Students Take the Lead in Community Advocacy

By Sara E. Miller

Flyers line the hallways and elevators of the School of Social Work, announcing film screenings, panels, workshops, seminars, and meetings organized by some of the School’s more than two dozen student caucuses.

The colorful invitations are a call from student leaders to new and returning students to expand on what they have learned in classes, engage with their colleagues, and pursue the passions that brought them to the School. Organized by similar interests and dedicated to in-depth analyses of issues and to advocacy, students have made the 24+ caucuses and the Student Union Executive Board (SUEB) an important part of their lives.

SUEB plays a key role in reviewing and approving all proposals for new caucuses and also grants funding for events. The Board serves as the official representative of CUSSW students and makes recommendations to administrators and professors concerning student interests.

Jenni Kurosman, the program and events coordinator for Student Services, says the caucuses are an indication of the level of social awareness at Columbia.

“CUSSW’s student groups are comprised of some of the most proactive and enthusiastic students anywhere. Over 150 events were sponsored by them this past school year,” she says. “From raising awareness to raising money for important issues to organizing panels of topnotch experts in areas of interest or simply organizing fun activities, they are a great source of positive energy within our School.”

While some caucuses were founded long ago, groups such as CUSSW Helps Haiti organized within days after the devastating January 2010 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people and left an estimated 1.6 million homeless. CUSSW Helps Haiti raised more than $2,000 and collected 12 barrels of clothing for victims. One of its members, Lauren Thompson, president of the Black Caucus, plans to hold awareness events in the fall to bring attention to issues facing the Haitian-American community in Harlem and at Columbia.

The Men’s Caucus worked with alumnus Daniel Hekman ’09, a former caucus member who now works for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on a program titled Investing in Fathers, Investing in Families: An Educational Forum for Human Service Graduate Students. The forum, open to any New York–area graduate student in social work, public health, family law, and education, is just one example of how the caucuses facilitate dialogue about social issues. Over three days a panel of scholars explored the history of the responsible father’s movement. Dr. Ronald Mincy, the School’s Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, spoke about strengthening families through stronger fatherhood. The final day of the forum featured a workshop that covered practical skills for working with fathers and families.

Whether students are returning to school after years in the workforce or coming straight from undergraduate institutions, the caucuses reflect their eagerness to delve into the issues that brought them to social work in the first place. With their passion for advocacy, practice, and education, they are adamant about not waiting for graduation to signal their contributions as social workers.

Back row, left to right: Beverly Torres (SUEB), Atavia Whitfield (SEA), AnaVivian Escalante (Latino Caucus), Aaron K. Braverman (SUEB), Rachel Roos (SUEB), Dana Kuefner (ISW Caucus), Lauren Kaye Thompson (Black and Haiti Caucuses). Front row: Maggie Lo (Haiti and API Caucuses, SUEB), Sasha Neha Ahuja (SUEB), Charlene Pena (SEA), Huajuan Chen (SUEB)