Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI)
The Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI) professional competency seeks to ensure that higher education institutions provide an equitable and supportive learning environment for people of all identities and backgrounds (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). As higher education and student affairs educators, it is necessary for one to have a comprehensive understanding of this competency and the different components that go into its foundations. As student populations diversify and the situational context of reality shifts, there is a constant need to refine this competency in the higher education student affairs field. This competency is outlined to signify the student affairs educators who have an overall understanding of their social responsibility of others, including their community and within the global context (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). There are key factors to consider when forming one’s praxis around SJI such as situating yourself and the populations you serve within the systems of power and privilege, to increase one’s understanding of these systems, one must reflect internally and externally on the situational realities of the world and its history.
While I do find a few of these outcomes to be vague, with the outlined outcomes under the SJI competency, I would self-assess at the intermediate level of the SJI competency. I use the term vague for the outcomes that are similarly phrased as “integrate knowledge of social justice”, there is little specification within this outcome under the foundational outcomes, but the nuance could be intentional, as one can integrate social justice within all aspects of their role in student affairs and in one’s life (ACPA &NASPA, 2015). Within HEA616: American Higher Education, the content and curriculum this course followed ensured that all students would engage with material that challenges traditional higher education motifs and provided uncomfortable, but important histories regarding groups who had been minoritized during the progression of higher education. A specific project that I engaged with in HEA616 was a podcast on the history of affirmative action within higher education where my portion of the project focused on the targeted attacks made on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives by white conservatives and how this group was utilizing Asian Americans as a catalyst for their claims of DEI being a form of discrimination. This artifact directly links to the outcome, “Understand how one is affected by and participates in maintaining systems of oppression, privilege, and power.” (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). When researching for the podcast assignment, I was able to engage with readings and journals that provide context and examples of this injustice and justifies why the claims made by the white conservatives are false. I am part of the APIDA identity group and serving this community is a passion of mine, which is why this topic from the podcast assignment will serve to inform and guide my development of my praxis.
As a student affairs educator, I am looking for different ways to engage the community in reflecting on the intersectionality of identities. During an internship I held at the University of Arizona with the Feminists Organized to Resist, Create, and Empower (FORCE), I was given the opportunity to facilitate 3 programs a semester focused on intersectionality, social justice, and empowerment. For one of my programs, I facilitated a discussion presentation titled “The Colonial Eraser: Discussing Who Wrote History and Why It Hurts Our Community”, during this program I gave a presentation explaining how those in power, the white colonizers, wrote the history that is taught in the U.S. K-12 system and how the narrative pushed to us as children puts the U.S. in positive light while failing to acknowledge the countless detrimental injustices the U.S. committed against people of color throughout time . The presentation and discussion also focus on the intersectionality of identities, for example while women are a minoritized group, Black women and white women have drastically different world experiences because their identities intersect but are not the exact same. My facilitation would align with the outcome, “Provide opportunities to reflect and evaluate on one’s participation in systems of oppression, privilege, and power without shaming others”, I hosted a program in an environment that was welcoming and educational with set guidelines on how to interact with one another in that space to address and development each other’ understanding of critical consciousness (ACPA & NASPA, 2015).
To further my mastery of this competency, it is imperative that I continue to fully engage with classwork, especially the projects and discussions surrounding SJI. I will thoughtfully choose topics for open research that pertain to the societal context of identity and inclusion as to develop my praxis around how the different communities and myself interact with the systemic oppression of those in power. In a course I am currently taking, HEA622: Inclusive Advising and Supporting, we are tasked with a research project, and we can choose our topic of interest if it pertains to the class content. I have chosen to research the impact that integrated advising within multicultural centers has on students from minoritized communities, this will enhance the development of my mastery of this competency as it situates the SJI context within advising and how it directly impacts the students that institutions serve. I plan on centering more of my program initiatives directly around SJI within my role as an Assistant Complex Director to engage residents in conversation surrounding critical consciousness, as it can benefit their development and mine through education conversations.
Artifact
This assignment is the one referenced within my reflection, the focus of this podcast was to highlight the rocky history that affirmative action has faced throughout history. As I view affirmative action as a form of social justice, this podcast goes into depth on the specific demographics of students affected by the lack of affirmative action and how institutions reacted to students protests for more.
References
American College Personnel Association & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. (2015). ACPA/NASPA professional competency areas for student affairs educators. Washington, DC: Authors. Retrieved from: https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/ACPA_NASPA_Professional_Competencies_FINAL.pdf