“Social justice is fragile and civil respect for others is not something we’re born with,” said Jeremy Cohen, associate vice president and senior associate dean of undergraduate education at Penn State, in the Penn State Brandywine Tomezsko lounge Saturday, April 24. In an effort to draw like minds from a variety of disciplines, organizations, institutions, government offices and backgrounds, the campus held an all-day interdisciplinary symposium, “Higher Education for a Higher Purpose: The Role of the Academy in Promoting Social Justice.”
Afghan women’s rights activist Suraya Pakzad, recipient of the 2008 International Women of Courage Award and founder of the Voice of Women Organization, began the day as the keynote speaker. The mother of six -- three daughters and three sons -- and wife of a supportive husband, Pakzad has spent years organizing secret schools for girls in Afghanistan, building shelters for women and children seeking refuge from abuse and educating the world about the plight of women in her country.
“How can we achieve social justice when there is no equality?” Pakzad asked the crowd of nearly 100 participants. She spoke of the need for educational opportunities for women and children in order for them to gain the equality they deserve.
Following her speech, which was praised with a standing ovation, participants engaged in “A Conversation on Human Rights and Institutional Responsibilities” with moderator Sondra Meyers, senior fellow for international, civic and cultural projects at the University of Scranton, and a panel of four, which included Aldo Magazzeni, founder and director of Traveling Mercies; Marjorie Margolies, president of Women’s Campaign International; Sharon M. Meagher, professor of philosophy and chair of the department of Latin American studies and women’s studies at the University of Scranton; and Trudy Rubin, editorial board and foreign affairs columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Local and global perspectives, student involvement and educational practices, governmental affairs and the media were discussed in depth by the panelists, all of them volunteering their insights from their own experiences in various fields. From Magazzeni’s emphasis on individuals becoming active in their own communities first, to Rubin’s suggestion to have local newspapers get more involved in the educational systems, to Meagher’s emphasis on student community and civic engagement and learning, the panel and the audience had much to share and learn about the issues surrounding human rights.
Following the panel discussion, U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. discussed needed improvements in the government system to enable change in inequality, poverty and human rights. “There are not enough political officials willing to make political sacrifices,” he said.
Casey’s wife, Terese, spoke of her involvement with “Witnesses to Hunger,” a collection of photographs taken by mothers documenting the extreme hunger and poverty in which they live. The project was made possible through collaboration with Professor Mariana Chilton of Drexel University’s School of Public Health. Through photographing the run-down homes, lack of food and unsanitary conditions, Terese Casey and Chilton already have begun to change the lives of these mothers through education and awareness.
“One in every eight households is affected by hunger in the United States,” Terese Casey said. She hopes to increase women’s participation in hunger issues through the exhibition, which is now on display at the University of Pennsylvania.
The last formal portion of the day consisted of four concurrent sessions: “The Clemente Course: Integrating a Social Justice Agenda in Humanities Curricula” presented by course Founder Earl Shorris and Eliza Reilly, director at the Phillips Museum of Art; “Developing Civic Identity in Youth” presented by Matthew Bundick, of Penn State, Barbara Shaiman, of Champions of Caring and Samuel Loewner, also of Penn State; “Promoting Community Partnerships” presented by Paul Downie, of Chester Mural Program, Cynthia Jetter, of Swarthmore College and Joann Weeks of University of Pennsylvania; and “Scholarship for Social Justice” presented by Greg Dimitriadis, of SUNY Buffalo, Louise Ammentorp, of the College of New Jersey and Eve Tuck, of SUNY New Paltz.
Freshman Rob Ewing, president of the campus’ Gay Straight Alliance, said, “You never realize how well-off Americans are until you see someone first-hand who fears for her life on a daily basis just for standing up for what’s right. We have the right to organize in this country and speak freely. I can’t imagine having to hold one of our campus diversity sessions underground in fear that a government official would shut us down or jail or kill us.”
He hopes to take what he learned in one of the sessions and apply it to “changing the world one life at a time.”