skills and provide creative arts, computer, and conflict resolution skills. Equally as important, these programs provide a free, safe space and adult supervision for children whose parents are struggling to provide basic necessities and recognize the roles that colleges must play in “leveling the playing field” for children from impoverished backgrounds.

For the last five years, the coordinator of community service has run a small, highly successful summer program, Students with a Brighter Future, for a group of students from a Baltimore City middle school. This program extends the after-school program by providing a summer “bridge” for academic skill-building and social/cultural activities. Of the 13 students that began the program in 2002, five students just completed their first year of college and two more students enrolled in college this fall.

Prior to orientation for first-year Goucher students, new students can choose an “early-immersion” program to begin their affiliations with the college. One of those programs, SERVE, puts students to work in a Baltimore neighborhood helping to build homes as a part of Habitat for Humanity. The program gives students a clear view of housing issues in a disadvantaged neighborhood. Students frequently remark about the transformative experiences of working so closely with neighborhood residents.

In addition to the “morning of service” that first-year students can opt to participate in (163 students provided 326 hours of service in fall 2006), a student-run organization sponsors teams of students to volunteer in schools, soup kitchens, nursing homes, shelters, and a host of other non-profit agencies. Students routinely serve as mentors and tutors in elementary schools, a family resource center, and in an Upward Bound program. This past year, 57 students contributed more than 4,000 hours in these programs. For many students, participation provides a different mirror in

Build Social Justice Skills

For Educators and Practitioners July 19– 22, 2008, at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif.

The Social Justice Training Institute (SJTI) provides a forum for the professional and personal development of social justice educators and practitioners to expand and refine their skills and competencies in designing and facilitating diversity awareness experiences.

The institute provides an intensive developmental opportunity for social justice educators to examine the complex dynamics of race and racism and to develop personal competencies as trainers and practitioners.

which to see how resources are allocated and how many voices are not heard. For other students, these programs help them develop empathy for the disenfranchised and subsequently develop a desire to contribute to change.

The coordinator of our community service program is also a half-time instructor in the peace studies program, a recently developed major. Students majoring in the peace studies program have sponsored programs and speakers that highlight inequities domestically and abroad and provocatively challenge student assumptions and privilege.

For a number of years, Goucher has sponsored travel abroad programs that help students become more aware of and responsive to social justice issues in developing countries around the world.

In summer 2006, Goucher College began a program to encourage promising students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to attend the college. In collaboration with faculty and admission administrators, and with funding from the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation and two private donors, Goucher launched the Educational Opportunity Program to provide tuition, fees, and room and board for five first-generation students who met the financial aid criteria. A four-week, residential summer bridge program focuses on college math and writing skills, and students participate in social/cultural events and workshops on time management, organizational skills, and transition concerns. Students receive stipends and laptop computers and are assigned peer mentors and peer tutors. The program sends a clear, tangible message about the college’s commitment to social justice programs.

Gail Neverdon Edmonds is vice president and dean of students at Goucher College in Baltimore.

SJTI – The Student Experience

May 22– 25, 2008, at the University of Illinois

The SJTI provides an intensive developmental opportunity for students to examine the complex dynamics of oppression and to develop strategies to foster positive change on their campuses and in their communities. This experience is for undergraduates who have completed a significant amount of work on social justice issues.

Students explore the identities that make up who they are and better understand how these identities impact all they do. Each student works with a “partner” from his or her home campus to develop a Social Justice Commitment (SJC) detailing personal growth goals, a home campus intervention and ways to contribute to the community.