visited community agencies, practiced civic engagement and leadership skills, and explored pathways to social justice.
Nineteen students are participating in the program, which focuses on civic learning and leadership.
During a five-day program orientation, the student leaders attended sessions with guest presenters, who covered community organizing, solidarity in Catholic social teaching, and voting as a civic engagement practice. The guest presenters were three Barry faculty members: Dr. Sean Foreman, associate professor of political science; Dr. Marc Lavallee, assistant professor of practical theology; and Fabio Naranjo, an instructor in the School of Social Work.
Fr. Cristóbal Torres, OP, university chaplain, and Karen Stalnaker, director of Campus Ministry, also assisted with the orientation.
During their visit to Church World Service, the BSC fellows got an overview of refugee issues in Miami from the organization’s resource developer, Phillip Rincon, a Barry alumnus. Afterwards, they helped to prepare clothing donations for refugee families who recently arrived from the Congo and Cuba.
At EcoTech Visions, they learned about market-driven solutions to environmental challenges and job creation in low-income communities.
After the orientation, the BSC fellows served as community service trip leaders for Freshmen Experience Day.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) coordinates the BSC Fellows Program. It is a subprogram of the Barry Service Corps, composed mainly of students currently registered for Federal Work-Study Community Service.
Throughout the academic year, the student leaders will assist the CCSI with recruiting students for community engagement activities, facilitating service trips, and working directly with community partners on social justice initiatives. In addition, each fellow will design and implement a project that addresses a local community need.
Each participating student has been assigned to one of four social justice teams: Community Justice, Global Citizenship, Urban Health, and Youth Development. The teams will work collaboratively with community partners to address specific issues.
The Community Justice team will work with PACT (People Acting for Community Together) on juvenile justice and affordable housing issues. Team members are Akil Andrews, Taleah Becton, Mickaelle Celigny, Kevin Dalia, and Christopher Riker.
The Global Citizenship team will focus on consumer behavior and the related issue of globalization, as well as immigration and refugee concerns. Team members Emmanuella Carriere, Presler Maxius, Paola Montenegro, Quayneshia Smith, and Alejandro Tobon will collaborate with Church World Service, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), and the Student Farmworker Alliance.
Montenegro, Smith, and Tobon, who also are Alternative Breaks executive officers, will coordinate Alternative Spring Break as part of their responsibilities.
The Urban Health team will deal with issues of food access, air quality, sustainability, green jobs, and neighborhood development. Alberto Liriano, Nylisha Matos, Christian Mesa, and Donté Roberts will provide program and marketing support to EcoTech Visions and Urban GreenWorks and also support Barry’s partnership with the neighborhood association of La Paloma.
Fellows on the Youth Development team will lead community service trips to Little Haiti on Wednesday afternoons, in support of the work of the local Optimist Club, and to Gang Alternative on Thursday afternoons. Seretse Davis, Gilberte Jean-Francois, Matenin Sheriff, Asha Starks, and Rajon Wright will also assist in implementing the community partners’ health curricula.
|
Service Project This Saturday Supports Hunger Action Month
Barry volunteers will support Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month this Saturday, September 12, by participating in a food-sorting project with Feeding South Florida.
The regional food bank will host its 3rd annual Sort-A-Thon from Friday to Saturday evening at 2501 SW 32nd Terrace, Pembroke Park, in Broward County. Barry volunteers will work the 3:00–6:00 p.m. shift on Saturday.
This community service project will also mark Barry’s participation in the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance.
To sign up for participation the project, contact Liz James in the CCSI at ljames@barry.edu or 305-899-3728.
|
Constitution Day Activities to Draw Attention to Voting Rights
Barry University will celebrate Constitution Day, September 17, by bringing attention to contemporary and historic issues connected to voting rights. Activities will include a student forum, trivia session, and film screening.
Dr. Charles Zelden, professor of history, law and politics at Nova Southeastern University, will deliver the keynote address at the student forum in the Events Room of the Landon Student Union, starting at 12:30 p.m. Zelden is an expert on voting laws and voting rights.
Students on a panel will respond to Zelden’s comments and share their experiences with voting or registering to vote, said Dr. Sean Foreman, co-chair of Barry’s Campus Democracy Project (CDP).
Students will have an opportunity to test their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and the political process during the trivia session, between noon and 3:00 p.m., in the Atrium of the Landon Student Union.
Throughout the day, the CDP organizers will encourage students to register with TurboVote, a nonprofit organization that facilitates voter registration and the voting process.
Through TurboVote, students can register to vote in Florida or in their home states. The service also allows students to request absentee ballots and sign up for email and text-message election reminders. Constitution Day will culminate with a screening and discussion of “Selma”in the Multipurpose Room of Dominican Hall, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The film depicts the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Lyndon Johnson’s eventual signing of the Voting Rights Act.
September 17 is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The day commemorates the September 17, 1787 signing of the United States Constitution.
“The celebration of Constitution Day will help student become well-informed citizens through familiarity with the U.S. Constitution and understanding of voting rights,” said Courtney Berrien, a CDP co-chair.
Barry’s Constitution Day program is organized as a CDP event supported by the Student Government Association, the Department of History and Political Science, and the Center for Community Service Initiatives.
|
Deliberative Dialogue to Focus on Police-Community Relations
The first forum in the 2015–2016 Deliberative Dialogue Series will be held on Monday, September 21, in Room 112 of the Andreas Building, beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Scheduled as part of Barry University’s Peace Month program, the 90-minute forum will focus on police-community relations. “The Police and the Community: Who is Protected and Served?” is the topic of the forum.
CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien has provided this context for the event: “The deaths of black men at the hands of police officers have left communities in conflict, with many questioning the true nature of equality in this country. Do we have equal protection under the law? What have the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and others taught us about racial profiling and mistrust between the police and the community members they are charged with protecting? How is this issue manifested in South Florida? What challenges do law enforcement officers face? What strategies should local agencies and individuals use to improve community-police relations?”
During the 90-minute forum, community experts, law enforcement officials, students, alumni, faculty, and staff will explore collaborative approaches to this timely issue, Berrien said.
|
Student Leaders Sort Items at Food Bank in Broward County
A group of Barry student leaders inspected and sorted food items in Feeding South Florida’s Pembroke Park warehouse recently. The group included eight Barry Service Corps fellows as well as students participating in programs coordinated by the Center for Student Involvement and other departments in the Division of Student Affairs.
Over a three-hour period, the group inspected and sorted 7,820 pounds of food, the equivalent of 6,200 meals.
CCSI staff members Caitlin Geis and Andres Quevedo accompanied the volunteers.
Feeding South Florida is a food bank and the region’s member of the Feeding America network.
|
Box Tops for Education Drive Continues
The Box Tops for Education Drive for the 2015-2016 academic year is underway. Staff, faculty, and students are urged to support this fund-raising project organized by the Minority Association of Pre-health Students (MAPS) in association with the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI). Donations of box-top coupons may be sent to the CCSI, Adrian 208. Proceeds benefit students at the North Miami Elementary School.
A list of products with the box-top coupons is available at http://www.boxtops4education.com/-/media/BoxTops/FlyersAndDownloads/Participating-Products-Flyer.pdf.
|
Nursing Home Becomes a Friend of the Barry Library
Sinai Plaza Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has become a patron of the Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library. The nonprofit nursing home now has a “Friend of the Library” card that residents will use to check out books, DVDs, and other items.
Sinai Plaza’s new activities director, Nelson Ramirez, expressed appreciation for the university’s prompt and positive response to his request for residents of the nursing home to have access to the library collection.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) had conveyed his request to the library administration, and interim Library Director Rodrigo Castro approved the creation of a “Friend of the Library” category of patrons. Now, Sinai Plaza residents can check out up to five items at a time, with a regular lending period of two weeks.
On August 21, Ramirez accompanied the first library patron from Sinai Plaza to peruse and borrow items from the library collection. The delighted resident told Ramirez: “This is a miracle; I am so grateful to be here.”
The 150-bed Sinai Plaza provides short-term rehabilitation and long-term nursing home services. As a community partner and one of the university’s nearest neighbors in North Miami-Dade, the nursing home has welcomed Barry students over the years. Students from such disciplines as social work, sociology, nursing, and theology have engaged with staff members and residents of the nursing home as part of experiential learning assignments.
|
Faculty Learning Community to Meet on September 23
The Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship will have its first meeting for the academic year on Wednesday, September 23, from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) will host the meeting in Adrian 208.
All members and prospective members are urged to attend.
For further information, contact Dr. Pamela Hall, FLC facilitator, at phall@barry.edu, or the CCSI.
|
CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : September 09, 2015
