Q & A

CSUF Students Advocate for Social Justice; Organize Summit April 21

April 17, 2007

By Debra Cano Ramos

The third annual Social Justice Summit on April 21 at the Titan Student Union is an event organized by Cal State Fullerton students. Founded by Students ACT (Students Advocating Civic Transformation), the free event, open to the public, is the work of 14 student planners, including Felipe Salazar, a founding member, and Norma Franco. The summit focuses on empowering people to get involved in their communities and become an active force for change. Salazar, 23, of San Diego, is a Latin American Studies major graduating in May and plans to pursue a master’s degree at the University of California, San Diego; Franco, 19, of Norwalk, a psychology major who plans to graduate in 2009. They share why they’ve become involved in social justice issues and the summit.

Q: Why was the summit founded?
Salazar: The Social Justice Summit was part of a collective brainstorm by like-minded students who wanted to bring greater student and community involvement in creating social change in our communities, as well as bring our own student body together in a collective effort to make this change happen.

Q: Why did you get involved in planning the summit?
Salazar: I have been part of the planning committee for the past three years. This is my last year here, so in addition to getting involved because of my passion for social change, I wanted to see how the summit has grown in influence, through empowering many people, over the last three years.
Franco: I saw that there are so many things happening in the world and one of the things that really impacted me was human trafficking and modern-day slavery. I didn’t know that these were happening right now. I decided that I needed to get involved in issues like these to raise awareness and tell people about what is going on.

Q: How has being part of the summit’s student planning committee affected you personally?
Salazar: In addition to meeting amazing progressive-minded students, the planning committee and the summit as a whole has shaped and developed my desire to create change both locally in our communities, but also nationally and globally. I have also learned important leadership qualities that will be of great help as I move on with my life.
Franco: I realized that there are people out there who are not as fortunate as I am. I’ve learned not take things for granted, especially the small things.

Q: How will your experience on the summit committee help you in the future?
Salazar: In my immediate future, I will use my experience with the summit to conduct research on social movements and social change in Latin America. In graduate school, I want to continue not only studying social change, but also be part of the change both on-campus at UCSD and abroad.
Franco: Personally, working with the summit has made me more aware of social injustice. It has also inspired me to become a social worker. I especially want to work with children — those who are oppressed and don’t have a voice.