Brown enlists students to fight 'oppression,' 'social inequities'

Brown University is seeking students to develop workshops for the campus community on “systems of oppression, particularly with communities of color.”

Students will enlist under the Social Justice Peer Education Program, which is recruiting students to “educate and engage the larger Brown community about social justice” and enhance the campus’s “multicultural competence.”

[RELATED: University hires students to be ‘multicultural ambassadors’]

While the program will be hosted under the Brown Center for Students of Color, which is exclusively for students of color and does not appear to hire white people, it is unclear whether white students will have their applications considered. Brown did not respond to request for comment on the issue.

Since students won’t be paid, they will be compensated with “non-monetary” perks, including “extensive training” on social justice issues, and “refreshments provided during trainings and meetings,” according to the Fall 2017 job description.

Successful recruits will be “passionate about issues of social justice, equity, and inclusion” and will be“equipped to educate their peers on a wide range of topics that raise awareness, promote inclusiveness, and foster genuine understanding of systemic inequities.”

[RELATED: Rutgers enlists unpaid students to promote social justice]

Through the semester, students must attend various biweekly and monthly meetings, plus mandatory training sessions, all of which are geared to teach them how to successfully facilitate workshops on social justice for other students. Towards the end of the semester, students will be required to facilitate at least two workshops for the campus community using what they’ve learned, hence the “peer education” aspect of the program.

Students are eligible to be rehired at the conclusion of the semester, pending a successful performance evaluation.

Campus Reform reached out to Brown for community on why “hired” students will not receive monetary compensation for their labor, but did not hear back.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen