The Individual in Community component of the BU HUB calls for students to engage with the world outside the university. So we need to get started making connections with organizations that speak to the political issues you care about.
Use this page to report on your connect and engage with activist organizations. Please provide details (links, FB group names, etc.) so that interested classmates can follow in your footsteps.
On Monday, 11/28, from 5:30-7:30pm, I attended the KHC Co-Curricular “Global Sport, Human Rights, and the World Cup in Qatar.” During this event, Dr. Can Evren began his presentation by outlining the difference between legal liability and political responsibility in a world with such high expectations and demands. He compared sweatshops to sports, particularly the construction of stadiums in Qatar and how the workers are treated very poorly. This highlighted the power of multinational enterprises, such as FIFA and IOC, and it emphasized the need to speak up against these organizations that do not see the true effects of their actions. For example, tax money was diverted from hospitals, education, and housing to construct stadiums for the 2014 Brazil World Cup. However, this becomes a bigger issue when considering how it may affect developing, second-world countries. Moreover, there is an underlying consistency occurring with these events; namely, it is the protesting against bidding for these events that become more well-known, such as the 2016 Chicago Olympics or the 2014 Boston Olympics. Shifting back to the lens of this year’s World Cup, about 90% of Qatar’s population are migrant workers. There have been many migrant worker deaths (6,000+) since Qatar was awarded as the World Cup host in 2010. Many of these deaths are a result of heat and climate change since Qatar is being heavily affected by those problems. My biggest takeaway from this event was the eye-opening facts and issues behind the World Cup, especially when Dr. Evren played a video that showed the crying struggles of migrant workers and their families. Needless to say, change is needed, starting from this World Cup and moving forward.
On 11/6 from 3-4:30pm I listened to last week’s co-curricular, “Listening to the Material World,” led by Dr. Auslander and Rev. Williams.
I thought it was a true testament to the powerful and shocking meaning behind small, hidden — and often times, lost — objects. The descriptions of both Auslander and Williams were interesting and left me wondering: how do people with such different backgrounds and specialties able to come together and focus in on the same research? My question was quickly answered by the introduction of Williams’s mother, the one who initially introduced them and remained as an important figure in the two’s research until her recent passing. The way both Auslander and Williams speak of Williams’s mother and her legacy is powerful and the stories that they tell of the meaning behind her special objects really struck me. And this notion of such a little object sparking such a large, vivid memory and history is a central theme throughout the whole talk, and continues to be brought up as they discuss their research into Ashley’s sack, further enriching my understanding of the artifact. It’s also amazing to hear directly from the first experts who researched the sack and their initial impressions of it. Overall, I really enjoyed this co-curricular, as it allowed me to continue grappling with the inconceivably horrifying history of slavery, and left me to think of the own seemingly unimportant objects in my life that are the key to a rich and valuable past.
On October 31st, I attended a meeting with the Students for Justice in Palestine group (SJP). The group works to spread awareness about the conflict between Israel and Palestine by organizing events and combating some of the ways Boston University has been complicit in interactions with Israel. The group discussed multiple ways in which they are fighting to end what is known as the “Deadly Exchange.” I had some previous knowledge on the issue and had always felt extreme sympathy for my best friend and her family from Gaza Palestine, but the organization opened my eyes to so many more injustices that are going on right here in Boston. I helped give them ideas for organizations on campus they could reach out to for support.
On Tuesday, 11/1, from 5:00-6:30 I attended the KHC Co-curricular “Listening to the Material World: How do We Learn from Objects and Landscapes?”. During this event, Rev. Dr. Avis Williams and Dr. Mark Auslander presented their research on objects significant to the Black community, specifically in Georgia, and proposed various things that we could learn from these objects.
I found their discussion on the symbolism of doors especially interesting. Dr. Auslander presented an example of a back door of a courthouse in Georgia. As the courthouse was segregated, the back door was the only door through which any Black individual was allowed to enter. For them, this door became a symbol of terror, as they would enter the courthouse mainly to pay taxes or to be told that they were in deeply in debt. However, this same door was later given to a worker of the county, a Black man, who repurposed it, reclaimed it, and made it the entrance to his home. This one instance was symbolic of many occurrences of the Black community reclaiming doorways. In a sense, the reclamation of this door was a way for previously enslaved individuals, following the Emancipation Proclamation, to take control over their space. By controlling the door, they gained the right to deny entry to any white people that came knocking. Dr. Auslanders and Rev. Dr. Williams further exemplified this through several paintings and images. I found this fascinating because a doorway is something that I had never considered before as being symbolic, and this concept really provided insight to my knowledge of segregation and how dehumanizing it was, while also demonstrating the resilience and strength of the Black community.
Later, the presenters discussed their research on Ashley’s Sack, an artifact I became familiar with through reading Tiya Miles’ All That She Carried in Writing Studio. The offered fresh perspectives that I didn’t connect when I first read Miles’ piece.
Overall, I found this discussion to be extremely valuable, and I am eager to learn from more seemingly ordinary objects that may be overlooked.
On Thursday, 10/6, I attended the Kilachand co-curricular “Environmental Justice and Faith Leadership”. Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space for the City of Boston, as well as a spiritual leader within her community, spoke on her perspective about the climate crisis, and how she believes it is an inherently spiritual, instead of scientific problem. She said that we already have the scientific knowledge and resources to fix the problem, so it is something other than scientific restrain that is holding us back from truly addressing climate change, and that something is spiritual. This was a different way of framing than I had ever heard, and it really resonated with me. She talked about initiatives that she has personally seen and overseen, and the importance of creating green initiatives that serve multiple purposes and draw support form multiple places. Reverend Mariama encouraged us as students and young people to get creative and get involved, and said to start with encouraging action in others.
On 10/6 from 6:00-7:30 I attended the KHC Co-Curricular for Environmental Justice and Faith Leadership. During this event, Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, the Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space for the city of Boston, presented an interesting take on the root of the issue of climate change.
She proposed that the issue of climate change was not scientific, but rather spiritual. She began by defining her version of spirituality as the relationship between people and what is bigger than us. She then explained that the culture of our society is based on division, scarcity, and consumerism, all of which demonstrate a poor relationship between individuals and the community as a whole. She suggests that it is this mindset that propels our desire for what we want rather than what we need. This is what makes us willing to pollute our waters in order to obtain chips for our cellphones.
She emphasized the need for extreme creativity and a newfound love for other human beings. Without these, in her opinion, we will fail to prevent climate change from advancing. Science isn’t enough.
I thought this was a very interesting idea. I found myself approaching the topic of climate change in a totally new light. The most interesting point, in my opinion, was Reverend Mariama’s response as to why we needed to label the problem as either scientific or spiritual to begin with. She provided intriguing insight on this point. Scientists have been releasing shocking reports and statistics for years to get people to react and take action. Clearly it isn’t working. Climate change has become so scientifically daunting that people are overwhelmed. Individuals may not know how to reduce their carbon footprint or how to lower their energy consumption. Shifting the lens to a spiritual problem makes a solution more approachable for everyday people.
On 9/27 from 7:30-8:30ish, I attended a BU Students for Reproductive Freedom meeting.
This week’s meeting was an open discussion centered around sex-education in schools and our personal defintions of sex, our shortcomings on this topic, and how we can benefit the BU and greater Boston community through comprehensive sex-education and reclaiming (especially for women and BIPOC) what sex means.
Also for context, BU Students for Reproductive Freedom (SRF) installed a Plan B machine in BU Central, in the basement of GSU, and are currently working on similar projects for affordable access to contraception for BU students and Boston locals. The most recent shipment of Plan B packaging makes it so they don’t fit into the machine, so many meetings going forward will be about fixing this issue.
If you are passionate about reproductive rights (affordable access to contraception, having open conversations about related topics like the overturning of Roe v Wade, and attending protests) join BU SRF! Most of their info for meetings is on Instagram @ bostonusrf.
Today I attended a meeting for TUGI (The Urban Garden Institute). A major part of the group involves teaching elementary school students about science and the environment in fun and engaging ways. They go to two different schools once a week as an after school program and do different science related activities. Today’s meeting was a workshop where we brainstormed ideas of what kind of projects we could do this semester. We began by thinking back to our own elementary school science classes and coming up with things that worked well and others that we should try to avoid.
We tried our best to think about fun activities that would interest the children we will be working with as well as provide them with important science lessons. We wanted to stray away from traditional packets and diagrams, in favor of more hands-on projects that would present the same concepts, but in more interesting and memorable ways. I am very excited to continue working with TUGI as the year goes on.
On Sunday, 9/18, I attended a clean-up of the Charels River Espanlande from 12-2 pm. The event was organized by the Students of the UN, a volunteering and activism group at BU, but I found out about it through an email sent to all students by the Student Government.
At the meeting, we gathered and split up into teams in order to more efficiently cover the large length of space of the Esplanade. Then, each group was given a section of land, gloves, and a trash bag to collect trash in.
After collecting trash, the group gathered up again to debrief. We talked about the trash that was seen most often (cigarette butts) and the most interesting pieces of trash that we gathered (a Star Aars hat and a left shoe). We also discussed how we as individuals could potentially work to stop these things from landing in our parks and rivers to begin with.
On Thursday 9/15, I attended a meeting from 7-8pm for The Urban Garden Initiative club. During this meeting, we discussed climate news that focused on sustainability, especially legislature recently passed in California and in Australia. Then, we discussed the club’s plan to contribute to sustainability efforts, like the ones in California and Australia, in our own community.
The club partners with local elementary and middle schools to teach young children about how to sustainably garden and maintain a greenscape in an urban setting. Every Thursday, the club plans to meet to develop curriculum to teach these kids about the importance of protecting the environment. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the club will implement this curriculum with hands on activities involving the children, including helping them plant their own produce.
Additionally, the club has several field trips planned, including a trip to the local Arnold Arboretum and a Harvest Party to assist the children of the schools in harvesting the produce they planted. Outside of working with the children, the club also maintains the produce garden on no-school days and works towards sustainably pollinating plants to encourage growth in a Pollination Project.
If anyone else is interested in joining this club, we meet every Thursday in PSY B35 at 7 pm.
Over Zoom, I attended a public comment meeting from 6–7:48 pm on 9/14 hosted by the City of Cambridge on the topic of closing Memorial Drive to traffic on Saturdays.
A bit of history; for 40 years, Memorial Drive has been closed to vehicle traffic on Sundays, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to take over. A few months into Covid, they extended this closure to include Saturdays.
Now, with Covid winding down, there’s discussion of whether to return to the old plan or continue with Saturday closures. The closure of Mem Drive benefits people throughout the region, but people who live nearby see increased traffic.
The vast majority of callers spoke in favor of continued closure on Saturdays. Awkwardly, those who objected were all African-American, and several went so far as to suggest that minority views were being ignored by affluent White advocates.