The Social Justice Series began in Spring of 2009 in hopes of promoting the education of Lawrence students on contemporary matters of social justice. Periodical presentations cover a wide variety of social issues. Past events include:
Vandana Shiva Service Trip
Lawrentians volunteered their spring reading periods to promote sustainable agriculture in Milwaukee. Students volunteered at Growing Power, an enormous organic urban farm that combats food insecurity through organic farming, community outreach, and education; Sweetwater Organics, a new business that combines the growth of organic greens with organic fish in a multi layered aquaponics system; and Hawley Environmental School, an elementary charter school promoting environmentalism in its students. Throughout the trip, students learned about the issues they were addressing through a series of readings, discussions, and visitors. The trip culminated in attending a lecture given at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by Vandana Shiva, renowned Indian environmental activist.
Oxfam Hunger Banquet
Students were separated into three different income levels and learned about the unequal distribution of food worldwide. Then, students learned about hunger in the Fox Cities from two speakers from the Community Garden Partnership and the Salvation Army. The event closed with a discussion between the speakers and the students about local issues of hunger.
