The 27th Building Bridges Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College will take place this Saturday, March 5, digging into the theme “Knowledge is Power: Dismantling Systemic Bias in Educational Institutions.”
“The Building Bridges Conference has always been a platform for students to address significant issues of justice in a provocative and informative way,” Gustavus seniors and Conference co-chairs Mad Chase ’23 and Ellie Hartmann ’23 said in a welcome letter to attendees. “This year’s conference will provide attendees a chance to explore educational institutions both as tools of oppression and liberation. The goal of the conference is to bring awareness to the multifaceted ways educational institutions perpetuate discrimination, inequality, and misinformation, so that attendees can prepare to recognize and deconstruct information and knowledge bias in their own communities.”
Attendees are invited to gather in Cec Eckhoff Alumni Hall in the Johnson Student Union ahead of opening remarks and a performance from the Gustavus Social Justice Choir at 9:30 a.m. Dr. Michelle Tovar, the Director of Public Engagement at Holocaust Museum Houston, will give the virtual morning keynote at 10 a.m. followed by questions-and-answers and a lunch break. From 12-3 p.m., attendees are encouraged to attend workshops and an interpretive walkthrough in Beck Hall. At 3:15 p.m., a virtual afternoon keynote will be given by Dr. Christian Uwe, a professor at the University of Minnesota whose research focuses on questions of aesthetics, poetics, and their political ramifications particularly in Sub-Saharan and Caribbean literature. The day will conclude with a featured dance piece and closing remarks at 4:15 p.m. Tickets are required for the event, but are free for Gustavus students, faculty, and staff as well as the general public.
For more information, including livestream links for those who cannot attend in person as well as a digital copy of the conference program, visit the Gustavus Building Bridges website.
Building Bridges is a student organization at Gustavus Adolphus College that focuses on educating and informing community members on issues relating to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Building Bridges’ signature event is the annual Building Bridges Conference, which takes place every spring. The conference is completely organized and run by students who choose the focus of each year’s conference. Building Bridges members work all year to not only educate and bring awareness, but also to give attendees the tools to be active and engaged in these social justice issues. The conference aims to educate the community through keynote speakers, a series of workshops and other interactive elements. Past topics have included: Climate Justice (2020), Immigration (2019), Mental Health (2018), Grassroots Movements (2017), The War on Drugs (2016), Rape Culture (2015), Environmental Justice (2014), and Mass Incarceration (2013).