Bellevue College announced the launch of their very own Social Justice Center (SJC) as a measure of commitment by the institution towards equity and inclusion. It was spearheaded by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the intention of being a resource for social justice-related issues. An email sent out by the college said, “The Center will support advocacy, leadership development and facilitate opportunities for our community to learn and work together to leverage change in the academy and across the education sector.”
The main current functions of the SJC are various workshops and an informational series dubbed “Chat & Chew.” These Chat & Chews will act as pseudo-advertisements for programs that promote diversity and inclusion and will allow the students at the college to expand their repertoire of resources. These presentations are held during the lunch hour. The very first of these sessions spotlighted the PUENTE Scholars Program, a “nationally recognized and award-winning academic program dedicated to advancing the education of Latinx students.”
Three workshops are already scheduled for November:
- “Community Engagement and Equity during the COVID Response” will be facilitated by Dolly England on Nov. 9.
- “Addressing Anti-Blackness and Inequities for Other Underserved Groups” will be held on Nov. 16 under the guidance of Dr. Debra Jenkins.
- “Food Insecurity and Social Justice” will be held on Nov. 23 with Glenn Turner.
- Two additional workshops (“The Science and Experience of Social Justice” and “Social and Climate Justice”) are scheduled for December.
SJC events are open to faculty, staff, students and the community and will be held virtually for Fall Quarter. The office itself is located in B207 on campus. Any questions about the SJC can be directed towards Beabe Akpojovwo, administrative assistant to the vice president of equity and pluralism. She can be contacted at beabe.akpojovwo@bellevuecollege.edu.
