February 8, 2021

IN THIS ISSUE

• Thursday’s Deliberative Dialogue to Focus on Police Brutality Experienced by Black Women
• Service-Learning Faculty Fellowships Available for Next Academic Year
• Attractive Prizes Await Community Engagement Symposium Poster Competition Winners
• Buccaneer Partnership Gets Going With Information Session on Mentorship Opportunities
• Barry University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2021: A Pictorial Report

Thursday’s Deliberative Dialogue To Focus On Police Brutality Experienced By Black Women

Third Forum In Four-Part Series On Race Matters

An all-woman group of community and university representatives will bring their voices and views to this Thursday’s deliberative dialogue—a 90-minute forum focused on how women of color have experienced police violence. The six-member assemblage will consist of community organizers, gender and racial justice activists, and university faculty members.

Titled, “Say Her Name! Working for Social Justice at the Intersection of Race and Gender,” the forum will be the third in the 2020–2021 Deliberative Dialogue Series, “Race Matters.” 

Serving on a panel of key participants will be Tray Johns, a cofounder and the executive director of FedFam4life; Alexandra Lavado, a Barry graduate psychology student; Dr. Sharron Singleton, an associate professor and the director of doctoral studies in the School of Social Work; and Barry alumna Quayneshia Smith, the South Florida regional organizer for Dream Defenders.

Dr. Laura Finley, a professor of sociology and criminology, and Dr. Pamela Hall, an associate professor of psychology, will be the forum facilitators.

“Women of color have been disproportionately affected by police violence, but their stories receive little media attention compared to their male counterparts,” noted CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien. “Before Breonna Taylor’s name became a rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter movement, the stories of police brutality that spurred activism were those of men killed by racialized violence, such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner.”

Providing a backdrop for the forum, Berrien explained that the Say Her Name! campaign “seeks to make the fight for racial justice more inclusive of the experiences of women.” She added: “The campaign brings to light the stories of women of color who have been killed by police and have experienced gender-specific forms of police violence.” 

Thursday’s forum—scheduled for 4–5:30 p.m. via Zoom—coincides with the College Brides Walk, an annual event that draws attention to domestic violence. The forum is designed to generate a discussion of how race, gender, and police violence intersect to the detriment of women of color. Attendees are expected to come away with a list of specific actions that they may take to help address the issue.

Organized by the CCSI (Center for Community Service Initiatives), the academic year’s Deliberative Dialogue Series is designed to engage representatives of diverse social groups in productive and respectful dialogue about race.

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Service-Learning Faculty Fellowships Available For Next Academic Year

A small number of service-learning fellowships will be available for the 2021–2022 academic year. Full-time faculty members who teach undergraduate or graduate courses are urged to apply before the March 1 deadline.

The Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program is designed primarily to enhance the quality of service-learning courses and to promote the scholarship of teaching and learning based on the pedagogy. Service-learning fellows attend professional development seminars and participate in the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship. 

For further information on the Faculty Fellows Program, contact Dr. Glenn Bowen in the CCSI at gbowen@barry.edu.

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Attractive Prizes Await Community Engagement Symposium Poster Competition Winners

Undergraduates participating in the poster session of Barry’s seventh annual Community Engagement Symposium will compete for attractive prizes.

From a portable speaker with Bluetooth (wireless technology) to a set of multicolored face masks, the prizes are sure to please, the organizers say. Eight prize winners will be selected, and all other entrants will receive consolation items.

The first prize will be a JBL Pulse 3 wireless (portable) Bluetooth waterproof speaker; the second prize: an Amazon Echo Dot speaker; the third prize: a power bank portable charger. A Fire TV Stick 4K streaming device will be given to the fourth-place winner. For fifth place, the prize will be a handmade backpack. Each of two other competitors will receive a gift certificate from Atelye Thevenet Haitian Marketplace, and the eighth-place competitor will receive a five-pack assortment of multicolored face masks.

Although any student—as well as faculty and staff members—may submit a poster for the symposium session, the competition is open to undergraduates only.

The 2020 symposium was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2021 symposium will take place on March 31. 

Poster competition entries must be submitted by March 15 at 5 p.m. For further information, contact Dr. Heather Johnson Desiral, the poster session coordinator, at qep@barry.edu.

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Buccaneer Partnership Gets Going With Information Session On Mentorship Opportunities

Barry staff, faculty, and alumni discussed details of the one-to-one mentorship opportunities available with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami last Thursday during an information session.

Marianne Weiss, vice president of continuing education at BBBS Miami, made a presentation and fielded questions during the hour-long virtual session. 

Volunteers, called “Bigs,” will provide either “community-based” or “site-based” mentoring to children between 6 and 18 years of age. 

Community-based mentoring involves “fun activities,” Weiss explained. Bigs and Littles explore the local community and share fun activities at least twice a month for a minimum of four hours each time. Some Bigs meet their Littles on the weekends; others meet in the evenings. 

Site-based mentoring is focused on academics—reading, homework help, and the like. However, Bigs and Littles may also play board and computer games, take part in sports, and engage in simple conversations. All such mentoring activities take place for one hour each week at a designated site—either at the Little’s school during the school day or at the Carnival Center for Excellence after school. 

BBBS Miami, whose mission is to “create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth,” serves more than 3,000 youth each year.

Over 1,000 potential Littles are awaiting their Bigs, noted Weiss, who was a Big Sister while in graduate school. She said the program requires a one-year commitment from volunteers.

An additional opportunity for volunteers is BBBS Miami’s Take Stock in Children Miami program, of which Weiss is the director. Volunteers assist high-performing, at-risk scholarship recipients in high school and college. Take Stock mentoring may be done virtually, Weiss said.

Prospective Bigs may complete the required fingerprinting during Barry’s Festival of Nations this Wednesday (Feb. 10).

Last Thursday’s information session was organized by Human Resources and hosted by Associate Vice President Jasmine Santiago.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding

Last month, Barry President Dr. Mike Allen and BBBS Miami President and CEO Gale Nelson signed a memorandum of understanding, which marked the official start of the Buccaneer Partnership. The primary focus of the partnership will be the mentoring of youth, including children of incarcerated parents, so they may achieve their full potential and all-around success.

Before signing the MOU, both Allen and Nelson spoke about the importance of the partnership. They also highlighted their organizations’ shared values and commitment to the community.

“The foundation for any good partnership begins with shared values and commonality of missions,” Allen said. “There’s no question that our two organizations are really perfectly aligned in that regard.”

Nelson noted that Barry (established in 1940) and BBBS Miami (founded in 1958) have contributed a total of 144 years of service to the community.

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Barry University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Of Service 2021: A Pictorial Report