Information for Potential Accelerating Racial Justice 2013 Applicants
What is Accelerating Racial Justice?
RAPP’s mission is fighting oppression through individual awareness and collective action. All UC students are invited to apply for the 5-day Accelerating Racial Justice (ARJ) program to join us in that mission.
Through an intensive 5-day retreat, participants will:
- Develop relationships with 20+ other Bearcats from all over the university
- Enhance their understanding of racial justice and inclusive leadership
- Build a personal foundation and a supportive community to continue building racial justice and an inclusive leadership community at UC
The intensive will include energetic spaces filled with activities and discussion as well as quiet reflection. The emphasis will be on enhancing our awareness & skills around racial justice and inclusive leadership.
Accelerating Racial Justice’s curriculum is based in best practices in the realms of social justice education, intergroup dialogue, and inclusive leadership development.
Who can participate in Accelerating Racial Justice?
All UC students are invited to apply! No previous experience is necessary – this intensive is great for folks who’ve never heard the word “racial justice” before through those who are already heavily invested in social justice activism.
Students who have previously completed a year of the RAPP nine-month program are not eligible to participate but are encouraged to apply for leadership positions within ARJ.
Participants are expected to have a minimum GPA of 2.3. They can be full- or part-time undergraduate, graduate, or non-matriculated students from any UC college or campus.
To verify your eligibility, you’ll be asked to provide your UC ID number (aka “M-number”) on the application.
How long does Accelerating Racial Justice last?
Accelerating Racial Justice will start with a bus-ride from Clifton campus to the retreat location the morning of Monday, August 12th, 2013 and last until we return back to campus in the early evening of Friday, August 16th, 2013.
Participants will know no later than June 21st whether they're accepted into ARJ and will be asked to complete a few short tasks in July and early August to prepare for the program. In September, participants will be asked to participate in an individually scheduled one-on-one meeting with an ARJ staff member for follow-up support.
Do I have to participate in all of the week?
Yes. Participants must participate in all activities throughout the entire week. Partial participation is not permitted.
How much does Accelerating Racial Justice cost?
It’s free! ARJ involves no monetary cost for students. Transportation to and from the retreat location, meals & lodging throughout the week, and the supplies used throughout ARJ are provided at no cost to participants thanks to generous support from the UC Chief Diversity Officer and student fees distributed by the Student Advisory Committee on the University Budget.
The only costs you’ll have with ARJ are the time and intellectual/emotional investments of participation.
What will we do at Accelerating Racial Justice?
RAPP has adopted several mottos over the years. These summarize well what we do in all our work:
- Each One Teach One: We participate in discussions and activities where personal experience is recognized as a valid and valuable form of knowledge; we share our lives and experiences in order to teach other about ourselves; and, we listen to the lives and experiences of others in order to learn about them.
- Challenge. Debate. Educate.: In the process of sharing our ideas and beliefs, we are open to being challenged and learning from others; we debate issues as a way to recognize and challenge our own beliefs and ideas; and, we educate ourselves about the world and people around us while educating those around us about our world.
- Challenging the Mythical Norm: We discuss the messages (both overt and subtle) we receive in our daily lives about race and challenge the assumptions we carry because of these messages.
On a less theoretical and more practical note, we do large and small group activities, watch videos, play games, listen to music, read articles, reflect silently, and discuss-discuss-discuss.
Who leads the retreat?
The activities at ARJ will be facilitated by a team of leaders who stay with the group throughout the entire experience. These facilitators are individuals with experience in leading relevant discussions on diversity and social justice issues and who have previous experience with RAPP and activism.
A few students who have previously participated in RAPP or similar programs will also be selected to help lead the group as mentors. These Peer Leaders commit to supporting the group and receive training on group process and facilitation to help them do so effectively.
What else do I need to know about Accelerating Racial Justice?
Due to the nature of what is shared in the activities, the group will operate under a confidentiality clause. The confidentiality clause is an agreement not to disclose personal information (for example, personal identities, personal stories, beliefs/values) about another individual gained through the ARJ process.
Participants are free to share their personal experiences, comments, and reactions to the ARJ process, but not the experiences, identities, or comments of other group members.
How do I sign up?!
The process takes two steps:
- Read all of these questions and answers (congratulations! You’re nearly done with step one!)
- Complete a written Accelerating Racial Justice application
Written applications are accepted through 5PM on Friday, May 3rd.
All applicants are notified of whether they are accepted into the 2013 Accelerating Racial Justice intensive on or before Friday, June 21st.
What do I do if I have other questions?
You can contact our staff at 513.556.6119 or Rebecca.Lehman@uc.edu or stop by the RAPP Office in 669 Steger Student Life Center.
We look forward to meeting you and discussing your potential future with RAPP's programs!