Social Justice Initiative Charter May 15, 2007

Social Justice Initiative Charter


The Social Justice Initiative is a coalition of students dedicated to creating a positive change in the experience, treatment, and interaction of marginalized groups and to promote interaction and awareness among all students at Hamilton College.
International students and students of color feel isolated, ignored, and alienated due to hidden implicit social and structural racism. This racism and marginalization results, in part, from a ‘white’ curriculum that doesn’t reflect the increasing diversity of our campus (to say nothing of the diversity of the world), professors and an administration who are insensitive to diversity, and extra-curricular social events that structurally segregate and discriminate against students. Further, white students remain ignorant and unaware that there is a problem.

The Social Justice Initiative works (1) to unite the existing multi-cultural groups on campus, (2) to advocate curricular change that better reflects the diversity of the world, (3) to promote faculty administrative sensitivity toward diverse and marginalized students, (4) to make the social scene at Hamilton more reflective of the diverse population by raising awareness and activism among students.

Students from (list of organizations represented in the initiative) join together in the Social Justice Initiative because we believe that the negative experience of students of color and international students is not just their problem. This issue affects all Hamilton students and we cannot allow it to continue. The Social Justice Initiative serves as a venue in which members of various groups and individuals can discuss relevant issues, and a forum to organize and mobilize action to address those issues.

Students form committees within the Social Justice Initiative to more efficiently address and affect action on the pertinent issues. These committees meet and communicate as often as necessary. The Social Justice Initiative, as a forum, will meet weekly for the first month of school and every two weeks after that. These meetings provide a venue for students of various groups to introduce new issues and for committees to share progress and logistical needs with the rest of the group. (Meetings will probably be held on Thursdays at five or six). In general, decisions are made by a simple majority rule. Two thirds of the existing committee members must vote for the creation of a new committee. The facilitation of incoming issues committee helps organize new ideas and direct new members and their energy to the appropriate existing committees. The secretarial committee satisfies general organizational needs from the creation of a calendar, note taking, to directing communications.

Committees

(1) Multicultural Group
Promote better interaction among Multicultural groups
—Hold events that include various groups
—Networking + other groups non-culturally oriented groups as well

(2) Curricular
Demand a curriculum that is more reflective of the diversity of this campus and the world
—Demand a commitment to the Africana Studies Program

(3) Faculty training, Administrative issues
Diversity training and sensitivity among faculty
Demand better treatment by the administration

(4) Social Events, Awareness
Promote the acknowledgement of diversity
—End the segregation at Commons
—Make social events and student governing boards more reflective of diversity
—Make a multi-cultural center and a venue for people who don’t drink at Hamilton to actually do something
Raise awareness of the invisible racism on campus and promote activism to eliminate it

(5) Facilitate incoming issues

(6) Secretarial Committee