A new campus organization will concentrate its efforts on creating a more inclusive and socially-informed student body.
The Auburn chapter of Southern Poverty Law Center began as a conversation between Emily Mumford, SPLC on Campus coordinator, and Beth McDaniel, PhD student in human development and family studies, during a summer nonviolence training in Selma, Alabama.
But with the help of about eight students working with McDaniel, the chapter took root at the University and was officially recognized as an organization on Oct. 20.
“For me, it’s all about fostering a campus climate of acceptance, understanding and tolerance and inclusion,” McDaniel said.
SPLC on Campus strives to educate students on the gravity of their behavior and address issues like stereotypes, preconceptions and as well as widespread injustices in the community.
“I think even in light of recent events happening all across the country, whether that’s Missouri or many other campuses in the United States, I think these social issues we’re dealing with on a national scope absolutely impacts and affects college students,” Mumford said. “And it’s very much important for us to include college student in the conversation.”
SPLC on Campus contributes to fundamental responsibility of Auburn University, according to McDaniel.
“In addition to educating students in the classroom, we have to educate students on how to go out and interact with people that may be different than them, how to work with people that they don’t share the same views on, how to have just have normal dialogue and the ability to address conflict talking to the person and not at them or over them,” McDaniel said.
To represent the needs of diverse campus groups, SPLC on Campus will seek to form cross-organization partnerships by establishing liaisons in various student groups.
“We want to try to connect people and show them how the way people look at things has an bigger impact when it comes down to the economic issues and how that there is this pattern of injustice that people don’t even realize can happen,” said Christopher Moody, sophomore in political science and member of SPLC on Campus. “The Auburn Family has a lot of work to do before it becomes an actually family.”
The chapter’s first project will be Take Back the Ballot, an initiative to register as many students to vote by the end of the semester.
“A lot of students are really apathetic about engaging in voting and taking their right for granted,” McDaniel said. “Even just spreading awareness in helping students learn to appreciate how important that right is and what it means to exercise it regardless of what you believe.”
For more information on SPLC, visit its AUInvolve page at https://auburn.collegiatelink.net/organization/AUSPLC.
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