Students on 250 campuses nationwide held film screenings, rallies and teach-ins last week in honor of National Student Labor Week of Action, an annual event supporting local and national campaigns for economic justice and a continued alliance between laborers and students.
Northwestern’s Students for Economic Justice, a campus organization dedicated to the pursuit of fairness in labor and other economic issues, did not plan any special events for the week. Instead the group saw the week as an opportunity to reinforce awareness of economic issues on campus through continuing long-term projects.
“Because of the timing in the quarter and also because we are extremely busy with more long-term work, we did not plan any events to specifically coincide with the Student Labor Week of Action,” said Kyle Schafer, a McCormick sophomore and member of Students for Economic Justice, in an e-mail.
But the group continued to “address ways that students can incorporate their social values into their economic decisions,” Schafer said.
One way the group hopes to raise student awareness is through the creation of a Socially Conscious Finances Committee to evaluate the social implications of the university’s economic practices and recommend ways to ensure that NU’s future financial decisions have positive impacts. Students for Economic Justice continues to organize students and faculty to campaign for the committee despite administrative reluctance.
“The administration is not in favor of creating a committee, claiming we can address issues without a formal framework,” Schafer said.
Through the finances committee, the student group hopes to show students the potential positive impact of the university’s $4 billion endowment.
“There will likely be actions to demonstrate the financial power the university has,” Schafer said.
Without the finances committee, he said, “students have no way to effectively work on such possibilities.”
Students for Economic Justice is also in the process of creating a Conscious Consumer Guide, a manual to help students and Evanston community members consider the effects of their decisions as consumers.
“The goal (of the guide) is to make people aware of how their spending affects the world.” said Sharlyn Grace, a Weinberg freshman and a group member. “We want to make it easier to incorporate your ideals into everyday spending situations.”
The student group collaborates with Student Labor Action Project, the national organization in charge of the week-long event.
“The National Student Labor Week of Action has become a central part of the ongoing relationship between students and workers,” said Carl Lipscombe, national coordinator of the Student Labor Action Project, in an e-mail.
During the week, students worked to publicize issues about fiscal fairness. Students for Economic Justice works year-round on issues such as fair trade and workers’ access to healthcare.
The student group, along with other campus groups involved in the Peace Project, on Wednesday evening also helped organize a panel discussion to discuss the relationship between race and various social justice issues.
Reach Allison Bond at [email protected]
