Sweatshop-free merchandise, free chai mate tea, student organization booths and an interactive trivia game were featured front of Sturm Hall Thursday in the first-ever Social Justice Day, part of “Be the Change” Week at the University of Denver.
Be the Change USA, a nationwide grassroots political organization whose name was inspired by Gandhi’s exhortation to “be the change you wish to see in the world,” advocates nationalized healthcare, enhancing public education, a tax-balanced economy and civil rights.
DU’s Students for Positive Social Change (SPSC), [dis]claimer, Young Democrats, Native Student Alliance, Latino Student Alliance, Queer-Straight Alliance, Muslim Students Association, Hawaii Club and the Undergraduate Women’s Council were all involved, with five of these groups as the main planners and the AUSA diversity committee as the sponsor.
DU modeled “Be the Change” week off of Fair Trade Week, which DU has hosted in the past. Social Justice Day emphasized economic equality with voices from the Ethical Trade Action Group, Coloradans for Fairness and Equality and the Colorado Progressive Coalition, while Monday through Wednesday focused on the environment, diversity and women’s rights, respectively.
Elizabeth Beemer, International business junior and president of SPSC, was a main organizer of Be the Change week.
“All the days have gone really well,” said Beemer. “This is the day I got to represent the issue closest to my heart. We want to raise awareness that there is a larger world beyond the University of Denver, and that there are a lot of students really devoted to the [social justice] cause.”
While issues of social justice may seem distant to students on campus, a wheel-spin event presented information showing that 17 percent of the U.S. population lives below the poverty line.
Beemer’s interest in social justice issues was sparked in high school. As part of the student council, she found that initiatives by the council were not very satisfying, and that “the outside is where help is most needed.”
Two local vendors of fair trade, A-Mark on the World and 10,000 Villages, tabled their sweatshop-free accessories and other miscellaneous items. A-Mark on the World sells items made by Burmese refugees and people of the Medura Islands.
While the business functions mostly via Internet, it frequently brings its merchandise to events like Social Justice Day and is based in Colorado Springs. The businesses were accompanied by Pixie-Mate, an up-and-coming Boulder-based tea company.
“We [SPSC] used freebies to draw people in. In everything we do, we try to represent goals of sustainability and local business,” Beemer said. For instance, at Tuesday’s showing of the film “Crash” for Diversity Day, Fuhgidabowdit’s pizza was free to students.
Another aim of Social Justice Day as modeled after Be the Change Week, is advocacy of free learning institutions. This issue was actively addressed by holding various DU Free Skool sessions.
DU Young Democrats also had a booth at the event, with a board comparing current death counts in Iraq – 2,442 American soldier deaths and 35,911 Iraqi deaths.
“While Social Justice Day was not supposed to be a political day, we agreed to their participation. To be balanced, we invited the DU College Republicans repeatedly, but they didn’t want to be associated with anything progressive,” said Beemer.
For further information on Be the Change USA movement, visit www.btcusa.org, or attend an SPSC meeting Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in Jazzman’s Cafe.
