Midwestern college is providing $500 scholarships for social justice conferences

A private college in Ohio has established a scholarship for students who wish to attend social justice conferences. Case Western Reserve University is awarding students $500 scholarships to assist students with travel, lodging and conference fees.

The scholarship falls under the university's Justice Institute, which was established to work towards "equal access to opportunity for all people through understanding and addressing the root causes of social injustice and developing innovative solutions," the institute's website says.

The Institute says the university "has not always been on the right side of social justice issues." Gender and racial discrimination have occurred in the past, which is why it's important for the Institute to exist.

According to a scholarship advertisement, the conferences students wish to attend must "support and uphold the institute’s definition of social justice: eradicating systems of oppression with the purpose of advancing fairness and equality through the redistribution and expansion of resources, and exalting human dignity and respect."

Before leaving the university, Dr. Rhonda Y. Williams, the founder and director of the Social Justice Institute, wrote a farewell letter in which she explains her vision for the Institute and its future:

My vision was to create and institutionalize a space where social justice, equity, and moral courage not only serve as foundations for critical intellectual analyses, but also inspire educational opportunities, scholarly engagement, community bridge-building, and actions on and off campus – all in order to challenge oppression and contribute to making the world better for more people.

(H/T Campus Reform)