Social Justice and Inclusion: Exemplary

The work that I first did around Social Justice and Inclusion was
primarily self-reflection. Growing up in a community with few resources to
devote to public education, but that concentrated resources on highachieving or gifted students, I perceived that I was benefitting from the
public education system more than students of backgrounds different than
my own. I read in passing about systemic inequality, as well as clandestine
processes through which students of color (particularly Black men) are
criminalized and channeled into the criminal justice system. For the course
Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs, I took a closer look at the
nature of systemic inequality, studying and observing local urban schools,
and reflecting on the dimensions of my identity that confer unequal status.
These reflections and actions connect directly to the NASPA ACPA
foundational outcomes of this competency, specifically linked to
understanding ones own socialization, reflecting critically, as well as
understanding ways that we perpetuate systems of inequality. Designing an
inclusive training or program is an intermediate outcome.
Artifact: Presentation from Multicultural Competency course
The workshop began with a focus on identity awareness, based
primarily on Pieterse and Collins (2007) notion that dialogues on diversity
are best approached when participants start to become aware of the role
their socialization has in the way that they have come to understand society.
After a discussion of identity, I played a short clip that illustrates the social

model of disability, specifically focusing on ways that people with disabilities

are physically excluded and then marginalized in society, to segue into a
wider discussion of exclusionboth along the lines of other marginalized
identities and within environments that are not necessarily physical. In
order to understand how bias and exclusion play out in day-to-day
interactions, I thought it important to discuss microaggressions, specifically
featuring MTVs Look Different clips, and inherent bias, highlighted by
MTVs Snap Judgments exercise. As a group we reflected upon our own
experiences in which conflict caused by differing dimensions of identity and
privilege arose, and discussed ways to start conversations that would help
address those conflicts. To wrap-up, I included information about Harros
(2010) cycles of oppression and liberation, which situate self-work and
intra-unit work within wider processes of social change; these concepts
were a good wrap-up because they are considerations that a true
multicultural organization would have internalized as it advocates within
larger communities (Jackson, 2005). I included summary information about
Harros cycles on the final handout, briefly explained them, and then
encouraged participants to reflect on those concepts after the session.
Experience Questionnaire. Specifically, I hoped that participants would be
able to:

begin to or continue to reflect upon their identities;

weigh the notion that behavioral expectations rooted in dominant
normative expressions of identity are often oppressive;
begin to or understand further the social and psychosocial impact
of implicit bias and microaggressions;

build knowledge and skills related to constructing inclusive

environments;
find material interesting and engaging.

I believe that the workshop, as well as an extensive reflection upon its

impact including an assessment of its efficacy, exhibit a development of the
Social Justice and Inclusion competency at the exemplary level. Since I
conducted the training within my unit, I was also advocating for inclusive
practices within my workspace, connecting to intermediate-level outcomes
delineated by NASPA and ACPA. Most of the advanced-level outcomes are
beyond the scope of what I could accomplish as a graduate student, so I
have decided to characterize my competency as exemplary.
Foundational outcomes modeled:
Through coursework and experience, I believe I have met all of the
foundational outcomes
Intermediate outcomes modeled
Design programs and events that are inclusive
Effectively facilitate dialogue about issues of social justice () in
ones practice
Advocate for the development of a more socially just department