Students learn to infuse DEI into academic work at ‘Me/We Social Justice in Writing and Research’ seminars
Southern Connecticut State University’s recent 'Me/We Social Justice in Writing and Research' initiative encourages students to promote DEI in their writings.
The seminar comes in the wake of broader efforts by SCSU to promote DEI among faculty and the student body.
A public university has designed programming to instruct its students on how to incorporate social justice narratives into their academic writings.
According to its student newspaper, The Southern News, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven recently will be hosting a virtual writing seminar as a continuation of its “Me/We Social Justice in Writing and Research” initiative, which will be hosted through the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Division.
According to SCSU’s events calendar, the initiative is designed as a “series for graduate students and undergraduate students interested in social justice in writing and research.” The event will feature professors Qu Chen and Miaowei Weng, whose research and teaching interests include “social and cultural diversity” and Sino-Hispanic cultural transmission, respectively.
The next installment in the series, scheduled for April 16, is being hosted “in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month” and invites students to participate in a discussion of writing and best practices for promoting DEI through research.
“By fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among participants,” the school’s newspaper writes, “DEI aims to empower individuals to create more inclusive and socially conscious scholarship that reflects the diversity of human experiences.”
The series is reportedly organized by Daisy Torres-Baez, SCSU’s Faculty and Staff Diversity Recruitment and Retention Specialist. She has held similar positions in the past at other schools, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Torres-Baez also recently expressed support for the Monarch “Monarch Scholarship,” a fund that aims to provide financial support to undocumented immigrants studying at SCSU.
The seminar comes in the wake of broader efforts by SCSU to promote DEI among faculty and the student body. In the near future, the university aims to foster “greater equity-mindedness” among staff and faculty, infusing DEI-related materials into official university communications, and creating channels for members of SCSU’s campus community to easily “report incidents of bias or hate,” according to the school’s list of DEI priorities and recommendations.
The first installment in the “Me/We Social Justice in Writing and Research” series, held in honor of “Women’s History Month” during March, included a conversation with two graduate students about their ongoing education pursuits in relation to social justice.
Campus Reform has reached out to Daisy Torres-Baes and SCSU for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.