UF students and faculty will work toward making UF more inclusive in the Reitz Grand Ballroom tonight.
The first UF Social Justice Summit, which will last through the weekend, will feature workshops about race relations, sexuality, gender identity and disability. It will be hosted by the UF Counseling and Wellness Center’s ASPIRE program, which targets the needs of black students, and the Black Student Leadership Conference.
The summit is an attempt to bring diverse groups together to address social justice, said Alexandra Lenzen, a coordinator of the summit.
“We’ve had survey research (from the UF psychology department) that shows our campus is not always welcoming,” the 26-year-old said.
Racial equality activist and University of California professor of psychology Joe White will be the opening keynote speaker and will discuss race relations, said Lenzen, a fourth-year counseling and psychology graduate student. She said she is looking forward to White’s 5:30 p.m. panel tomorrow.
About 400 students have registered to hear White, Lenzen said.
Students who attend the summit can also register for the Black Student Leadership Conference, which will be held at the summit. The conference will offer additional workshops and a social justice certificate, said Toni-Kay Gordon, an executive chair for the conference.
While the conference is normally held in the Spring, it will take place in the Fall this year. By moving from Spring to Fall, its enrollment has tripled because there’s greater interest in it and people from other colleges will attend, Gordon, 21, said. The conference costs $30 for UF and Santa Fe students and $50 for non-UF students.
“I just think this conference is necessary in order to help shape the leaders,” said Gordon, a UF sociology senior.
Oliver Telusma, a UF political science sophomore, said he’s attending because he thinks it’s important to talk about social justice with large, diverse groups.
“We have to start normalizing these discussions, especially discussions like this that move society forward,” the 19-year-old said.
