From April 5-8 the 21st annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice will be held at UW with the goal of informing attendees about topics surrounding this year’s theme: Rebel Health, Wellness Without Borders.
The Shepard Symposium on Social Justice is designed to provide a platform for open discussion and education leading to social equality for all. The event draws speakers, researchers, and attendees from across the country. Michelle Jarman, Co-Chair of the symposium, said that this event is all about communication.
“We want it to be a time for the campus and the community to have time to come together and have a space to talk about issues that they don’t always talk about or may not know a lot about,” Jarman said.
This year’s theme, Rebel Health, Wellness Without Borders, centers around a holistic view of health. Christi Boggs, symposium Co-Chair, said that this encompasses more aspects of health than people generally think.
“Environmental health, physical health, emotional health, mental health, spiritual health—we are really trying to be expansive in our efforts,” Boggs said.
Efforts to organize this year’s event began almost immediately after the conclusion of the 2016 symposium. A committee of dedicated workers have organized speakers, planned interactive discussions, and reviewed proposals from undergrads, graduate students, and researchers in many different fields.
“We try to have a variety of types of presentations. In that way, we really wanted to be diverse and engaging,” Jarman said.
One of this year’s keynote speakers is Dr. Robert Bullard, who, according to the biography on the Shepard Symposium website, is at the forefront of environmental equality advocacy. Bullard will be presenting a program entitled “Building Health and Just Communities for All: Why Equity Matters” on April 5 at 4:00p.m.
Another keynote speaker traveling to the university is Alison Kafer, a professor of feminist studies, environmental studies and race and ethnicity studies. Kafer will be presenting “Health Rebels: A Crip Manifesto for Social Justice” on April 6 at 12:15p.m.
The final keynote speaker for this year’s symposium is Dr. Drew Brown. His program, “Radical Sports Men(tality): Cultural Ideas of Race, Sports, and Masculinity”, will address the issues surrounding race, gender, and sports. This event will take place on April 7 at 12:30p.m.
Another unique aspect of this program is the opportunity for involvement. Boggs said that the ability for attendees to gather together to discuss relevant issues is an important part of the symposium.
“The current political climate has opened a lot of questions for people in a lot of different areas,” Boggs said. “This is a space where people can think about it—there are no answers to these things, there never are, but it is a space in which to explore different ideas. It’s a good place to just learn more about what’s happening.”
Boggs and Jarman both said that one of the best opportunities to do so is at the student workshop and solution-based panel discussion on April 7 from 2p.m.-4p.m. This event, called “Grappling with Unconscious Bias and Navigating Difficult Conversations on Campus” is designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn how to approach often-taboo topics with an open mind.
Events on April 8 are mostly geared toward high school students and offers many opportunities to discuss LGBTQ+ issues.
A variety of other events will be offered throughout the symposium, with presentations from students, faculty, and outside researchers. A full schedule of events can be found online. UW staff have been granted two hours of release time to attend events at the symposium.
All events at the symposium are completely accessible to all students, and many are also being streamed online. This will also be a zero-waste event, and a free lunch will be served each day.
“Come and participate,” Jarman said. “Look for something that is the most unfamiliar. This is a place where there are many opportunities. Engage, bring your own experiences, and learn.”
