BVR’s Social Justice Retreat is an opportunity for middle school students to engage in conversations about identity and privilege in relation to social justice topics.
2023 Social Justice Retreat
Friday, January 27, 2023
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The 2023 Social Justice Retreat, Stronger Together, will provide opportunities for middle school students to engage in a day of learning, conversations, and reflection about how to nurture relationships across differences, find common ground, and work collaboratively towards a more inclusive, just, and safe society. Facilitators will share personal experiences leveraging differences to generate impactful outcomes. They will also create opportunities for students to reflect on how their identities interact with the identities of others, and share skills to act toward a more inclusive and just community.
2023 Schedule
8:00-8:10
Welcome + Introduction
8:10-8:45
Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum ’01
8:55-9:05
Overview of the Day
9:10-9:55
Session 1: Workshops
9:55-10:10
Break + Snack
10:15-11:00
Session 2: Workshops
11:05-11:50
Session 3: Workshops
11:50-12:30
Lunch + Recess
12:35-2:10
Design + Create Projects
2:10-2:25
Reflective Closing
2023 Workshops
INTRODUCTION TO ART ACTIVISM
Location: Room 103
Genesis Be, founder People Not Things (she/her/hers)
Join performer and painter, Genesis Be, and explore the most inspirational and controversial art activists of our time. In this workshop, you will learn about the many ways art can spark change within communities and throughout the World.
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Location: Rogers Room
Upper School Students
Whether it’s through YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, or other social media platforms we are constantly being bombarded with information about issues of social justice. Some of it is reliable and empowering, while some are intentionally manipulated to uphold an ideal, harm others, or create divisions in society. How can we learn to navigate social media in order to identify reliable sources of information? How does social media impact social justice, what people believe, and how they choose to act? How do we protect ourselves?
SPEAK OUT: PERSONAL STORIES OF LGBTQIA+ EMPOWERMENT & ALLYSHIP
Location: Room 102
SpeakOut
Speakers will share personal stories to inspire allyship and help build a world free of homo-bi-trans-phobia and other forms of prejudice. They will share experiences from their own life and touch upon how they’ve grown to understand, accept, and take pride in their sexual or gender identities. Come ready to learn, get answers to some of your questions, and to increase your understanding of LGBTQIA+ experiences.
STORYTELLING LIKE AN AVENGER
Location: Board Room “R3”
Nelson DeWitt ’00 / Roberto Coto
How can stories like Marvel’s Avengers connect us? Stories allow us to share our truths and learn about the experiences of others. In this session, we will explore the mechanics of stories, how they work, and why they’re so powerful at sharing our truths.
BLIND SPOTS: WHY OUR ACTIONS SOMETIMES CONTRADICT OUR VALUES
Location: Design Level
SDLC Students (Student Diverse Leadership Conference)
We all have blind spots! In social justice, a blind spot keeps us from seeing how our own actions, or lack of actions, may be upholding injustice, racism, or prejudice. This is also called Cognitive Dissonance. Join us to learn about how your brain and your thinking processes impact how you see yourself, how you see others, and how you engage with people who you perceive as different from you.
STRONGER TOGETHER: IDENTITY & DIVERSITY FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION
Location: Green Gym
The Hiatt Center
We all have different identities that come together to make us who we are. Our identities impact how we think, how we experience the world around us, how we act, and who we decide to become friends with. Join us to take a closer look at yourself, learn from others, and discover how our identities can be used to reach across differences for friendship, allyship and collaboration.
Check out last year’s workshops and keynote speaker here.