GU's School of Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar (SFS-Q), in partnership with GU's Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service, invites applications from current first year students, sophomores, and juniors to apply for participation in a joint campus immersion experience in El Paso, Texas, May 15-25, 2014. Required on-campus preparation will be held Thursday, May 15-Sunday, May 18. Participants will depart from Washington, DC on Sunday, May 18 and will return to Washington, DC on Sunday, May 25.
Student/staff participants will be immersed in the realities of the migrant experience in a border region of the United States. Participants stay with the Annunciation House, which serves as the liaison to the border communities and facilitates exposure of the group to their realities. At the Annunciation House, participants live and share meals with migrants and refugees daily. Cultural and justice immersion are central to this experience which may include visiting a detention center, sitting in federal immigration court trials, and talking with Border Patrol while hearing the stories of the migrants themselves. This immersion experience aims to engender participants with a more comprehensive view of the complexities of border life and help them become a part of the immigration conversation nationwide and globally.
SFS-Q will generously cover costs of the experience for five GU Main Campus students (lodging, transportation, food). This includes on-campus housing with SFS-Q participants Thursday, May 15-Sunday, May 18 for pre-trip preparation.
Students should be in good academic standing and available for the duration of the experience. Students should be open to immersive, social justice-based experiences and reflection in a group setting. While previous experience with or knowledge about immigration is not required, students should be interested in learning more about immigration from a social justice lens and acting upon their new knowledge. All participants commit to making this experience substance-free.
Questions about this application or the program can be emailed to Dr. Andria Wisler (akw28), Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service. Applications will be accepted through HoyaLink via Net ID until Tuesday, March 18th at 11:59pm. Students are encouraged to apply early and not wait for the deadline. Please note that CSJ will work with selected student partcipants on a case-by-case basis regarding housing in to cover the gap between final exams and on-campus preparation for this experience.
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