The social sciences at UM-Dearborn have honestly changed my outlook
on the world, the way I view my surroundings, and my entire plan for the
future. Since I was young, I’ve been really passionate about people and have
felt really strongly about the issues we have as a collective society. Going
into college and meeting other students who have this passion allowed us to
explore these things together and start to get involved in the world of
activism.
During my sophomore year, I heard about a new club starting
on campus called the Social Justice League. It was started by 3 women who were
majoring in Women and Gender Studies and I remember how incredibly informed and
passionate they were about issues that were going on at the time. From here, I
started getting more involved with professors on campus who were also working
toward social justice as well as groups in the Detroit area that were putting so
much work in to combat the many ways in which forces were working to oppress
and exploit people.
I ended up getting happily caught up in this web of networks
that brought me to so many incredible people, programs, classes, and projects
that sharpened my understanding of the world as well as created many more
questions. In essence, that has been my journey thus far: I’ve been able to be
inspired by so many incredibly passionate and powerful people and groups, and
as I learn from them, I realize how much left I have to learn.
This constant realization has led me to take advantage of
the many amazing opportunities we have on campus: academic service learning
courses, leadership programs, impactful centers, transformative departments,
energetic professors, engaging research, and a wealth of chances to be engaged
in the community around us. From all of these things, I’ve learned about how
the world around us was built and how it primarily serves specific identities. I’ve
learned about what the news won’t show us, what textbooks don’t teach us, what
people refuse to acknowledge, and how all of this is creating patterns in our
world.
Majoring in Urban and Regional Studies has exposed me to
some of the most motivated professors and honest courses. In all of my years of
education, I’ve never been exposed to so much truth. I’m so blessed to be
surrounded by people who have a stake in this movement to fix all that we have
broken in our past. I have also been blessed to cross paths with so many people
who are majoring in Women and Gender Studies, Sociology, International Studies,
and all sorts of other incredible things. It is even greater to know that there
is a deep understanding that our position at a university is strategic and a
privilege that we need to use to rid our world of systems that do nothing to
alleviate the many issues we have impressed upon people.
The social sciences here have absolutely provided me with so
much in such a short amount of time. Above all, they taught me the importance
of learning by experience: It is not nearly enough to read a textbook. There
are so many things going on in the world and to assume that reading will allow
us to understand it all is dangerous. While it may be impossible for a person
to truly understand every issue that is going on in the world, I understand
that the education I am receiving is a tool that can and should be used. It is
something I can offer to community groups and projects in an effort to build
solidarity and collective consciousness among those who have not been exposed
to these things. Without these resources at school, I would probably not be
doing any of these things, and I can’t imagine how dangerous that would be.
Teia McGahey is third year student at the University of Michigan- Dearborn majoring in Urban and Regional Studies. She is a member of a number of student organizations including the Social Justice League, Circle K International, Food Recovery Network, She's The First, and Student Government. She is also a part of a statewide coalition of students, the Michigan Student Power Network, that work to fight oppressive structures that further oppress marginalized groups.
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