The Wisconsin Union Social Justice Hub invites UW-Madison students and campus community members to apply to be part of a Social Justice Action Team. As part of a team, participants choose a social justice topic in which they are passionate and work to determine action steps to address their topic.
Social Justice Action Teams provide the opportunity for groups to come together around a common goal and create positive social change. One currently active and successful Action Team is the voting team, which increased campus civic engagement. A Criminal Justice Action Team is also being developed at this time. Applicants can choose what their Action Team’s social justice purpose is.
Once accepted, commitments of Social Justice Action Teams include:
- Create a purpose statement for the Action Team
- Create a timeline for activities
- Research related organizations on campus
- Create a process to integrate new members as they come on board
- Identify ways to collaboratively work together, where possible, to achieve desired outcomes.
- A mid-project 10-minute presentation giving details, challenges and successes
- A final project 10-minute presentation giving details, challenges and successes
- Weekly coaching by a Social Justice Hub staff member
- Additional suggested Action Team processes are noted here.
- Social Justice Action teams operate for seven weeks between Feb. 17 to April 9 (skipping spring break), with options to modify this.
Members of Social Justice Action Teams gain:
- Hands-on experiences working on social justice issues of interest
- Experiences in goal-setting, budgeting, event planning, collaboration, teamwork, leading, creating agendas, running meetings, critical analysis, and much more
- Up to $250 to cover approved expenses related to supporting the Action Team, such as room/AV costs, materials, software and related items
Selection criteria for Social Justice Action Teams include the following:
- The Social Justice Action Team’s clear initial purpose and action plan in order to be effective
- Enthusiasm and ability to achieve the desired goal(s) in a limited timeframe
- Awareness of related campus organizations where collaborations can occur to move the project forward
- Clear learning goals for the Social Justice Action Team members and other involved individuals
