Nearly nine months after Stevens first moved to online instruction due to COVID-19, an abundance of virtual events continue to be offered to students. Among the long list is a new series titled “Social Justice in STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), hosted by the Office of Student Life’s Diversity Education Program.
The series began this semester and will continue until May 2021. Liliana Delman, Assistant Director for Diversity Education, explains that the series asks how “STEM [can] help in the fight for inclusion and justice.” Additionally, a goal for these events is to encourage students to “take a critical look at STEM and actively think about social justice when they go into their professions and engage in decision-making that impacts various communities.” All events are being hosted by Delman and Dr. Leo Pedraza, Director of Student Life and Assistant Dean of Students.
This semester there were two events that kicked off the start of the series. The first was offered on October 19, titled “Medical Violence: Gender and Race in Healthcare” with Dr. Amber Benezra, Assistant Professor for the College of Arts and Letters (CAL). Benezra explained that she places importance on teaching students to think critically about social issues, including but not limited to race, gender, and ability. She noted that her discussion focused on “the ways in which black femme bodies are subjected to racism and sexism within biomedicine. Police violence against black bodies is really present in our collective consciousness now, but I wanted to talk about something invisible: how in many medical areas, from maternal health outcomes to COVID, black femmes are discriminated against, receive poor care, and are vulnerable to medical harm. It was great to have an in-depth dialogue with students very interested in these timely and important issues.” Each event additionally involves student organizations and individual colleges at Stevens as co-sponsors; Black Student Union, Biomedical Engineering Society, Stevens Health Professions Club, and CAL were all noted as co-sponsors of the first event.
The second event was offered on November 18, titled “Digital Divisions: COVID, Online Learning, and the Controversies of Social Justice” with Dr. Michael Steinmann, CAL Professor. The Student Government Association and CAL co-sponsored this event, and Delman expressed that “in the future facilitators may also include students, staff, alumni, and guests.” Digital Divisions included discussions regarding the digital divide that comes with socio-economic divide, pressure to be productive, and the commercialization of education, among other things. Steinmann indicated that “the students who were in attendance were mostly focused on … the fact that they feel increased pressure to be productive. It’s an important problem … I think that working and learning remotely has led to the impression that work should be easier and we should be even more productive. There is a lot of anxiety and stress among students because they feel they are not productive enough. I believe that there is nothing wrong with students, everyone is working really hard, like always. It’s just that we have internalized unrealistic expectations and pressures because ‘it’s all easy when it’s online.’”
Delman noted that “a good number of students joined at both events. The participants at each session were actively engaged, offering new perspectives and asking important questions,” additionally explaining that the motivation to develop the series was to help students form a connection between what they’re studying and current social issues. The events begin with a lecture and include group dialogue, enabling participants to learn and discuss issues including “algorithmic bias, healthcare inequities, environmental racism and more.”
Pedraza and Delman emphasized the hope they have that “students who join the series bring this lens of inclusion and equity into their careers in STEM and use their roles to make a positive impact in the world.”
Participants who attend four of the seven planned events will receive a certificate. Students interested in participating in this series next semester can join the Social Justice in STEM DuckLink group here.
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