Encouraging Minority People to Overcome with Education and Respect (E.M.P.O.W.E.R.)

Date for 2006-2007 School Year

Biweekly Saturday meeting from late September to June

Target Group

Underrepresented Minority Students (African American, Native American, Latino and Pacific Islander)

History

The foundation for the EMPOWER program took the form of a class project for a Women/Ethnic Studies course. Following the passage of Initiative 200, a group of graduate and undergraduate student activists joined together in a grassroots effort to focus on building student initiated efforts that would extend educational opportunities to economically disadvantaged students and students of color. The program would accomplish this by assisting our students to develop and enhance their leadership skills while promoting critical dialogue around issues of racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, and religious oppression.

Description

Students meet at UW every other Saturday for four hours starting in late September through June. During the fall quarter, students are exposed to campus life as well as make bonds with other students. For the seniors, the volunteers help them write their personal statements and critique their applications. During winter quarter, the students are assigned readings that correlate with the weekly discussions. This is the part of the program where students can express their views on social issues in a safe environment. Lastly, students organize a community event, which is open to the UW community. In the past, students held a poetry slam that attracted a diverse group of people.

Contact

Primary contact: empower@u.washington.edu, (206) 616-9130

Mentor(s) - Francisca Burgos: fsb2@u.washington.edu

Group Member(s) - Michael Schulz-Oechtering: masomac@u.washington.edu

Application

Not available at this moment

Additional Information

None at the moment