Jan. 4, 2017 -- A group of Heights High and John Carroll University students have teamed up to create positive change in the Heights community.
The 2016-2017 Superintendent’s Social Justice Cadre held their initial meeting on November 30 at the CH-UH Board of Education. Eight JCU students from the Arrupe Scholars Program and their director, Associate Professor Malia McAndrew, joined the 16 Heights High cadre members and Superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon.
The Arrupe Scholars Program provides JCU students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become advocates for positive social change. The combined cadre was formed when Dr. McAndrew and Dr. Dixon met and began discussing ways to collaborate.
“The JCU students would work on a project with communities in the city of Cleveland, but we thought, why not do their projects within John Carroll’s community here with our students?” Dr. Dixon explained.
After introductions and a few get-to-know-you exercises, the cadre began discussing what would become their main issues of interest, including nondiscrimination, stereotype prevention, sexual assault prevention and educational equity. They also talked about what their “big project” would be for their March 18 Day of Service.
The group also brainstormed future projects, such as planning a community gathering, hosting an open house at the high school, and creating short films about the CH-UH community and schools.
The JCU students expressed eagerness to learn what the CH-UH students might want to work on for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights communities, since most of the college students are not from this area.
CHUH Social Justice Cadre Students:
Akash Bartlett
Angelique Hale
Ashley Holder
Callan Swaim-Fox
David Fleischer
Eyrn Briscoe
Isabella Marotta
Jessica Edelman
Joshua Margulies
Kasia Bufford
Mariyah Reed
Paris Colbert
Sydney Watson
Tiamaat Smith
Laurel Matia
JCU Student Leadership Team:
Marina Giannirakis, class of 2017 (committee chair)
Tony Penk, class of 2019 (vice-chair)
Ryan Fitch, class of 2019
Nikki Fee, class of 2019
Corbyn Martz, class of 2020
Thaija Vincent, class of 2020
Jillian Schaefer, class of 2020
Joseph Rich, class of 2020