by Anne Gaughen

At Lasell, social justice isn’t simply a class — it’s an intersectional perspective that the University seeks to develop in students across all majors and experiences.

According to Kellie Wallace, assistant professor of criminal justice, “It’s about equality and treating people like people.”

That perspective is grounded by two courses that are required for all students: Equity and Intersectionality, for first-year students, and Ethical Reasoning, for juniors. While Ethical Reasoning has been a core course for years, Equity and Intersectionality was added last fall. According to the New England Commission on Higher Education’s recent report on Lasell, the adoption of this course “reflects an innovative approach […] rooted in a critical self-assessment of the original menu of social science offerings.”

“A cohort experience allows for more of a shared understanding of particular concepts,” Jesse Tauriac, chief diversity officer and director of the Donahue Institute for Equity & Social Justice, says of the Equity and Intersectionality class. This foundational understanding of equity and the various intersections of identity, career, and education supplement the pursuit of all majors; Tauriac credits this “multifacetedq analysis” approach as a way to develop well-rounded students who are trained to seamlessly integrate their personal identities into the work that they do. “It’s less about what people think and more about how people should think,” Tauriac says.

To provide students with the opportunity to explore social justice more deeply, Lasell recently established a Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies minor. It can be paired with any major to provide a more robust and inclusive perspective.

Just as Lasell encourages students to take concepts they’ve learned beyond the classroom, social justice on campus is more than a class. “It is our obligation to treat people in an unbiased way,” Wallace says. Tauriac agrees: “We are working so that every member of the Lasell community — whether student, faculty, staff, or Village resident — is equitably positioned to thrive and equipped to respectfully engage in discourse about social justice issues that impact our community and society and, should people elect to do so, take action to effect change.”

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Below is a list of campus resources, organizations, and initiatives related to social justice at Lasell:

• The RoseMary B. Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies
• Lasell Village
• Shoulder to Shoulder international service learning trips
• Bias Education and Support Team (BEST)
• Baseline Action and Momentum Group (BAM)
• Nancy Lawson Donahue ’49 Institute for Equity & Social Justice
• Intercultural Center and Commuter Cottage (IC3)
• Pathways to Teacher Diversity program
• On-campus Dry Food Pantry and Newton Food Pantry partnership
• Lasell Black Student Association (BSA)
• Multicultural Student Union (MSU)
• LU Pride
• ALPFA Lasell chapter
• Ninos de Veracruz
• Empty Bowls Club
• Habitat for Humanity Club
• Random Acts of Kindness Club
• Lasell Alternative Breaks program (LABs)
• International Student Organization (ISO)
• Lasell Votes
• Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL)
• Intergenerational, civic engagement, and social justice activism linked credits program
• Signatory, American Association of Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment
• Signatory, Higher Education Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation
• Recognition, Carnegie Higher Education Elective Classification for Community Engagement

New and Exploratory:

• Students can now evaluate faculty for their ability to foster a sense of belonging in a given course
• Streamlined system for updating affirmed names and pronouns
• Campus accessibility map