Answering Query’s About Social Justice Issues At TU

Press release from Towson University:

By Kyle Hobstetter on October 15, 2020

As they were looking at the social justice movements that flourished over the summer,
Erin Rook, assistant director of the Towson University Center for Student Diversity, kept thinking about accessibility.

Specifically, they were thinking about the protests and marches, and the inaccessibility
of those who weren’t able to physically attend.

After talking with student intern Edmund Savage, their conversation focused on other
aspects of social justice that aren’t normally talked about.

“And the whole conversation over the summer was about how can we get folks involved
in a conversation, but also educated a bit,” Rook says. “So we came up with this idea
for a series where students, faculty and staff can feel comfortable talking about
these topics.”

That series is called Queering Justice, which will be three sessions over the next two months that looks at different social
justice issues.

The Center of Student Diversity, who is hosting the series, is using the word “Queering”
as a verb in this context, and does not necessarily mean to look at something related
to an LGBTQIA+ identity, but rather to look at something in a new light and challenge
pervious assumptions about it.

“So, through our Queering Justice series we will be “Queering” the conversation as
we take a deeper dive into various aspects of social justice topics,” Rook says.

The first session of Queering Justice will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at noon.
Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP, and they will be given a special Zoom link that will allow them to participate.

The first topic covered will focus on Disability Justice. Unlike the Disability Rights
Movement, Disability Justice pushes to go further in supporting all disabled people
— including those that have been historically left behind from the Disability Rights
Movement.

This means centering experiences and needs of disabled people of color, queer and
trans folks, immigrants, people that are experiencing homelessness or are incarcerated,
mentally ill, those whose ancestral lands have been stolen and many others.

This session will be led by staff, students, and alumni with lived experience as disabled
and neurodivergent people, and two of the facilitators are students interested in
restarting the Disability Student Union on campus.

“There's a lot of good work that's happened in Disability Rights, but like most things,
it was very white, cis-gendered centered,” Rook says. “So, part of Disability Justice
is including everyone else that got left out of those conversations, and looking at
like intersecting oppressions, basically for folks with disabilities.”

Once an attendee RSVPs for the event, they will be sent a short YouTube video, and
an article they can read ahead of time, that provides them education on the session’s
discussion.

The Oct. 21 session on Queer Disability justice will cover topics such as:

• The basics of Disability Justice
• How ableism is inherent in all other forms of oppression
• Inaccessibility in modern social justice movements
• Advocacy steps to incorporate disability justice into all social justice and anti-oppression
  work
• A community discussion on these topics

Rook also says the timing of this first session is perfect, because it also coincides
with the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And while ADA has been
important, it suffers from the same issues the Disability Rights Movement suffered
from.

“ADA is undoubtedly a key component in the fight for civil rights for disabled people,”
Rook says. “It is critical that we continue push for more inclusive and comprehensive
civil rights and justice for all disabled people. Disabled people still do not have
full civil rights in this country.”

After the first session, Queering Justice will return on Oct. 28 with a session that
takes a deeper look at reproductive justice. Titled Queering Reproductive Justice,
the session will be part of Queer Wellness Week (Oct. 26-30).

Queering Reproductive Justice will be a collaboration between the Center for Student
Diversity, the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity and University Health Services.

The last Queering Justice session will take place on Nov. 18, and will look at student
activism and student justice in the United States.

And while this series has been a lot of work, Rook says its these types of events,
that both educate and connect the TU Community, are their favorite part of the job.

“What I like most about working in a university is the idea of this massive community
that you're like automatically a part of,” Rook says. “When you're doing a program
and it can involve all the different types of people from that community, that just
makes me very happy. It makes me want to do the work.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: Diverse and Inclusive Campus.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.