Around 120 students and staff participated in the first annual Skyline College Common Day of Action on May 5, 2018. Participants engaged in service learning projects at four different sites: SF-Marin Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Pacifica Beach Coalition, and Glide Memorial Health Clinic. The purpose of the Common Day of Action is to connect learning in the classroom with civic engagement, offering students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and become participating members of society.
The day began at Skyline College with breakfast and opening speeches from ASSC student leaders Amirah Tulloch and Alfredo Olguin, who got the energy flowing first thing before students took off for their respective sites. Two student leaders were responsible for each site, facilitating email communication, pre- and post- reflective activities, and providing support during the experience. The participants served in the following projects:
* At SF-Marin Food Bank, students sorted oranges and boxed canned foods, reflecting on issues of food shortage, poverty, and resource distribution of our society.
* Students at Habitat for Humanity removed weeds and spread mulch as part of a park beautification project in Hunters Point to expand community parks and gardens to make them cleaner, safer, and more accessible for everyone.
* The crew at the Beach Cleanup at Rockaway Beach focused on cleaning the beach and reducing cigarette butts, which connected to the concepts of reducing waste, buying habits, and attitudes about consumerism.
* At Glide Memorial Health Clinic in the Tenderloin, students assembled harm reduction kits with safe injection information and equipment to prevent repeat use and cross-contamination of injection equipment.
The day ended with all groups coming back to Skyline College for lunch and a post-experience activity, where students reflected on their service learning projects, the root causes of the social issues, and their role in the community as agents of change. Student Kristen Ersando, who participated at SF-Marin Food bank, emphasized that “this experience provided a way for students to critically think about these issues on another level and helped us realize how we can all contribute to our community.”
The Service Learning Community of Practice, which organized the event, would like to thank Amory Cariadus and ASSC, Alfredo Olguin, Jim Houpis, Tom Broxholm, and the Equity and VPI offices for their support and funding in making this event a success.
Here is a link to photos from the Common Day of Action: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmkiLNwv
Article by Serena Chu-Mraz, Rika Fabian, Carla Grandy, Jennifer Merrill, Mustafa Popal, and Paul Rueckhaus | Photo by Zaw Mint Khant
