Who gets to be the “activist”?
How does the activist stay active? How do we take the “-ism” out of activism? The Draper Center states that over 400 students at Pomona College participate in some form of community engagement every semester, and they believe this to be a conservative estimate. While many students who travel outside of the Claremont bubble to do this type of work are comfortable identifying themselves as “activists,” others believe that “activism” is a term loaded with political baggage and exclusionary connotations; moreover, many students who do work that they believe is “activist” are focusing their efforts in ways that we might not typically associate with the word. The Draper Center, the Asian American Resource Center, and the Pomona Student Union invite students to brainstorm the various ways that they can turn public service and community engagement into “sustainable” practices, both during and after their time in Claremont. Three speakers, each of whom represents a different form of activism, will discuss their experiences with public service and the techniques that they have used to make their work sustainable. After the panel, we will launch into a discussion led by six students about the forms that activism takes on Pomona’s campus and how they can be made more effective. PANELISTS Valorie Thomas Marina Wood Anna Wirth STUDENT FACILITATORS Debbie Frempong Natalie Daifotis Ricardo Morales Ariel Hernández Ramírez Maki Tohmon Joyce Nimocks
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As Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prepares to host the 2016 Olympics, many vulnerable communities are experiencing eviction, gentrification, and police violence. Join us as Theresa Williamson gives a talk on how Rio’s favela residents are using community organizing to respond to these changes. There will be a Q&A afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.
Theresa Williamson is the founder and executive director of Catalytic Communities. Catalytic Communities is a non-profit dedicated to bridging the gaps between formal and informal settlements in Rio de Janeiro through leadership training, education, dialogue, and advocacy. She has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. |
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February 2016
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