Social justice advocates bring inclusivity to on-campus housing

The Residence Hall Association does more than build bulletin boards and plan community events — this year, they're aiming to make sure every resident feels included. 

In January, social justice advocates were added to community government as a way of making sure issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and dietary issues are not ignored.

RHA President Taylor Bates worked with Hazael Andrew, assistant director of South Campus communities, and Krista Prince, the coordinator for leadership development, during the 2014-15 school year to find a way to incorporate social justice on campus. 

Community government was their solution. 

“We don’t want to build a community that just works for the majority, but for everyone,” Bates said.

The position involves meeting every two weeks with other advocates and a selection of community directors to review the many aspects of social justice and how they affect the lives of residents. 

The advocates are also responsible for organizing programs and designing bulletin boards within their communities about a social justice topic of their choosing. 

Last year, one of the programs held by a social justice advocate was “Diversity Cupcakes,” where each resident who attended decorated a cupcake. However, attendees received different quantities and qualities of toppings to start a conversation about different levels of privilege. 

When planning food-themed events, advocates ensure every resident's dietary restrictions are accommodated. 

“We hold a lot of pizza parties and there will be residents with gluten allergies who previously wouldn’t attend, but our social justice advocates have been mindful of that,” Bates said.

“We’ve seen increased attendance by people who sometimes avoided our events with the assumption that they wouldn’t be accommodated.”

This is the first full year of the advocate program and the first time advocates have worked in every community at UNC, except for Odum Village. 

“That’s been really great to allow them all to meet each other, to have a contact person in every community, and hopefully will allow them to do collaborative programs with each other in the future,” Bates said.

“We, as the Carolina community, are very respectful of each other and our identities, but I think the general consensus is that we can always do more.”

Timothy Sokphat is the social justice advocate for the Manning West community, which includes Craige North and Hardin Residence Halls. As an advocate, he ensures that community events and any media they put out is inclusive. 

“One of the worst things a person can feel is to feel marginalized, that they don’t belong,” Sokphat said. 

He was planning a scavenger hunt for residents, until he realized that it wouldn’t be accessible to any wheelchair-bound residents.

“The social justice advocate is one of the more important roles in community government because it encompasses what community government tries to do for each resident – to make sure the environment that they create is accepting and fun for all residents,” Sokphat said.

Sade Adeyemi is the social justice advocate for Carmichael Residence Hall and she said the position gives her experience in seeing how her decisions affect people. 

“My range of considerations has definitely been broadened," she said. "There are situations where I hadn’t thought of stepping back and looking at different view. It helps to step out of your own bubble and take a holistic view of the world."

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