My Time as a Social Justice Warrior

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.

Confessions of a "Professional Student"

I'm Allison. And after over 5 years of indecision, you can call me a "professional student."

You'd think that by now I'd have it all figured out. You'd think that after 5 years of cramming developing efficient study plans, reading almost every academic article in existence, and writing essays until my knuckles went numb, I could have come to even the most basic conclusion of what I want to do after I graduate. But the more work I do, the more I discover that my "life plan" is far from complete. The question of, "What are you doing after graduation, Allison?" plagues virtually every family function and causes me to want to rip my hair out strand-by-strand. What AM I doing after graduation?

College is the stepping stone into the rest of your life, and if you don’t have it figured out by graduation, all the signs point to a lifetime of mundane tasks and insufficient self worth. Spatulas and greasy hamburgers haunt my dreams. 

And this is something that we’ve been inadvertently told our entire lives. Virtually every adult from the age of four onwards has asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up, Allison?” At four, my answer would have been, “a Ballerina!” But at the age of eight, I stormed out of my dance class, defeated upon discovering I have two left feet.

 
At the age of twelve, I would have told you that I was going to be a singer; that was until I found out that I would be rejected from the lead part in Oklahoma! for being too “pitchy.” At the age of 15, I was going to be a psychologist, but that was mostly because I was ready to figure out my own inevitable teenage angst. At the age of 17, I was going to be a radio broadcaster, and half-way through my first year of college at 18, I no longer had an answer. 

This turned into a joke for awhile. “What are you majoring in, Allison?” resulted in a light-hearted response of, “it’s a surprise.” I spent the next couple of years of college in this similar sort of "let's-fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants" mentality, but by 21, these responses were no longer funny.

Enter panic mode.

Here I am: 21 years old. In my third year of college. And am still grappling with that age-old question of "what do I want to be when I grow up?" And just as I was four, and eight, and twelve, and fifteen... I hadn't the faintest idea.

So I began a process of trial and error. I tried out a couple classes and student organizations until I found something that did more than just vaguely interest me. I wanted to find something that I was so passionate about that I couldn't sit still while talking about it. And then I found Blueprints.
Blueprints is a metro-scholars program offered on campus that allows students to develop leadership skills. And it did this. But it also gave me the opportunity to hone in on the issues I cared about, the leadership I was hoping to take on, and the skills that I possessed and wished to make better, all while forcing me to believe that the goal after college was not to just "find a job" but to make myself into a leader; someone that could make a real change and difference. 

And this program forced me to do a little bit of reading. I read about issues of social injustice. I read about power dynamics. I read about inequality. And poverty. And opportunity. I became aware of the state of the society we lived in; and I felt it. I couldn't sit still. 

I declared my major and minor shortly thereafter: Communications with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. And with this declaration I found myself growing more and more confident in my decision. My classes, while providing me with the most useful information related to my future endeavors, also provided me with the ability to come to information, events, and places with a critical eye. My professors have taught me to question everything, and to never stop asking questions. They have taught me that my will to learn shouldn't stop once I've turned over my tassel. 

I still don't know where I'm going. The question has changed from, "What are you going to be when you grow up" to "What are you going to do post-graduation." I still can't answer these questions specifically. But I'm a bit calmer now. I thankfully have a pocket full of perspectives and skills that I am so lucky to have received. And while I don't know what lies ahead in the next year, I now know which road to take. And frankly, that's all I need to know. That's what makes this whole thing exciting.


Allison Wilke is a CASL Senior majoring in Communications and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. She is an Avid cat lover, human rights activist, and writer. You can check out some of her other random musings at adailyepiphany.wordpress.com

A View from the CASL: Psychology Reflection

I’m Najat Nahshal, and I am honored to be voted by UM-D faculty as one of the top 10 psychology students of 2014-2015. I just want to say that throughout my undergraduate career at UM-D, the CASL building really was my second home. I basically lived there on a daily basis. From the hangouts with friends in the CASL atrium between classes, to running participants in psych labs on the fourth floor, to the last minute study session in the Language lab before exams, CASL really was my favorite building on campus.

I was a psychology major, with a minor in Arabic studies, and I have to say that I had the best professors in the whole wide world. I was (and still am) a research assistant for Dr. Clark-Foos for over a year now. I must say that Dr. Arlo pushed me, and the rest of the lab, outside our comfort zone because he really believed in our potential. I will never forget my oral presentation at the CASL undergraduate research showcase. I would have never imagined having the guts to speak in front of an audience about my findings, if it wasn’t for Dr. Clark-Foos’ belief in me as a researcher to do both an oral presentation for one project, and a poster presentation for the other. Dr. Clark-Foos continued his mentoring as I went on to present at the MPA conference in Chicago, as well as the Meeting of Minds conference.

Additionally, I was a research assistant for Dr. Siefert, who also believed in me so much that he allowed me to present my research at both the CASL showcase and the Meeting of Minds conference, even though I had just started working in his lab a few short months ago. Dr. Siefert was also my advisor for psych club, and as President of Psych club, I collaborated with Dr. Siefert and with hard work and dedication from him and the rest of the psych club members, we were able to put together a memorable Mental Health Week: Suicide Awareness campaign on campus this year!

I also want to shout out my Arabic Studies Professor, Dr. Dika, who believed in me a great deal throughout my Arabic courses, and made me feel accomplished even when I was struggling to understand the foreign material. His constructive criticism and feedback made me push myself to study that much harder and prove to him that I was taking his advice and doing everything I can to improve!

Also, the feedback I received from my other Professors, such as Dr. Sethuraman, who taught me Psychology of the life-span course, and Dr. McAuslan who taught me Social Psychology, really helped me reach my maximum potential as a student. I remember randomly stopping by Dr. Sethuraman’s office and just talking to her about my grad school goals and dreams. Her advice to me was to never throw out my psychology textbooks, but instead, save them and use them as a personal library that I could reference throughout my career. I also remember Dr. McAuslan stopping me after the final exam in her course, and telling me that she recommended me to become an SI Leader, not knowing that I had been an SI leader for about a year (Professor Roundtree, I hope I made you proud!!)

Lastly, shout out to Dr. Swift, who taught me Experimental Psychology. That was by far the hardest course of my undergraduate career. At times, I felt like Dr. Swift had mistaken us for upper-level graduate students because of the complexity of the material he was teaching (sorry to put you on blast Dr. Swift). However, I used this adversity as motivation to study even harder for his course. Going into his class, I had a perfect psychology GPA of a 4.0 (and a cumulative GPA of a 3.9), and I wanted to do everything I could to maintain my straight A’s. I remember being so nervous about my grade towards the end of the semester, that I asked him “Dr. Swift, do you EVEN give out A’s? Or is there no such thing?” and I remember him laughing at me and assuring me that he does in fact give out A’s to those who earn them. Thankfully with (extremely) hard work and dedication, I survived his class with an A, and my perfect psychology GPA survived as well.

I honestly cannot express in words how my undergraduate career as a CASL student shaped the person I am today. I only shared a fraction of my experience at CASL, but let it be known that there were so many more memorable moments that I will never forget. Although the bulk of my piece focused on my relationship with the best faculty in the world, I just want to shout out all of the students, my classmates, my friends, who made my undergraduate career worthwhile. I met students from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds; I heard their stories, and although on the surface we seemed so different, in reality we were so much alike. I met some of my best friends in CASL, and I know that our friendship will remain even after we part ways and continue on in our respective career paths.

Going back in Time at le Château de Versailles

It was not too long ago when I was able to see the fireworks exploding. Fireworks have always had their own beauty with a vast range of colors from red, blue, green, purple, and orange. On top of the fireworks, there was a fire show happening at the same time as the fireworks with French music playing in the background to match the mood. Being here, you felt warm and there was a sense of you going back in time around the early 1700’s. I was able to see the fountains running at night, which were also illuminated with deep violets, red, and a dull orange color.

I saw a statue surrounded by smoke and lasers. They had smoke covering the ground making it more magical. It was stunning to see not only le château de Versailles lit up at night but also to see the fountains and fireworks. This is something you do not get to see everyday, even in France. I made a French friend who used to be a tour guide at le château de Versailles. He explained, to our small group, the story behind all of the fountains and the process of building le château de Versailles. After that night, I never understood why we do not appreciate history as much as the French do. Historically, everything that we are and everything that we have is because of our history. It is a shame that we do not value those who take the time out to learn about the history of not only our country but the history of others. History seems to be ingrained in every class that I have at the University. Although I may be learning about French literature in the 20th century, grammar, and speech there is always a history lesson for the way things used to be and how the are today. In my opinion, I feel like this has helped me remember all of the information better because it is like a small glimpse back in time.

Right Choice? Right Choice. Right Choice!

My major is in Behavioral Sciences and my minor is in African and African American Studies. Declaring both of these areas came with many questions from people. When I declared my major in Behavioral Sciences, I was an incoming freshman who had to make a decision. I had heard that it was best to go into college with a major even if you had to change it later. So I sat in my mom’s office at work going over the packet of information we had gotten at the freshman orientation. I had the University of Michigan Dearborn class catalog in one hand and major description packets in the other. I was trying to see what “fit” me.

After talking with my mom, she helped me realize that I loved helping people. My name means “helper and defender of mankind”, and that is exactly what I have always done and love to do. I immediately looked at the social sciences and after reading the descriptions, saw that Behavioral Sciences was for me! People asked what I was going to do with the degree and if I thought I would make any real money. I cannot say that over the past 4 years I have not asked myself those same questions. BUT, every single time I find that I am content in knowing that this is what God has called me to do and this is the field that He has placed me in, and….I LOVE IT!!

The College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters is amazing. No matter what your discipline, you can feel the care, concern, love, and empathy of the staff within this college! Whether I was in a class for my major/ minor such as Marriage and Family problems or Black Family in Contemporary America or I was in an elective class such as Spanish I or Women’s Film Studies, I could feel that the professors cared for me and truly wanted to see me succeed in whatever area I was going into.

Declaring my minor in African and African American studies came with a few questions as well. As I always tell people, choosing this minor had nothing to do with me being African American. But it was chosen because I want to help people. People of all colors and creeds. People who need advocates or just someone who they know cares for them. I found it amazing to be able to study a people who have been through so many greatly documented struggles, triumphs, and ongoing battles. Being able to study the poems, novellas, essays, legal documents, and other historical artifacts of great African American citizens (even before they were recognized as such) has allowed me to not only look at African Americans in a new light, but all people in a new light.

No matter the differences, we are all human. Being able to study the struggles, victories, and perseverance of this group will allow me to connect and have greater empathy for any group of people I come into contact with throughout my counseling and therapy career. This is why I studied African and African American studies as well as Behavioral Sciences. I will continue to help people.

The staff, students and faculty at UM Dearborn CASL are the ABSOLUTE best!! The atmosphere is exciting and inviting. Everyone encourages you to do your best and push yourself. Take risks to talk to professors and ask questions-go above and beyond! Professors are understanding of our busy, busy lives, yet also don’t let us use our busyness as excuses, but they work with us to push ourselves to greater heights.

I am extremely grateful to be graduating from CASL within U of M-Dearborn. I am completely grateful and give all credit to God almighty for real. It is only with him that I have been able to do this and continue to grow and mature even more. This is such a complete honor. I always aim to work hard and give God my absolute best in any and everything I am involved in. I try to help and contribute to anyone that I can and gain wisdom from every faculty person that is willing to give it.

I am so happy to be at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and in the Behavioral Sciences Department. I am so completely honored by the Behavioral Science Honor Scholar award. I know that so many of my classmates are phenomenal.

I thank all of the Behavioral Sciences faculty that have poured into me and my education and continue to support me; faculty I have met and ones I have not yet met. This is a GREAT School!

I once lived in a Castle but now I am climbing up the Eiffel Tower

Once Upon A Time, there was a young man who lived in a castle and studied French and Linguistics. His passion for French and Linguistics took him across the world to climb up the Eiffel Tower but who knew it would happen so soon? After having lived in France for more than a month, as not only as an exchange student but also as a French major with a minor in Linguistics, I cannot express how it feels to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was not too long ago that I was staring upwards as the Eiffel Tower lit up the surrounding area.

However, before this all happened it was definitely a struggled but I owe it all to my professors: Gabriella Eschrich, Lindsay Colby, Stéphan Spoiden, Jamie Lee, and Daniel Davis. All of these amazing professors have showed me in various ways what it means and what it takes to think outside the box. I was challenged academically but they all saw more potential in me and encouraged me to take this journey abroad.

I must admit being a French major in CASL is somewhat rare and that is a good thing. It definitely takes a special person to continue with a foreign language because ultimately it is another way of thinking about the world and perceiving the world. I guess those who study foreign languages have something in common with all the soldiers who fought throughout the night so we could be here today. We are dedicated, open minded, able to adapt to various environments and can find a way to survive.

After studying French for 4 years, I thought I would have all the tools needed but I was wrong. Learning a foreign language is a lifetime task. For example, My first week in France I had to open up a bank account and do various other normal things such as: getting health insurance, getting directions to the bus or train station, ordering food, buying supplies such as a fitted bed sheet, Band-Aids etc. I did not have the knowledge of how to express those things. Immediately I wanted to turn around and go back home because I was outside my comfort zone.

The days dreadfully went by going into my second week. I went to the welcome week events where I met more ERAMUS students from all over Europe, South Korea, Africa, South America, Greenland, and the UK. Linguistically and Culturally, I was enchanted and consumed by how different we all were but we had one goal in mind that lead us here. Yet, I felt disgusted. I was disgusted by everything and how I missed some of the most annoying things in America. I missed the annoying sound of the microwave going off, driving in traffic, all of the detours because of construction on the roads in Michigan, my friends, and my family. I missed it all. Most importantly, I felt challenged and alone.

However, I soon realized that I was changing the entire time by being here. I had to accept the fact that everybody does not get this opportunity. Yes… it sucked at times dealing with a new culture and depending on the train or bus. One night though it was raining and some of the ERAMUS students and I went to see la basilique du sacré-cœur and there was a warm wave of content that engulfed me. My perspective on France changed slowly just as you awaken from a long dream. Looking back, I was able to see Monuments that people dream of seeing their entire life and that is a privilege. I want to thank Maureen Linker who taught me that we often fail to see when we are privileged but can see when we are oppressed. After noticing that I felt like it was my duty to take this experience and show it to those who may not get this chance. I wanted to use my privilege by being here and share it with others. I have been recording all of my adventures traveling around Paris for the past month. Through the dimly lit alleys on those rainy nights to walking past the Eiffel tower on the sunny days. My friends and family have seen all that I can see. I owe them that much. Indeed, my intention is not to brag about how I am here but to inform the readers that if your dreams do not scare you then they are not big enough and you never know where your dreams will take you and who you can meet. I have not grown in ways that I hoped I would by coming here, maybe I just have not noticed yet, but I have grown in many other ways.

Tyree Martin is a French major with a Linguistics minor studying abroad at the University of Versailles. He'll be posting regularly about his semester in Europe.

"Uncomfortable is Good"

Strange is the world (according to Czesław Niemen), and stranger than all is Poland. It’s a phoenix country led by a phoenix capital, rebuilt by the mythic Robinsons on ashes and ruins. A land of magic, where fire-breathing dragons still guard castles as in Krakow. A country marked by layers of sadness and horror of wars and occupation and partition, yet experiencing breathtakingly rapid change and growth. A place now experiencing brain-drain and exodus of the younger generation but also home to the optimistic hipsters and do-it-yourself, build-it-yourself, make-it-yourself go-getters bringing fresh life to urban decay. It’s a place you can’t just read about and you can’t visit without being changed.

Stepping out of the Krakow airport with my motley group of acquaintance-students, riding a terrifyingly fast taxi through a strange city in East-Central Europe, I seriously doubted why I decided to come half way across the world to a country I knew virtually nothing about. Over the next four weeks, we wandered through tons of museums, read through a stack of journal articles, met with researchers, went on guided tours, and learned about the past century of Polish history.

“Uncomfortable is good,” Professor Anna Muller said repeatedly. “That’s when you learn. That’s where you can be creative.” These words were often a source of encouragement for me because living normal life without speaking Polish was often tricky and sometimes awkward and a little scary. There was one evening when I was feeling proud of myself successfully ordering something vegetarian at a milk bar with the help of a nice lady behind me... and my food ended up being a sugar covered rice, jelly and sour milk concoction of stomachache doom. But there was also this fantastically pink soup (Chlodnik) we called Pepto-Bismol soup and the wonderful invention of fresh strawberry pierogi.

There were also [lots of] moments when I never wanted to come home and I would get lost in blissful thought, scheming ways to stay in Poland or at least move there after I finished my degree. (I’m still dreaming one day of spending a year or two in Lublin learning Polish.)

There can’t be anything to beat sipping coffee in the Zielony Balonik while reading about the historical cabaret and then wandering the rooms to see the actual cartons made by and portraying the people discussed in our text. Unless, of course, it would be random evening coffee with polish artists who encouraged my artwork and whose exhibits I could often see in museums the next day. Or unless it would be wandering through the eerily empty Gdansk shipyard where Solidarność was born after meeting with Lech Wałęsa and hearing his thoughts on the young people’s role in modern solidarity. Or finding the graffiti that bored Polish nobles carved into the walls of the Holy Trinity Chapel in the Lublin castle in the 1600s. (We were almost the only ones there in the history-laden chapel, once a prison and now stripped of any religious vestiges except the chipping frescos.) ...Ok, so I guess there were a lot of “unbeatable” moments.

Poland also has—without question—the coolest museums I’ve ever experienced. Be it the Krakow city museum catacombing under the market square to show the city’s foundations, to the artifact-filled Solidarność museum, situated in the historic shipyard, to the uncertainly undulating spaces of Polin, to the chaotic, terrifying sensory explosion of the Uprising Museum in Warsaw, to the yet unbuilt WW2 museum in Gdansk whose artifact catalogue we were beyond lucky to be allowed to explore... there is nothing to compare to these museums.

Oh, and did I mention that Poland is just plain beautiful? Because it is. Castles, Tatras,

Krakow, the Baltic, Warsaw... there is so much to see and be in awe at.

Sure, I could have read about Polish history at home, could have watched the Katyń movie on my own, could have researched the holocaust at a local museum. But meeting with the people still pursuing justice for holocaust victims at the Institute for National Remembrance, hearing Bór-Komorowski’s son tell stories of his father in the room in the Jagiellonian University where the professors were assembled before being taken by the Nazis, even just drinking polish beer with Polish university students from Gdynia—these real experiences are where the deeper learning took place that could never have been reached simply through the comfort of my laptop at home. Sure, at times it was uncomfortable or strange—travel always is—but Poland is an awesome place and I hope one day I’ll be able to return.

-Taylorann Lenze

The University of Michigan-Dearborn’s “Memory and Oblivion: Polish and Polish-Jewish history in the Polish Modern Landscape,” led by faculty members Dr. Anna Muller and Dr. Jamie Wraight, was a 4-week history study abroad through Krakow, Zakopane, Lublin, Lodz, Warsaw, and Gdansk.