The Gender and Social Justice Living and Learning Community (LLC) is a brand new initiative in partnership with Housing and Residence Life, geared towards upper-level students to live in community with each other.
As a member of the community, students will be able to participate in volunteer opportunities both on and off campus to apply theories of gender to community and campus activism.
Students will also be able to learn about gender and social justice as well as become advocates and activists around gender equality through both on and off campus opportunities using an intersectional lens.
Why the Gender and Social Justice Living Learning Community?
Thoughts From Sarah Crossen, A WGST Major Student
My name is Sarah Crossen, and I am a second year Women and Gender Studies major. I work as an Office Assistant in the Women and Gender Studies Center as well as a Peer Mentor for the LGBTQ+ Living Learning Community with Housing and Residence Life. I decided to apply to be a Peer Mentor for the LGBTQ+ LLC because of my great experience as a member of the Engineering LLC as a first-year at Mason. I loved the community that was built around a shared struggle of chemistry and calculus, the late nights spent studying, and the friendships I made along the way, so I applied to work with the LLCs and be more involved in that process. Working as a Peer Mentor in a new LLC gave me experience with creating the best possible environment for the students and I’m really excited about the new opportunities that come with the Gender and Social Justice LLC! I am extremely passionate about social justice and working towards the equitable distribution of wealth, resources, access, and opportunities through everything I do and with every campus partner I work with. I was so excited when I heard about this LLC. None of the other LLCs currently address the relevant and important issues of gender and social justice that determine how we structure community like this one is intended to. I’m looking forward to talking with students from different majors and with different passions and interests about their perspectives on social justice and activism. Often tackling social change and justice seems big and overwhelming and having a community with shared goals makes activism and advocacy more powerful. This is a great opportunity to share space with others who value your life experiences and perspectives, challenge you to grow, and join you in contributing to make Mason and the larger community a better place. There is power in creating designates spaces around the idea that things need to be and can be better for everyone regardless of identity or socio-economic position.
We are still accepting applicants. If you’re interested in applying to be part of the Gender and Social Justice LLC, please email David Corwin the LLC Coordinator at dcorwin@gmu.edu.