Background
True to our mission as a Jesuit school, Bellarmine demonstrates its commitment to social justice by adopting a justice theme and engaging in a year-long examination of a given topic. Through our past examinations of hunger and sustainability, our school community has been challenged to look at underlying sources of injustice.
For the 2011-2012 academic year, our community will focus on immigration. This is a complex social justice issue which has been a source of debate in our nation for generations. We will ask students to engage in a critical examination the issue and formulate their own thoughts and opinions after much discussion and reflection.
Focus of the Summit
We will undertake a yearlong examination of the historical, social and economic context of immigration. We have identified four major areas of study:
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Economic immigration (people who migrate out of poverty)
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Political/religious asylum seekers (people who migrate fleeing oppression)
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Employment-based immigration (people who migrate with company-sponsored visas)
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Human Trafficking (people who are forced to migrate and forced into labor)
Philosophy
The goal of this summit is not to tell people what they should or should not believe. Our goal is not to align ourselves with prevailing political rhetoric from any side, nor to promote one viewpoint over another. What we will do, however, is question.
We will question what effect our nation’s economic, social and immigration policies have on our population, both historically and currently. We will question what motivates people to leave their homes and how they choose where to settle. We will question why this issue has been a source of struggle for all Americans since the founding of this nation.
Community Engagement
We envision many opportunities for parents to participate in this justice theme through community reading, film screenings and/or speakers. We encourage all members of our community to communicate openly and honestly with each other as we journey together in the coming year.
We invite you to search the links to the left and learn more about our Film Festival, peruse ourSpecial Initiatives and see the Full Summit Calendar. We welcome your comments and feedback throughout the year.