SOLIDARITY: A NEW ERA FOR PRIN SOCIAL JUSTICE?

A new umbrella group of social justice clubs – Solidarity – is breaking ground on a new era of awareness on campus. 

In February, Solidarity's eight social justice groups hosted a campus-wide forum in Wanamaker that brought much of the standing-room-only crowd to tears when a Bible professor spoke to the issue of LGBTQ+ and Christian Science, and when one student presenter got choked up citing national sexual assault statistics. 

“Solidarity was one of the most important if not the most important event of the year for Principia, because it was the first time minorities on campus came together to openly support each other rather than operate within their individual groups,” Megan Gray, member of the LGBTQ+ club Connect, says. “That’s such a big and brave example of how the whole community could better communicate with each other.” 

Given that Prin only began to recognize LGBTQ+ rights in 2014, the event was remarkable in its openness and in its audience, which included every level of the community up to the board of trustees. 

It was the first time these social justice groups have spoken in a public forum to the entire community. Issues that Solidarity is hoping to address are racism on campus, gender issues, sexual awareness education, sustainability, and cultural issues. 

Solidarity wants to approach these issues through Christian Science and active social justice, explains Sky O’Brien, a member of the Solidarity board and Friendship Around the World. 

Students involved in social justice clubs on campus gave a presentation on their missions and statistics on sexual harassment and rape in colleges around the country, as well as a panel discussion regarding LGBTQ+ issues on campus. 

Panelist, Barry Huff, religion professor and sponsor of Connect, spoke about how issues can be addressed through Christian Science, along with two LGBTQ+ students speaking about their experiences in the community. 

“When Barry Huff was pulling from the Bible and talking about how God needs us exactly as we are, the entire room stood up and applauded,” says Samantha Frank, a student involved in the panel discussion. "I’d never felt that much love and support. It spoke to me about how much support there is and how much people want to keep the momentum going and to be more inclusive.”

How that momentum maintains energy is key, says O'Brien. “The launch event was a great way for the clubs to share their missions and it was a very successful event. Since then, they’re doing good work in the clubs, putting on events, but they’re not doing enough to really fully succeed in achieving the mission Solidarity was set up to achieve,” he says. 

One accomplishment Solidarity achieved is the ear of the College president. It now has a permanent spot on Jo Westerhof’s agenda, meeting every other week with her just as student government does. Communicating directly with her, Solidarity has a stronger voice than it has in the past, O’Brien explains. 

Since the forum, each club has been holding meetings and are active in continuing their work to plan events and expand their audience. These clubs include Friendship Around the World, Black Student Union, Sustainability, Connect, Euphrates Institute, International Perspectives Conference, Friends of English, and Half the Sky. 

Each club is still at the very core, grass roots. They’re starting small and hoping that with time and support from the community, they will be able to make an impact on campus. 

The long-term benefits of the Solidarity event aren't clear, yet, because the clubs are relatively new and it’s much harder to get students with differing opinions to rally behind these causes. Additionally, there is a lot of work to be done to win the support of students who feel Solidarity is a political group. 

The LGBTQ+ club, Connect, is working on establishing the club as a support group, first, for those on campus who identify as LGBTQ. The club’s broader reach in the community is a long-term goal. 

“Each club brings its own perspective,” Carson Landry, co-president of the Connect club, says. “With Connect, because the policy change happened so recently, LGBTQ issues are still more of a hot topic. Having the Solidarity event helped equalize all of us. It brought our issues up to the same importance of other issues.”  

Regardless of starting small, Connect has been working on events and keeping conversations about LGBTQ+ issues on campus alive. It plans to have an event in the fall to educate the community on the past, present, and future issues on campus, including the Principia LGBTQ+ policy change, which took place in November of 2014.  

Samantha Frank, an active member and co-president of Connect says there’s a need for educational talks on how to have loving conversations with LGBTQ+ students and staff, as well as bathrooms, and other issues that are important for the progress and acceptance at Principia. 

“Connect’s involvement in Solidarity was really good because people were receptive to it. It spoke to me about how much support there is and how much people want to keep the momentum going and to be more inclusive,” Frank says. 

Half the Sky, a club that focuses on support and awareness for sexual assault on campus, held a Take Back the Night event in April. About 50 students met and shared experiences, lit candles, and sang hymns to prayerfully address the issues, says Jessica Barker, president of the club.  

With an open Facebook page as well as weekly meetings, Half the Sky is working hard to be known around campus and to grow. With 12 to 13 students who are consistently coming to meetings, Barker is optimistic.  

“I think in the past, the club has had an air of exclusivity, that it’s only for women. But we want to bring men into the conversation because ultimately gender issues can’t be resolved unless we both have men and women in the conversation,” Barker says. 

Both Half the Sky and Connect are working to keep conversations going after Solidarity, finding it important to keep talking about these issues until they start seeing change.  

O’Brien hopes that Solidarity will take initiative in inviting students to get crowds coming to future events, including those with differing opinions or political views.  

“It’s easy to perceive a lot of the work that these clubs are doing is having an [political] agenda. But that’s really a misperception," says O'Brien. "Politics is not a part of solidarity. We are coming together around values of equality, acceptance, and we are encouraging activism. 

“But that activism doesn’t have to be politically motivated. It can be coming from your foundation of your faith and practice as a loving human being, loving other human beings. At the end of the day, that’s really what it is.” 

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