UNF to offer 'social justice’ summer camp for high schoolers
The camp will take in place in July and have students explore 'racial equity, social justice and activist perspectives.'
Students had to declare their race, write about social justice and equity to attend the program.
High school students will attend a virtual “social justice” this summer at the University of North Florida.
The program, “Bridges Summer Camp,” is tailored to “young adults who want to explore educational and community spaces from racial equity, social justice and activist perspectives.” It will be offered from July 5 to July 9 and from July 12 to July 16. Students will participate in the program online from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
In mid-June, the university took down the webpage, but the program’s details are still available via Google’s cache.
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The Bridges Summer Camp website further explains that the camp will “create communities of young leaders and future teachers who know that education is an essential element in the fight against racism and oppression.”
A 2019 video features participants’ lessons from the camp, including one student saying that he was impacted when an instructor told him “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Another student enjoyed circle discussions, during which “you can hear everyone’s perspectives on different situations and questions.”
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To apply for the program, students had to provide their “race/ethnicity” alongside the high school that they currently attend. Likewise, students had to respond to the prompts “What do social justice and racial equity mean to you?” and “Why do you think it is important for students to have diverse teachers?”
The program is free of cost to all participants.
University of North Florida spokeswoman Amanda Ennis told Campus Reform that the Bridges Summer Camp is funded through a private donor.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
