Educating for Justice

Justice is defined as “just behavior or treatment.” However, a simple sentence cannot capture the magnitude of importance the word possesses. Being a student at a Catholic Marianist University has helped me to understand a little more in depth as to what exactly justice is and how important of an aspect it is to the Catholic faith. The curriculum the institution holds focuses on educating for social justice and peace. As a result, I have been able to recognize some of the issues my campus embodies but have yet to recognize powerful solutions to alleviate some of the problems. Nonetheless, it all begins with education. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence to see people asking for money on the side of our streets, hear of people stealing, committing fraud, or even people dying just because they want to make ends meet for their family or themselves. Our Catholic faith teaches us to be humble and love thy neighbor as ourselves. Although many people do charitable acts of kindness that make a whole world of difference to other people, I feel that we fail to pay attention to the root of the problem. By educating for justice, we are able to make the needs of the world come to life and take that first step towards peace. Especially as lent begins, it is an even greater reason to be more conscious of what is happening around us. Lent is not only about “giving something up” or “doing something more” but also about finding God and serving others in the process. Instead of using profane language, a great alternative would be to speak about things that concern oneself. Who knows, we may not be the only ones who feel this way! Regardless, it starts with talking. Just recently, our professor went into detail about Cesar Chavez and how through patience, he was able to take his union to a new level and raise wages for chicanos all across the board in support of the movement. Just as Chavez did, we are responsible for voicing our concerns and leading our fellow peers, whether at a college campus or other environment, and joining with them to achieve a result for the common good. Results take time, but education is the starting point.

Gabriela Rodriguez, St. Mary’s University student