The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 64

Stephanie D. Sears * Dawn Lee Tu

Second, when developing a social justice
curriculum for an LLC, we suggest the following practices. First, offer a multi-pronged pedagogy that incorporates many points of entry
that invites students at different awareness
levels to think about and engage social justice.
For students who have not had the opportunity
to engage in and reflect on social justice issues,
the service-learning and travel components of
EMDS are lower-risk experiences that invite
them to reflect on social justice as "external"
issues that may be separate from themselves.
The higher-risk components require internalization of social justice concepts introduced in
the program through in-class discussion and
deep reflection, and in the spring community
on campus social change projects. Both lowand high-risk components allow students to
locate themselves in and identify action steps
to take that connect their everyday experiences
to broader societal issues.
In addition to a multi-pronged pedagogy,
sequencing the curriculum and co-curricular
components has been critical to cultivating
significant opportunities for self-reflection.
With regards to the co-curricular elements,
EMDS begins by emphasizing a strong sense
of community among residents through a
retreat and community meetings. During the
winter session, students build on their sense
of trust and mutual interest through the travel
component. The spring community-based and
on-campus social change projects challenge
students to test this emergent trust and "have
each others' backs" as they work together as a
"family" to bring all the components together.

For students who have not had the
opportunity to engage in and reflect
on social justice issues, the servicelearning and travel components of
EMDS are lower-risk experiences
that invite them to reflect on social
justice as "external" issues that may
be separate from themselves.

With regards to sequencing the academic
components, the focus of fall semester is on
providing the students with the analytical tools
and opportunities to critically reflect and act
upon their world. The hip-hop curriculum
coupled with service-learning provides such
opportunities. The winter travel experience
presents an opportunity for students to step
outside of their everyday surroundings and see
how activists reflect upon and engage in social
justice work. Sequencing the travel experience
during the winter is critical to the program's
success as it builds on the skills and knowledge
they have gained from the fall and prepares students for the spring semester projects. During
the spring, students bring it all together and
create praxis-oriented projects within the local
community and on campus. For the past four
years, this sequence, along with support and
scaffolding through classroom and experiential forms of learning, has proved effective for

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3