By: Carolina Souto/Staff Writer
Professor Paul Feigenbaum and the students of his community writing and rhetoric class of spring 2012 are on a mission to promote community activism and awareness. As a response to the time limitation that a semester allows for any permanent progress to be made, the class decided to start a club at the University by the name of Fostering Better Communities so that their mission can reach beyond the semester and beyond the classroom.
As a professor at the University, Feigenbaum hopes that this course will provide students with a different perspective on what it means and what it takes to be socially active. One of the course’s goals is to get students to think about the civic role they can and should play in local, national and global communities and how they can use writing and rhetoric to advance both their professional goals and the goals of various communities that matter to them. The course is structured so that students are in a positive learning environment and are given the opportunity to participate and engage in social activism while being exposed to the different ideas that can perpetuate social involvement.
FBC will be up and running once the 2012 fall semester starts. In addition to the club, Professor Feigenbaum’s students are also in a hurry to raise funds for the club at their local Publix on behalf of the Center for Family and Child Enrichment, a private, nonprofit, community-based organization that serves children in foster care who have been abused, neglected and/or abandoned.
One of the things the course aims to teach is that community activism is possible without the sacrifice of a student’s plan for success. Andrew Barrocas, one of Feigenbaum’s students, said “I think the most memorable thing I’ll take from the course is just being aware that you do have a choice of whether to be civilly active or not and that something like that doesn’t necessarily have to come at the expense of your career.”
The course materials that students are exposed to throughout the semester attempt to defy the assumption that becoming a successful adult and becoming a community activist are incongruent.
“‘Peace One Day’ was my favorite piece covered in class. I liked it because it gave a realistic account of the struggles an activist faces: the often lengthy trial and error process involved in trying to achieve change and the possible outcomes that can be achieved when working together as a community,” said Sandra Ore.
As for Richard Benavides, “the course dialogue has helped me think more about the process of civic engagement.”
To Feigenbaum, the process is an essential step in balancing a life filled with work, home and school duties, with social activism. This semester, the class’ attempt at making a difference was met with many obstacles. Nonetheless, the process is proving to be rewarding. Even though finals are around the corner, the students of the community writing and rhetoric class are working hard at helping their community and in providing access to the same opportunities for future students at the University.
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