Goal 2 - Response to the Cry of the Poor
As a Marianist university, the University has a special concern for the poor and marginalized and a responsibility to promote the dignity, rights and responsibilities of all persons and peoples. The University curriculum is responsible for contributing to this effort and does so throughout the Common Academic Program, but in a more focused way through a Diversity and Social Justice component. Every student will investigate human diversity issues within a sustained academic context by taking at least three credit hours of course work that have a central focus on one or more dimensions of diversity that are relevant to social justice. The course must have a central focus on one or more dimensions of human diversity on the basis of which systems, institutions, or practices that obstruct social justice have functioned. The dimensions may include, but are not limited to, race, gender, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation. Courses may address diversity within the United States, in a global context, or both. Since the course uses a social justice framework, it will consider constructive responses to such injustice.
Abolition Ohio works in partnership with concerned community members and partner organizations in the Miami Valley as well as across the state and the country to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and survivors, and help prosecute the criminals responsible through awareness-raising, advocacy, education, and research.
This project aims to tell the stories of “upstanders” (those who refuse to be bystanders), and identify and celebrate individuals who take risks to make important contributions in their communities during moments of crisis. In all communities, there are individuals who stand up on behalf of others in danger, regardless of the risk. These people embody moral courage, yet are often left out of history. The project trains students to take testimony and engage in human rights storytelling. These skills coupled with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork provide students with invaluable and transformative experiences.
The biennial conference, the Social Practice of Human Rights (SPHR) provides a unique space for scholars and practitioners to engage in collaboration, dialogue and critical analysis of human rights advocacy and practice, locally and globally. SPHR conversations forge alliances and help set agendas for research, advocacy and action.
The mission of the CRS Club is to carry out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas and in the U.S. They are motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve, and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching as they act to: promote human development by spreading awareness, seek to contribute to CRS’ efforts in responding to global injustices and human need, and serve Catholics in the United States as they live their faith in solidarity with their brothers and sisters around the world.
Campus Ministry’s Center for Social Concern currently sponsors over thirty different student-run service and social action clubs. Each club engages in a different type of direct service to the community or involved in advocacy work. Some clubs work directly with people like at-risk youth, senior citizens, or people with disabilities. Other clubs do more hands-on work such as building decent, affordable housing with low-income families or clearing trails for nature hikes. Some do important fund-raising work for local, national and international agencies. Still others raise awareness about important justice issues and advocate on behalf of the poor or vulnerable in our society.
Campus Ministry BreakOut trips are an experiential opportunity to engage with others through a variety of services, including but not limited to: visiting seniors, engaging in learning about a social justice issue, tutoring and mentoring school-aged children, cultural immersion and appreciation, and many other opportunities, while also broadening perspectives. Trips to Ecuador; El Salvador; Salyersville, KY; and Nazareth Farm, WV focus especially on the relationship between poverty and care for God’s creation. BreakOut groups prepare together and use group reflection and journaling to make essential connections between the experience and a larger goal of social justice, rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.
Each summer a group of about 12 University of Dayton students spend nine weeks each summer living in community and doing service as members of the University of Dayton Summer Appalachia Program (UDSAP) in Salyersville, Kentucky. Two goals the UD students have for each summer are to learn about the people who live in Appalachia and to appreciate the Appalachian culture. UD students achieve these goals by living and working in solidarity with the people of Salyersville: their families, their children and their elderly. In this ministry with the Salyersville community, the UD students offer the following programs: A Day Camp for kids aged 5 to 12, a Teen Center for the older kids, and visits to a local nursing home. Another goal for the summer is for UD students to live simply in a faith-community setting. They will build strong, respectful, relationships among themselves. They will share things in common and have daily prayer and meals together. In living simply, the UD students will recycle and reuse materials, being respectful of nature and the environment.
The Young Leaders Initiative of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering began in 2013 as organizers realized that a new generation of Catholic leaders need to be involved in learning about and acting on Catholic social teaching. The first three days of the Gathering are filled with opportunities to learn more deeply about Catholic social teaching in general as well as what it has to say about specific issues, including environmental justice. On the fourth day, participants go in state delegations to meet with Senators, House Representatives, and their aides to advocate for three or four issues that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops sees as important pieces of upcoming legislation. These issues tend to be around poverty, migration, and climate change.