 "Photo: Eliot Meyer")
Tired of a solely class-and-study routine, communication studies graduate student Connie Johnson attended a civic engagement workshop Tuesday afternoon to find out about getting more involved in the University community.
"We need to go outside the academia and bring the outside world to UT," Johnson said. "We owe it to the people. It's our responsibility. It's selfish to go to school for just A's and B's. It's like Maslow's hierarchy: The further up the ladder you go, you see that it's time to turn around and help out."
The two-hour workshop, hosted in the Texas Union's Chicano Culture Room, highlighted civic engagement between the University and the surrounding areas. The workshop was the second in a series of three hosted by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.
Civic engagement encompasses different activities from individual volunteer work to registering voters and voting to organizational involvement in community activities.
Tuesday's seminar focused on diversity in the community, what it means and how it is important.
"The University should be actively partnering with people off-campus," said Martha Norkunas, a lecturer in the department of anthropology and a workshop leader. "We need to increase the level of meaningful relationships with community members and for the long haul, too."
She said she hopes students and community members continue whatever activity they undertake. An organization should not switch from organizing a blood drive to a food drive every semester but should concentrate on one project for a prolonged period, she said.
An example of students reaching out can be seen in students who visit local businesses like the George Washington Carver Museum to tell detailed stories of black history in Austin. The museum has a diverse client base and serves the program mission.
"Students in a class of mine, as part of a project for the community, are working on a People's Clinic exhibit," Norkunas said. "I encourage work in the more cultural aspect of community."
The workshop's goal was to inspire people to act on an idea if they feel moved to do so.
"All we're trying to do is put the word out there," said Tommy Darwin, director of community partnerships and a workshop leader. "If it resonates, even better."
The next and final workshop in the series on May 5 will focus on writing effective grant proposals to fund special projects.
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