AI discussions. Poetry. Asian snacks. These were only three of the 36 workshops available to students on April 22 for Social Justice Week. Co-presidents Sahana Agarwal, a senior, and Jimmy Yu, a junior, aimed to engage members of the student body who weren’t usually invested in social justice topics.
“One of the yearly goals is to show the breadth and depth of social justice,” Jimmy said. “There are so many forms of it, and it can look many different ways for different people.”
One workshop that junior Adrian Wyers attended served students snacks from Asian cultures. Due to its popularity over the last two years, the workshop expanded this year to four sections to accommodate as many students as possible.
Adrian praised the workshop for showcasing foods from across Asia, saying it expanded his palate, with favorites like masala chips from India and jelly straws from Taiwan. He credited the workshop’s success to its leaders.
“I think that they taught me to be more appreciative and open-ended,” Adrian said. “There were some snacks I’ve genuinely never heard of in my entire life, and then I tried them, and they were super good. I think they taught me to be more appreciative of different people’s cultures.”
Sophomore Ella Nguyen, one of the workshop’s leaders, said she was surprised by how dedicated the student body was to fully participating in the Social Justice Week activities.
“Most people were very respectful and nice,” Ella said. “It was so nice to see how many people wanted to learn about different cultures, and how many workshop leaders were willing to teach others.”
Other events during Social Justice week included a lunch event hosted by the Multicultural Students’ Association, an assembly hosted by the Asian Students’ Association and a “Joy & Justice” event with Impact Leaders in Café Lab. Looking back on the week, Sahana also appreciated how involved students were.
“I totally think it was a success. Especially with the things that have happened this year with ‘valuing neutrality’ and stuff, and seeing a resurgence of people not caring about these topics,” Sahana said, “I was so surprised by how much students put in and how much they were able to take out.”
