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Parent and Family Events
Dads Weekend
Make plans now for Dads Week- end, November 4- 6, 2016. Be sure to check the Parent and Family Programs Of ce website for complete information about Dads Association events and purchasing tickets.
Moms Weekend
Scheduled for April 7- 9, 2017. Bring the whole family to cam- pus for this fun- lled weekend celebrating mom! Check the Parent and Family Programs website for more info. And don’t forget to book your hotel room today!
Student Activism on Campus
Zuri White – Parent and Family Programs Manager
Our country has a long history of youth-led movements that brought about signi cant social change. Young people have advocated for child labor laws, voting rights, civil rights, school desegregation, immigration reform, and LGBT rights. rough their ac- tions, the world has changed. Because young people often have the desire, energy, and idealism to do something about the injustice they see in the
an issue they care about, their natural instinct is to share their new knowl- edge and insight. During this time, rst practice active listening before inserting your own opinion. Keep in mind they are at an educational in- stitution where they are learning new ideas, gaining new experiences, and shaping their identity and views of the world.
In order to help students understand their role as activist, its important engage them in dialogue on topics such as the history of activism. ough this may be a new revolutionary idea to your student, there has been numer- ous examples in history where activism brought out positive change that you can discuss with your student for ex- ample women’s rights, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, etc.
Once students have learned about the history of activism and protests, they should learn about their rights. For their voices to be heard in an e ective manner, students should have a basic understanding of what they can do or say to protest peacefully, and how the police are allowed to treat them.
In order to better understand their own roles, students can learn what they can do to help promote a cause and make their voices heard while
still maintaining their own and others’ safety. Furthermore, students should be aware of what can get them into legal trouble as well as what rights are pro- tected under the blanket of free speech and the di erent forms of protest, including:
• Boycotts • Walkouts
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world, they are powerful agents for change. As a parent, you assist with transforming your students’ feelings
of anger, sadness, and hopelessness into the knowledge that they can make the world a better place through their roles as activists witnessing the bigger picture of their e orts.
While many student-involved protests have been peaceful, a handful of them turned violent, creating terrible out- comes and reducing the overall e cacy of their messages. Because of this, it is vital that we encourage our students to participate in social justice movements in a responsible manner.
One way to encourage your students is to have open dialogue and be open- minded. Sometimes students do not need a solution or an adverse opinion, but they are just looking for a sound- ing board to process their thoughts or enthusiasm. As a student learns about