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Jesuit College and University Students Raise Awareness About Poverty and Racism in New Orleans
Students from Jesuit colleges and universities from across the country will be gathering at Loyola University New Orleans March 9-11 for an Ignatian Family Teach-In that will address issues of racism and poverty in the region and encourage students to confront these issues in their own communities. In addition to the Teach-In, entitled "Rebuilding Communities: Facing Racism and Poverty," which is being sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN), many students will be participating in service activities in New Orleans the week of March 5-9 and March 12-16.
Over 400 students from 20 Jesuit colleges and universities will be attending the Teach-In, and more than 200 of them will be participating in service work.
"The opportunity to cap off a week of service with education and reflection about racism and poverty with students from other Jesuit colleges and universities across the country was too great of an opportunity to miss," said Christina Harrison, Assistant Director of Immersion Programs and Outreach at Loyola Maryland's Center for Community Service and Justice, which sponsors Spring Break Outreach (SBO).
"Jesuit education is all about the real world -- taking the knowledge and education we receive and applying it in real ways that benefit others," said Harrison. "With programs like the SBO and the ISN conference, students are given the opportunity to engage with the real world, broaden their understanding and compassion and develop an informed perspective on social issues and reality."
The Teach-In in New Orleans has a similar format to the November Teach-Ins in Columbus, GA that are linked to the annual gathering that calls for the closing of the School of the Americas (SOA), now named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). Over the course of the nine years that members of Jesuit colleges, universities, high schools, provinces and organizations have assembled for the Columbus Teach-In, it has become clearer that the Teach-In itself speaks to a broader agenda of justice issues. The New Orleans Teach-In will speak to those broader issues and will feature several student speakers as well as leaders in the fields of academia, advocacy, and human and civil rights, that will discuss topics such as racism, poverty, fair housing and the criminal justice system. The keynote speakers include Dr. Shawn Copeland, Ph.D., professor of theology at Boston College; Fr. Fernando Franco, S.J., Secretary of the Social Apostolate for the Society of Jesus at the Jesuits' Curia in Rome; and Mr. William Quigley, law professor and Director of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans.
"Our institutions' commitment to social justice calls us to shed light on the pervasive injustices in our society," said Fr. Charles Currie, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), a national service organization that represents the 28 Jesuit post-secondary institutions in the United States. "There are many places in our country where we can focus our energies on finding solutions to systemic problems and promoting the common good. In light of what the Gulf Coast suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is an appropriate setting to engage our students in many of the pressing issues of our time."
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