Social Group Activities Research Articles

Socialinio praktikos meno raiškos tendencijų teorinės įžvalgos

Straipsnyje aptariamos socialinio praktikos meno raiškos tendencijos ir galimybės. Nagrinėjama socialinio praktikos meno sąvokos samprata tarptautiniame kontekste, raiškos tendencijos užsienio šalyse ir Lietuvoje. Straipsnio tikslas yra pateikti teorines įžvalgas apie socialinio praktikos meno kūrybos formas ir plėtros tendencijų analizę.Socialinis praktikos menas (Social Practice Art, SPA) yra meno priemonė, orientuota į menininkų ir įvairių socialinių grupių bendrą meninę veiklą per socialinį diskursą. Socialinis praktikos menas atsirado reaguojant į didėjantį meninio ugdymo poreikį bendradarbiaujant su socialinėmis grupėmis multikultūrinėje aplinkoje. Vis daugiau pasaulio menininkų, kuratorių, kritikų ir meno administratorių koncentruojasi į naujo tipo praktiką – vadinamąjį meno aktyvizmą. Viena tokio aktyvizmo rūšių apibūdinama socialinio praktikos meno terminu. Šia veikla siekiama teigiamų pokyčių konkrečiose bendruomenėse, susiduriančiose su aktualiomis problemomis: rasizmu, miesto gentrifikacija, žala aplinkai, nestabiliomis darbo sąlygomis, dideliu įkalinimo lygiu, pasauliniu pabėgėlių antplūdžiu ir pan.Menininkai, dirbantys socialinio praktikos meno srityje, kuria bendradarbiaudami su konkrečia auditorija arba siūlo kritines intervencijas esamose socialinėse sistemose, kurios įkvepia diskusijas arba skatina socialinius mainus. Europoje tai kol kas naujas reiškinys, tačiau jis jau randa savo vietą daugelyje valstybių, kuriose gyvuoja stipri kūrybinė klasė, judantys migrantų srautai ir yra didelė klasinė atskirtis – Jungtinėje Karalystėje, Vokietijoje, Nyderlanduose ir kitose šalyse. Lietuvoje socialinio meno vertinimo problemos yra analizuotos nagrinėjant Kaune vykdytą projektą „Šančiai – draugiška zona“ (Dovydaitytė, 2014). Šioje studijoje aptariami socialinio praktikos meno veiklos vertinimo principai. Įvairiose pasaulio šalyse pradeda plisti naujos galimybės, todėl, siekiant atskleisti šių galimybių potencialą, svarbu analizuoti šio perspektyvaus proceso raidą.

Resisting gentrification: The theoretical and practice contributions of social work

Summary Gentrification is changing the landscape of many cities worldwide, exacerbating economic and racial inequality. Despite its relevance to social work, the field has been conspicuously absent from scholarship related to gentrification. This paper introduces the dominant view of gentrification (a political economic lens), highlighting its contributions and vulnerabilities, then introduces four case studies that illuminate the distinct contributions of social work to broaden the ways in which gentrification is theorized and responded to within communities. Findings When gentrification is analyzed exclusively through a political economy lens, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are likely to focus on changes in land and home values, reducing the adverse effects of gentrification to a loss of affordable housing. A singular focus on affordable housing risks paying insufficient attention to racial struggle, perpetuating damage-based views of poor people and neighborhoods, and obfuscating political, social, and cultural displacements. Social work practice—including social action group work, community organizing, community development, and participatory research and planning—offers a holistic approach to understanding, resisting, and responding to gentrification and advance equitable development in the city. Applications By exploring social work practice that amplifies residents’ and change makers’ efforts, advances existing community organizing, produces new insights, builds inter-neighborhood and interdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitates social action and policy change, this paper helps community practitioners to reimagine the role of social work research and practice in gentrifying neighborhoods.

O processo de territorialização do agronegócio global na Microrregião Geográfica de Rondonópolis – MT, a partir da década de 1970

O artigo levanta uma discussão teórica e empírica sobre as contribuições do processo de modernização na reorganização do espaço agrário e no fortalecimento político e econômico de um grupo de atores sociais vinculados ao agronegócio na Microrregião de Rondonópolis – MT, a partir da década de 1970, com a introdução do progresso técnico-científico no espaço agrário dentro do modelo de produção capitalista. Observa e estuda a influência da introdução do progresso técnico-científico na modernização da economia e do espaço agrário, bem como o papel que este progresso desempenhou no fortalecimento político e econômico do setor ligado ao agronegócio. O texto aborda as estratégias dos agentes do agronegócio no processo de produção tanto a montante quanto a jusante no setor agrícola. Observa as ações e estratégias de territorialização das empresas globais do agronegócio e sua influência na reorganização e produção do espaço regional e a subordinação dos agricultores à sua arena geopolítica comercial. Adotou-se o método qualitativo e a elaboração do artigo baseou-se em uma revisão bibliográfica e em uma pesquisa empírica. Após o levantamento bibliográfico, procedeu-se a compilação, organização das ideias e interpretação dos dados e informações teóricas e empíricas disponíveis na literatura adotada e nas pesquisas de campo.

Commoditization of the sacred: production and transaction of Buddhist statues in fifth- to tenth-century China

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the relationship between two seemingly opposite aspects of Buddhist statues: being both a sacred object and a commodity. By looking at their production and transaction processes, it examines how these medieval Buddhist statues were ‘singularized’ and ‘commoditized,’ as well as the activities of different social groups in relation to them. This article intends to shed some new light on the roles played by ‘sacred objects’ in medieval Chinese society, through studying how people actually perceived and interacted with them in diverse ways. It is suggested that the ambiguity of the nature of these statues – being both singular and common, sacred and commercial – entailed a host of new religious and economic practices which contributed to the wide spread of the religion in medieval China.

ENGAGEMENT IN SOCIALLY REWARDING ACTIVITIES AS A PREDICTOR OF OUTCOME IN BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION THERAPY FOR LATE LIFE DEPRESSION

Introduction Late life depression has detrimental effects on older adults’ functioning and well-being. Depressed older adults often experience loneliness and social isolation, which are risk factors for incident depression, increased depression severity, and medical illness. Neurobiological studies suggest that depressed individuals of all ages exhibit impairments in the reward systems and recent studies suggest that socially rewarding experiences may be especially important for depressed older adults. Results of a pilot study conducted by our group has shown that “Engage”, a neurobiologically informed, streamlined brief behavioral activation for depression, led to significant reduction in depressive symptoms. “Engage” targets impairments in positive valence system function through “reward exposure” (i.e. engagement in rewarding and meaningful activities). However, it is unknown whether engagement in certain types of rewarding activities is more beneficial than others. We predicted that given the centrality of social isolation in late life depression, social (versus non-social) rewarding activities would predict greater improvement in depression severity. Methods Forty-eight older adults with unipolar depression without cognitive impairment received 9 sessions of “Engage” psychotherapy. Depression severity was assessed using the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and behavioral activation was measured using the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) at baseline, weeks 6 and 9. We also assessed depression severity on a weekly basis using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Patients’ weekly behavioral plans were categorized into three groups: a) solitary activities; b) social-group activities (attending a social gathering or going to a social setting such as church or a senior center); c) social-individual activities (engaging in an interpersonal interaction with a specific friend and/or family member). Results Logistic regression analyses showed that higher percentage of social-individual activities (compared to solitary and social-group activities) predicted subsequent improvement in depressive symptoms and increase in behavioral activation, when controlling for baseline scores on MADRS and BADS respectively. Preliminary analysis suggests that patients who selected social individual activities, in addition to solitary and social group activities, had a steeper reduction of depression by the third session compared to patients lacking social individual activities in their reward exposure plans. This observation suggests that engagement in social individual activities is associated with early response of depression to Engage. Conclusions Our preliminary results suggest that exposure to socially rewarding experiences could contribute to the efficacy of psychotherapy for late-life depression. Additionally, these findings highlight the importance of studying the effects of engagement in specific types of rewarding activities in behavioral activation treatment for late-life depression. This research was funded by P50 MH113838 R01 MH102252 T32 MH019132

The Different Roles of Help-Seeking Personalities in Social Support Group Activity on E-Portfolio for Career Development

Social Support plays a crucial role between recipients and service providers. It is a strong contributor in reducing the level of uncertainty in a situation, in both relationships with one’s own self, as well as relationships on other levels. It can also be used within a group activity system such as E-Portfolio development. One example of this being the support provided to learners who have reflected on their own experience during a period of transition. However, it is possible that some of the learners who participated in the social support group activity may not have been familiar with the community and may have acted differently, changing their help-seeking style within the group. This research used Activity theory as a tool to define the activity structure and aimed to focus on the working behavior among members of a social support group with different help-seeking personalities. The experiment also revealed the effects of E-portfolio development on self-efficacy skills in career-based decision-making, based on different help-seeking personalities using Pretest–Posttest Nonequivalent Control Group design. Upper secondary school students in Thailand were used as the population in the research. Participants in this study were also students under Royal patronage in grade 11 (n = 80) and there were students from each region of Thailand. These participants attended the guidance and preparation summer camp in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University. It is revealed by the findings that the statistically significant difference is at the level of .05 in Autonomous help-seeking learners and within the subgroup 3, which included Autonomous and Dependent help-seeking learners. The help-seeking personality working styles in the support group are discussed.

Engagement in Socially and Interpersonally Rewarding Activities as a Predictor of Outcome in “Engage” Behavioral Activation Therapy for Late-Life Depression

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with depressive symptoms, cognitive and physical disabilities, and increased risk of mortality among older adults. Socially rewarding activities reduce loneliness, and neurobiological evidence suggests that these activities may activate neural reward systems in older adults to a greater extent than other rewarding experiences. The current study was designed to investigate whether engagement in social and interpersonal activities (i.e., exposure to social rewards) predicts subsequent increase in behavioral activation and reduction in depressive symptoms in reward exposure treatment for late-life depression. Forty-eight older adults without cognitive impairment and with major depression received nine sessions of "Engage" psychotherapy. Behavioral activation and depression severity were assessed by trained raters at baseline and weeks 6 and 9. Patients' weekly behavioral plans were categorized into three groups: 1) solitary activities; 2) social-group activities (attending a social gathering or a social setting such as church or a senior center); and 3) interpersonal-individual activities (engaging in an interpersonal interaction with a specific friend or family member). Mixed-effects models showed reduction in depression severity and increase in behavioral activation over time. In linear regression models, a higher percentage of interpersonal-individual activities (but not solitary or social-group activities) predicted subsequent increase in behavioral activation and improvement of depression. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the effects of engagement in specific types of rewarding activities in behavioral activation treatments for late-life depression. Exposure to socially rewarding interpersonal interactions could contribute to the efficacy of psychotherapy for late-life depression.

Социальный конструкционизм корпоративного дискурса

The article is devoted to the problem of social constructionism of modern discourses, which is manifested in their ability to form the opinion of target groups and create algorithms of social actions. The existing approaches to the understanding of social constructionism, indicating the possibility of linguistic interpretation and modelling technologies for creating discursive models and their inclusion in the activities of social groups, one of which is the corporation, are considered. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that for the first time the concept of “discursive technology” is considered as an object of study in linguistics, characterizing social constructionism. A typology of discursive technologies of construction, including technologies of text construction, text development and its implementation in professional practices of corporates is proposed. The author uses the method of complex pragmastylistic analysis of texts in corporate discourse and reconstructs the discursive technologies of text construction and the formation of communicative skills of staff.

Stakeholders’ Pressure and CSR Engagement. A Case in the Apparel Sector

This paper, drawing on stakeholder and legitimacy theory, addresses the issue of stakeholders’ pressure effect on a firm’s CSR behavior. It focuses on the apparel sector as these companies, characterized by consumer proximity, are under the lens of stakeholders for their direct social performance as well as for their suppliers’ actions. We analyze the Nike case in order to study how stakeholders’ pressure shapes a firm’s engagement in CSR issues. Our study points out the dynamic nature of stakeholders and legitimacy, and it underlines the influence of two actors which are rarely considered as primary and most important stakeholders, namely media and social activist groups.

PENGARUH PEMBERIAN TERAPI AKTIVITAS KELOMPOK SOSIALISASI (TAKS) TERHADAP INTERAKSI SOSIAL KLIEN GANGGUAN JIWA

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of therapy group socialization activities (syntax) of the client's mental disorder of social interaction.
 This research is a kind of research is pre experimentation with the design of "one group pre-test post-test". Population size used was 41 clients with impaired social interactions, samples taken proporsiv sampling as many as 30 clients with social interaction disorder treatment. The data was collected directly to the treatment group. Data analysis was performed bivariate tests unuvariat and paired T-test α of 5% (one tail).
 The results showed that the average in get social interaction prior to the therapy group socialization activities 0.3 while the average social interaction therapy clients after done action group socialization activities 3.6. There perbadaan average social interaction before and after therapy and activity groups no significant increase between the average social interaction group activity after therapy than before therapy in the client group activity with impaired social interaction is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital Soeprapto Bengkulu (P value = 0.000).

“Be creative and you will reach more people”: youth’s experiences participating in an arts-based social action group aimed at mental health stigma reduction

ABSTRACTBackground: Starting in 2013, the Mental Health Youth Action Board, made up of 15 teens ages 15–18, was created to advise a large children’s hospital on improvements in mental health care and produce social action projects to impact community perceptions of mental health.Methods: This participatory qualitative case study explored the experiences of 14 young people who participated in the Mental Health Youth Action Board between 2013 and 2016.Results: There were two higher order themes: process and outcomes. Process-related themes included how this was a unique leadership experience, the importance of the arts-based approach, and value of the intentionally constructed storytelling process. These processes led to youth growing as advocates for mental health.Conclusions: Arts-based approaches to social action that allow youth to share personal experiences of stigmatized topics can promote healing and support their growth as leaders.

Is music-with-movement intervention better than music listening and social activities in alleviating agitation of people with moderate dementia? A randomized controlled trial.

Interactive music intervention is generally perceived as more effective on clinical outcomes than a receptive approach because it can better engage the people with dementia. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of the 6-week music-with-movement intervention on agitation of people with moderate dementia, music listening and social activity. A multi-centre randomized controlled trial was conducted on 165 nursing home residents with moderate dementia. The participants were randomly allocated into three groups: music-with-movement, music listening or social activities groups. Participants in the music-with-movement group listened to preferred music and moved their body parts for 45 minutes, twice a week for 6 weeks. While the participants in the music listening group only listened to their preferred music and social activity group chatted with the other group members. The agitation level was examined with the Chinese Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory - Nursing Home version. Total scores and sub-scores (physically aggressive, physical non-aggressive, verbal aggressive and verbal non-aggressive) were compared at baseline, at post-intervention and 6 weeks post-intervention. The results showed that there are no significant differences in agitation among three groups. Repeated measures univariate analyses revealed that all three groups yielded significant improvement in agitation from baseline to post-intervention, of which music-with-movement presented the largest effect size. This study showed that interactive or receptive type of music intervention or social activities may be helpful in managing agitation although there is no statistically significant difference among them.

Newark’s 1974 Puerto Rican Riots Through Oral Histories

This article includes contents of recorded oral histories from Sigfredo Carrion, William Sanchez, Gustav Heninburg, and Raul Davila recounting the events that took place in Branch Brook Park in 1974; events also known as the Puerto Rican Riots. These events were witnessed by members of the Puerto Rican community living in the city at the time, as well as respected members of the city council and leaders of social activist groups. These oral histories were carefully read and analyzed in order to construct a brief and comprehensive retelling of those events for those unfamiliar with the subject. Much of the evidence used was found in the New Jersey Hispanic Research and In-formation Center located at the Newark Public Library. This article also examines the frustrations and concerns facing the Puerto Rican community as told by those who experienced them firsthand, and explains the breaking point that led the community to finally come together and de-mand their voices be heard. The results of this uprising led to the creation of local organizations, such as La Casa de Don Pedro, and the construction of a more visible Puerto Rican identity with-in the city.

Factors that promote new or continuous participation in social group activity among Japanese community-dwelling older adults: A 2-year longitudinal study.

Identifying factors that influence participation in social group activities in older adults might be helpful in promoting social participation in this population. We examined factors related to new or continuous participation in social group activities according to group type. We carried out a community-based, longitudinal study with a 2-year follow-up period. Of 7608 older adults aged ≥65 years, 3380 completed the follow-up survey and were included in the analysis. We examined private group (hobbies, sports and volunteering; PrG) and public group (neighborhood associations and senior citizen clubs; PuG) activity. For PrG, 39.6% of the participants were engaged at baseline, 25.5% initiated participation and 9.5% withdrew during the study period. For PuG, 20.8% of the participants were engaged at baseline, 10.8% initiated participation and 31.5% withdrew during the study period. Logistic regression analysis showed mental health, self-rated health, employment, relationships with neighbors, subjective economic status, educational attainment and participation in PuG were related to new participation in PrG. Mental health, employment and relationships with neighbors were significantly related to continuous participation. For PuG, mental health, sex and relationships with neighbors were significantly related to new participation, whereas sex, relationships with neighbors and educational attainment were related to continuous participation. The rate of new and continuous participation in PrG was higher than that in PuG, and different related factors were identified as existing between social group types. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1259-1266.

Influence of sociodemographic characteristics and daily living habits on the quality of life of elderly participants in the social group of the Sinop / MT City

The Brazilian population is undergoing a demographic transition due to the decline in fertility rates and increased life expectancy, resulting in an aging population. This process requires a modification of public policies that address the needs of this population. The results of research on life quality have been used as an indicator of effectiveness and efficiency of interventions that have been carried out, which have shown relevance in the face of social transformations resulting from population aging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of sociodemographic characteristics and daily living habits on the life quality of elderly who participate in social groups in the Sinop/MT city. This is an observational, qualitative, quantitative and exploratory study, conducted through direct interviews for convenience by WHOQOL-bref questionnaire and other specific sociodemographic questionnaire. Survey was conducted with a sample of 60 elderly, 30 men and 30 women, participants of the social group activities for at least six months. The results of this study indicate significant influence of physical activity, income, gender and consumption of alcoholic beverages with the domains of life quality. Among these factors, physical activity and income exerted strong influence in the areas of life quality, presenting significant difference in three of the four areas. Gender and consumption of alcoholic beverages had influence on only one domain. The observed results highlight the need to develop public policies and strategies that reduce the differences from income and promote the physical activity among the elderly in order to contribute to the equality of life of the same. We concluded that the healthy habits and good income might be important indicators to quality of life in elderly population.

Group abstraction for assisted navigation of social activities in intelligent environments

The ACANTO project is developing robotic assistants to aid the confidence and recovery of older adults. A key requirement of these assistants is aiding with navigation in complex and potentially chaotic environments. Prior work has addressed this for a single user, using a single robotic assistant in an intelligent environment. However, for therapeutic purposes, ACANTO supports social groups and group activities. ACANTO’s robotic assistants must, therefore, be able to plan the motion of groups of older adults walking together. This requires an efficient navigation solution that can handle large numbers of users and that can operate rapidly on embedded computing devices. To increase user confidence, the solution must encourage group cohesion without trying to impose its own rigid structure; it must try to maintain the natural (de facto) group structure despite unpredictable behaviours and environmental conditions. Our on-the-fly group motion planner addresses these challenges by: using intelligent environment information to develop behavioural traces, clustering traces to determine groups, constructing a predictive model of the groups as a whole, and finding an optimal suggested trajectory using statistical model checking. In this work, we describe our proposed approach in detail and validate some of its novel aspects on the ETH Zurich pedestrian motion dataset.

Socio-ecological distribution conflicts in the mining sector in Guatemala (2005–2013): Deep rooted injustice and weak environmental governance

This study characterizes ecological distribution conflicts (EDC) related to the mining industry and derives a series of political implications for Guatemala. The characterization includes a placement in the context of Central America, regional location, intensity of the EDC and the trends in social and environmental consequences, with special emphasis on the groups of social actors affected and the degree to which the institutional framework does not provide effective means of participatory environmental governance. The time period covers 2005 to 2013. In order to understand trends in actor behavior and diverse moments of high intensity we introduce the use of action and response timelines as a methodology for EDC analysis. We propose the notions of embedded conflicts to describe their relation with the structural social conditions prevailing in the country and swarms of conflicts to describe their escalation through time. We conclude that conflictivity is inherent to the unsustainable characteristics of metallic mining and is aggravated by Guatemalás history of social inequality and power concentration. The attempts to reduce “conflictivity” through CSR have been insufficient in addressing these structural conditions. EDCs may have helped create a positive environment for creative forces to seek sustainability and justice in Guatemalás development model.

A feasibility study for NOn-Traditional providers to support the management of Elderly People with Anxiety and Depression: The NOTEPAD study Protocol

BackgroundAnxiety and depression are common among older people, with up to 20% reporting such symptoms, and the prevalence increases with co-morbid chronic physical health problems. Access to treatment for anxiety and depression in this population is poor due to a combination of factors at the level of patient, practitioner and healthcare system.There is evidence to suggest that older people with anxiety and/or depression may benefit both from one-to-one interventions and group social or educational activities, which reduce loneliness, are participatory and offer some activity. Non-traditional providers (support workers) working within third-sector (voluntary) organisations are a valuable source of expertise within the community but are under-utilised by primary care practitioners. Such a resource could increase access to care, and be less stigmatising and more acceptable for older people.MethodsThe study is in three phases and this paper describes the protocol for phase III, which will evaluate the feasibility of recruiting general practices and patients into the study, and determine whether support workers can deliver the intervention to older people with sufficient fidelity and whether this approach is acceptable to patients, general practitioners and the third-sector providers.Phase III of the NOTEPAD study is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that is individually randomised. It recruited participants from approximately six general practices in the UK. In total, 100 participants aged 65 years and over who score 10 or more on PHQ9 or GAD7 for anxiety or depression will be recruited and randomised to the intervention or usual general practice care. A mixed methods approach will be used and follow-up will be conducted 12 weeks post-randomisation.DiscussionThis study will inform the design and methods of a future full-scale RCT.Trial registrationISRCTN, ID: ISRCTN16318986. Registered 10 November 2016. The ISRCTN registration is in line with the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set. The present paper represents the original version of the protocol. Any changes to the protocol will be communicated to ISRCTN.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Integrated Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention (CBI) Model for Male Problem Gamblers in Hong Kong: A Matched-Pair Comparison Design.

Very few clinical cognitive-behavioural intervention (CBI) studies were conducted with the Chinese gamblers. There is a lack of attention paid to intervening in negative emotions that may also adversely affect PGs in current CBI treatment modality. This study is the first attempt to systematically and rigorously evaluate both the short-term and longer-term effects of a culturally-attuned CBI group treatment with an emotion regulation component for a group of Chinese PGs in Hong Kong. A quasi-experimental matched-pairs design was adopted and 84 participants were allocated to the CBI (N=42) and social activity groups (N=42). There are 3 assessment points in the study: baseline at recruitment, post-intervention at the end of CBI and social activity groups, and at 6-month follow-up. When compared to the social activity group and after controlling for general group effects, there were significantly greater decreases in the severity of gambling, gambling-related cognitions (i.e. interpretive bias), negative psychological states (i.e. stress) and money spent on gambling in the past month in the CBI group between pre- and post-intervention and between pre-intervention and 6-month follow-up. Results also indicated that both reduction in gambling-related cognitions and negative psychological states could mediate the treatment effect of the CBI on the reduction of problematic gambling behaviours. The culturally attuned integrated CBI group treatment with an emotional regulation component appeared to be effective in treating Chinese problem gamblers in Hong Kong and the effects could be sustained at 6-month follow-up.

Who Are US Latinas/os? An Inauguration Day Reflection

Who Are US Latinas/os? An Inauguration Day Reflection Lorena Gauthereau (bio) On Friday, January 20, 2017, the US Presidential Inauguration Day, many universities and social activist groups across the United States organized varied events. At Rice University, in Houston, Texas, students, faculty, staff, and alumni alike participated in “Onward! An Inauguration Day Teach-in,” a day of roundtable discussions and breakout sessions focused on educating and engaging the Rice community on politically charged topics. The event was proposed by English professor Lacy Johnson and co-organized by Johnson and anthropology professor Zoë Wool. “Onward!” was inspired in part by an opinion piece written by Rice University president David Leebron, which appeared in The Rice Thresher at the start of the Fall 2016 semester. In the article, Leebron urged students to participate in difficult conversations concerning topics of politics and religion. Such discussions, Leebron stated, “can form an incredibly important part of an education, and enable us to truly benefit from all the forms of diversity in our community” (Leebron n.p.). The goal of the teach-in was to “offer resources through which new infrastructures for dialogue, education, understanding, and engagement can emerge. Our intention is to help all participants thoughtfully contemplate the implications of the new federal administration across a wide range of domains by putting this moment into broader historical, social, and political context. Our hope is that new ways forward will emerge” (Rice Responds). One of the breakout sessions, “Who Are Latinas/os?” was led by Rice Associate Professor of Chicana/o and American Literature José F. Aranda Jr. During this session, Aranda touched on various topics, including national statistics; the diverse socioeconomic, political, and cultural background of US Latinas/os; immigration; language; religion; and racial discrimination. The students, staff, faculty, and alumni who attended this event participated in conversations about community and cross-cultural awareness. I participated in the event as well, and, after the discussion, I prompted the attendees to write a reflection on an index card, which would then form a line in a collaborative poem. I gathered the unsigned cards and organized them in what I felt was a cohesive manner. I limited my editing to organization and creating line breaks in order to preserve the rawness of the moment and the poem’s polyvocality. [End Page 199] The following poem is the result of the collaborative work of Rice community members who attended the session, including undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni. In its honest roughness, this poem conveys the discomfort, the sorrow, the optimism, the confusion, and most of all the desire to connect that pulsed through this group of people. The collaborative nature of the poem weaves together political thoughts and personal worries. It infuses policy with personal experience. Who Are Latinas/os? Who are Latinas? Who are Latinos? I am not safe to be myself,I’m safe to be like everyone else.No puedo ser,I’m safe to be like everyone else. “MEXICAN” should not be a slur. I love my culture andSometimes I just wantTo share itWithout someone thinkingI’m the typicalHispanic stereotype.It’s not a stereotype.It’s my culture.And I’m not afraid to share it. Oh you’re not from here?I didn’t think you wereIllegalYou speak English so well! My family is from the United States.I am Chicana. [End Page 200] LATINO + HISPANIC RIGHTSAREHUMAN RIGHTS Why is it that myliminality,duality,my white motherand my brown fatherspell outnullnessinauthenticity? Geography matters.Unity matters.Uniqueness matters.We matter. We long to reach out toConservative Hispanics who feel like theyhave todistance themselves from“dirty Mexicans.” I am more than aPhysical representation ofA percentage and aCulturalSocialAssumption ofMy people. I am more than theDaughter of peopleWho risked their livesTo give me aBetter future,But I am proud ofOur history. [End Page 201] SOMOS UNIDOS.We need education onShared experiences,Understanding.We need to unite. When I joined my high school soccer team,the locker room divided within the first weekbetween...