Student campaign “TerpLift” issues manifesto to end culture of sexual violence

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and University of Maryland students enrolled in Beyond the Classroom capstone course UNIV 389T “Social Media for Social Change” are actively working to empower students and to end the culture of sexual violence.

Beyond the Classroom urges university students everywhere to join the fight to end sexual violence and relationship abuse by creating and supporting student-led campaigns such as TerpLift (Facebook, Twitter).  If you are in the Maryland region, please join Beyond the Classroom and TerpLift members this Tuesday, April 15th at 5:30PM for UMD CARE to Stop Violence’s Survivor Garden event, held immediately prior to Take Back the Night.  Beyond the Classroom is a proud co-sponsor of this year’s Survivor Garden.

To do our part to help sound an urgent call for cultural change, here is the official TerpLift Manifesto, courtesy of TerpLift.  Please share widely.

The TerpLift Manifesto:

“We as Terps oppose relationship abuse and sexual assault. We acknowledge that these issues should be addressed at both a national and campus level. We acknowledge that no normal person is comfortable talking about abuse and assault and that this discomfort is rooted in our compassion for others. While the discomfort of talking about these issues remains, we as Terps choose to uplift others by inspiring, supporting, and educating victims, peers, and loved ones.

BTC Class of 2014 – Rachel Mahler

Graduating senior and Beyond the Classroom student Rachel Mahler discusses a civic issue important to her– mental health services– and explains what makes the BTC program a catalyst for student-driven social change.

Social Media for Social Change: “Onkalo, The World’s First Permanent Nuclear Waste Repository”

by BTC Student Kevin Lalama

How do you permanently hide something that can’t be destroyed?

Do you send it on a rocket to the sun?

Do you drop it in the deepest ocean?

If you decide to bury it, how can you ensure no one ever tries to uncover it? Are you confident it will stay hidden it for 1,000 years? What about 100,000 years? How do you tell future civilizations to leave it alone? Will they listen?

These are a few of the questions and challenges facing Finnish and Swedish Nuclear Authorities as they construct the world’s first permanent nuclear waste repository, Onkalo.

Social Media for Social Change: “Consumer Activism & Holding Corporations Accountable”

by Anna Zeira, BTC Student

[Editor’s Note: Today’s university students in the U.S. are increasingly aware of their power– and their vulnerability– as consumers.  Anna proposes how students can leverage existing and emerging technologies to assert their values not only as “consumers”, but as people.]

 

Photo by epsos.de

There are countless brands of bottled water out there but somehow, we choose one. That choice may be due to the colorful logo on the bottle, some advertisement we saw a few days ago, or perhaps the best price.

Every day we are faced with such decisions about the products we purchase and why. These choices may seem simple, but they are in fact very powerful:

If we change the way we look at our everyday purchases, we can change corporate practices to see the change that we want in the world. We could buy water from the company who uses recycled plastic or who ensures that their workers are treated fairly instead. We need to be sure that our money is going to companies who are helping to make positive change. It is up to us to know where we are putting our money so that we are not funding harmful corporations.

By only buying from companies who have the betterment of the world in mind, we as consumers can change the practices of the market. By collectively putting our money toward companies with good practices, we can ensure that being socially conscious can be profitable and worthwhile for corporations.

Social Media for Social Change: “Doing Our Part: Poverty in Ethiopia”

by Alison Schumacher, BTC Student

[Editor’s Note: When American university students like Alison travel abroad, they are sometimes forced to rethink their understanding of how problems such as poverty can be addressed at the local and global levels.  Alison shares her story, and presents ideas on how American students can help appropriately address poverty abroad and at home through innovative tools such as social media.]

The author, BTC student Alison Schumacher

Growing up, I volunteered my time to help others, from visiting the sick to distributing supplies to the homeless to serving food at a soup kitchen. Although I felt as if I was making a difference, it never left the lasting impact I wanted. It was these feelings that prompted me to participate on Maryland Hillel and the JDC’s Alternative Break trip this past winter break to Ethiopia, an opportunity for me to step outside of my comfort zone.

Among other things, I realized: It is our obligation to provide these basic human needs to those in developing countries in the most effective and efficient ways possible. Each individual can make a contribution to a larger whole that will in turn help this situation. We cannot do it all but we can do our part.

Social Media for Social Change: “Terps Against Pollution: How to Use Facebook for Social Change”

by Kevin Lalama, BTC Student

Ever wanted to use Facebook for social change, but not sure where to start?  BTC student Kevin Lalama explains:

 

Step 1: Choose a Cause and Establish an Event

I had not previously used Facebook for social change so I decided to create an organization that addressed the civic issue of air pollution – Terps Against Pollution (TAP). Despite limited resources, specifically time, help, and contacts, I needed to establish an event that would effectively engage the university community and ensure high attendance. Therefore, I decided the event would be a Bar Night Fundraiser at a local bar in College Park:

BTC Announces Fall 2014 Course Line-Up!

Can student exchange change the world? Find out in our new seminar series!

Beyond the Classroom is pleased to announce our Fall 2014 course line-up, featuring our core courses as well as a new seminar series!

BTC Seminar Series (Experiential Learning in Undergraduate Studies):

• UNIV 399C – Ensuring a World Fit for Children? Rethinking Our Civic Responsibilities
• **NEW COURSE** UNIV 399X – Beyond Study Abroad: Global Citizenship, Citizen Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange for Social Change

These BTC seminar series courses are free and open to the public; UMD students may also enroll for 1, 2, or 3 credits.  Every week, seminars feature guest speakers, documentary screenings, or other opportunities for active engagement with important civic issues.

Read on to learn more about our seminars and all of our other Fall 2014 courses!

BTC Student Attends Keystone XL Pipeline Protest

Beyond the Classroom student Sarah Ferrell describes the student-led protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline held in Washington, D.C. on March 3, 2014. She also gives advice to other students interested in getting involved in this issue.

Beyond the Classroom is a living and learning program at the University of Maryland, College Park, designed to develop students as active global citizens and civic leaders in a variety of career fields. Learn more at http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu

It’ll Still Be Cold Out Tomorrow: The Polar Vortex as a Catalyst for Helping the Homeless and Addressing Homelessness

University of Maryland Beyond the Classroom students volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank in October 2013.

by Beyond the Classroom Staff

Those of us in the Washington, D.C. region and elsewhere who are lucky enough to have heated homes and offices seem to have busied ourselves today by going online to talk about how cold it is outside. A sampling: The Washington Post live blogs the weather; #polarvortex trends on Twitter; NPR asks: “What is the polar vortex, and why is it doing this to us?”; The New Yorker compiles a slideshow of people “Surviving the Polar Vortex”;  and– of course– the cold air brings with it impassioned Reddit debates on the relationship of the polar vortex to climate change on r/science.

Why are we being so dramatic about some cold air? Because a day like this one reminds all of us that we are at the mercy of the natural elements. It makes us confront our physical limits and our mortality, so we take to the internet and reassure ourselves through the act of making a weather event into just another grand spectacle for us to discuss and be amazed by. We’re creating a shared cultural experience– a cultural meme– and cataloging “fear of cold weather” as an unusual state of being: we know that this is a temporary situation, and that we will return shortly to our regularly-scheduled lives. In the meantime, we might as well get some entertainment value out of this weird weather, right?

There is one population in our community, however, who are the most at risk in this bitter cold and yet for whom today is ultimately just one day of many dangerous days: the homeless. When the polar vortex has left our part of the globe and our collective cultural consciousness, the homeless will still be engaged in the daily fight against the elements to survive. In recognition of this reality, Beyond the Classroom presents a collection of resources for taking immediate action to help the homeless; we also propose how the experience of (and hype around) extreme weather events like the polar vortex can serve as a catalyst for addressing homelessness more broadly.

Beyond the Classroom’s Civic Leadership Forum: An Illuminating Experience

Beyond the Classroom students at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C.

By Jennifer Rottenberg, BTC Student

On December 6^th, 2013, Beyond the Classroom hosted its Civic Leadership Forum. Students in two of the courses, UNIV325 and UNIV326, gave presentations on civic research and internship experiences. I gave two presentations: one on my internship with the Jewish Volunteer Connection, and another on the civic issue of dental healthcare. Some of the other civic issues presented were global warming, human trafficking, and gun control. Even more varying were the different internships people participated in: one with America Reads*America Counts, another at Maryland Therapeutic Riding, and a third at Maryland Hillel.