Continued...Cultivating Leadership and Social Change
on the Sterling College Campus
by Jenna Ryan, Assistant Director of Admissions

Another student believes Leadership and Social Change should become a permanent part of the curriculum. Hannah Morgan ’10 comments, “I think it should be a core course for everyone. Whether you are studying indigenous cultures through Northern Studies, environmental law, or farming one needs to gain awareness of the role that privilege, race, and diversity plays in everything we study at Sterling College.”

Throughout the semester, students examined ways in which ordinary people instigate social change by completing an activist interview. Students interviewed individuals and shared what was discovered with classmates, drawing inspiration from the lifestyle choices of the interview subject. Another overarching theme of the semester was to look at how the roles of race, gender, and class define both the status quo in the United States and promote change. Conflict theory, the civil rights movement, and the three waves of the women’s movement were examined in this context.

Faculty member Anne Morse comments, “Some students came to this class with a lot of familiarity about the issues we covered; others came to the class with a lot of questions and curiosity.”  This led to a good balance, allowing some students to delve deeper into areas of interest and hone facilitation skills, while other students focused on soaking up the wide range of topics covered.

With many weighty issues to contemplate, one might assume that going to class would not be an uplifting experience. However, Beth Mullen comments to the contrary, “Since we generally discuss many serious environmental issues at Sterling—peak oil, global climate change, the tragedy of industrial agriculture—the focus on personal activism was a good change for me. I am coming away from the course with hope. Hope from knowing that people are working towards positive change.”
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