One of the top priorities of The Disruptor is to support and encourage student organizing efforts. To that end, along with the usual student group updates/announcements, we have included information on various opportunities for student organizing and engagement, including groups that are currently inactive. This year was incredibly challenging for organizing efforts, as it was for almost every aspect of work and life. Filling student leadership positions has been especially challenging and we encourage new and continuing students to consider taking on leadership roles next year. We commend the fantastic work student leaders and groups were able to do this year and look forward to the opportunities that a return to in-person activities will bring.
The SGA is currently recruiting students for leadership positions. Use this application form if you are interested.
To get involved in leadership of SGA-supported groups, fill out this interest form and help these groups continue next year!
Email sswstudentjournal@gmail.com to get involved in running this publication!
See below for a list of student engagement opportunities
If you are interested in getting involved, but don’t see a group whose purpose fits your goals, consider creating your own group! This can be done through the SGA by contacting Dean Taylor at htaylor@ssw.umaryland.edu, or students can organize through the Social Work Community Outreach Service (SWCOS) by contacting Lane Victorson at lvictorson@ssw.umaryland.edu. Shout out to SWCOS, home of The Disruptor.
The SGA's primary mission is to consistently work toward making the student experience at SSW as fulfilling and rewarding as possible. The SGA does this by:
Assessing and addressing student needs, ideas and concerns and bringing these to the attention of the SSW administration and other important stakeholders.
Sponsoring student activities and encouraging student participation in supported groups in order to create a sense of connection to the SSW and Baltimore communities.
Committing to provide a positive and accepting space for discussion
Working closely with the Office of Student Services (OSS) to appoint student representatives to serve on faculty committees
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
The University of Maryland School of Social Work, MSW_SO at USG dedicated to enhancing both the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the Universities at Shady Grove student experience. Members of this group engage in community outreach, social events, interprofessional development, learning enrichment, and networking opportunities. Members of this group meet regularly and plan events that are both meaningful and representative of the values for the University of Maryland School of Social
Work and the Universities at Shady Grove.
Recruitment video linked here
University of Maryland Baltimore hosts a University Student Government Association, which brings together students from all schools to collaborate around issues affecting the campus community. It consists of Student Senators who are elected each year to represent the different professional schools at monthly senate meetings. The SGA appoints SSW students to serve as USGA senators in the fall of each year. Interested students should fill out this application.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)
*School-wide committee
The DEIC is a space where students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members come together to share information and work to move forward DEI efforts that impact all of us as stakeholders at the School of Social Work. If you’re interested in getting involved in the DEIC as a member or in a leadership role for the fall semester please reach out to Samantha.fuld@ssw.umaryland.edu.
The Alliance of Anti-Racist Social Work Practitioners (The Alliance)
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
The Alliance of Anti-Racist Social Work Practitioners (The Alliance) was founded by UMB SSW students in Fall 2016 based on students' understanding of social workers as change agents. Since the Alliance's inception, students have engaged with one another as well as faculty, staff, and practitioners in the field with the intentions of examining and defining what it means to be anti-racist, and how we can ensure anti-racism is an active part of our work.
We are committed to the process of dismantling white supremacy by challenging and working through how internalized and structural racism shows up in the social work profession. Within the context of shared learning, social justice, activism, and healing, we hold space for individuals and the social work community to develop a lens for anti-racist practice on the individual, community, and structural level.
alliance@ssw.umaryland.edu
Anti-Oppression Work Group (AOWG)
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
The purpose of AOWG is to advance social justice principles and an anti-oppression framework within the School of Social Work by making policy recommendations, promoting an equitable school and work environment for students and staff, and ensuring that the curriculum critically engages and challenges all students. We support movements to abolish policing, abolish the carceral system, and decolonize therapy and education.
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
The purpose of CSWF is to promote the spiritual growth of members and to help balance the spiritual needs and concerns of students with the demands of the social work profession. We seek to provide support, fellowship, and encouragement to social work students and any other interested persons or groups. We participate in bible study during our meetings and serve as a voice by which the issues and concerns of Christians in social work shall be addressed. We follow Christ’s example in showing compassion without judgment, and in seeking social justice for those who do not have a voice
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
Mission: To create an inclusive and supportive community to promote disability justice at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and in the community at large. In doing so we strive to engage individuals with disabilities and their allies in respectful and compassionate discourse to promote greater awareness and inclusion of disability on campus. We aim to advance disability justice by raising awareness on the diversity of disability, along with the various cultural and systemic barriers faced by persons with disabilities. Through education and advocacy we aim to break down these structural barriers to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the School of Social Work, the social work profession, and the community as a whole.
While we use the word “disability” in our group’s materials to align with the greater disability rights movement, we recognize that the word disability may not align with every individual’s experience. In an effort to foster a respectful and inclusive environment, we welcome and encourage students to self-identify and use language that reflects and honors their own experience.
Get Out the Vote (GOTV) with SWCOS
The GOTV with Social Work Community Outreach Services (SWCOS) team is a growing group of community members focused on building capacity to promote civic awareness, education, and action as a means to disrupt Socially Engineered Trauma (SET).
GOTV with SWCOS was started in 2019-2020 from students who were placed within SWCOS as their field placement with UMB SSW. These students were moved to create an intentional campaign grounded in civic awareness, education, and action as a means to disrupt Socially Engineered Trauma (SET). This desire came from an eagerness to wrestle openly and collectively with the points listed below:
A social work practice grounded in the SHARP framework, anti-racism, capacity building, and community.
Systems of oppression as a result of white supremacy that maintain the societal need/desire for social workers.
The responsibility of being a part of an anchor institution in Baltimore City.
Intricacies of local & state government beyond the legislative session.
The FALSE dichotomy of Macro Social Work & Clinical Social Work
The FALSE notion that voting is the only way to engage in advocacy, civics, and politics.
To get involved, email Lane Victorson at lvictorson@ssw.umaryland.edu
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
Mission Statement/Purpose: ISWO offers information and referral services to students interested in international social work through collaboration with local NGOs, our alumni network, and faculty and staff. ISWO advocates for an international social work focus at SSW and links students to opportunities for international research and experience. We partner with all UMB Professional Schools to provide a multidisciplinary team framework to prepare students for professional research and careers overseas.
*Inactive this year
*SGA-supported
The purpose of the Intersectional Feminism and Social Work Group is five-fold:
1. To be socially and politically involved on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus and in the City of Baltimore.
2. To address and discuss issues relating to the intersections of sex and/or race, color, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, veteran status, marital or family status, national origin, political affiliation, religion, etc.
3. To provide programming and events that interests or impacts IFSW members.
4. To promote body positivity and sex positivity.
5. To promote a deeper understanding of the feminist and womanist movements through the lens of intersectionality
*SGA-supported
The purpose of LUCHA is to promote a feeling of solidarity and pride among Latinx students and other members within the School of Social Work, to increase Latinx awareness within the SSW, to focus on and improve educational, cultural, and social development within the Latinx community. Ultimately, providing the student body with knowledge of Latinx cultures and their diverse ethnic heritages through various activities and advocacy.
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
Mission Statement/Purpose: To create a supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans & queer (LGBTQ+) students, faculty, staff, alumni and their allies. To educate and advocate for issues relevant and important to LGBTQ+ members of the School of Social Work, including equal access, representation and recognition. To encourage dialogue on and inclusion of LGBTQ+ issues in the curriculum. To identify and address concerns of the LGBTQ+ community in the School of Social Work as they arise within school policy, on campus and in the classroom. To collaborate and innovate within the School of Social Work, UMB and with outside organizations and individuals to promote equal rights for LGBTQ+ persons locally, nationally and around the world.
*SGA-supported
Recruitment video linked here
The purpose of the MSU shall be to encourage greater knowledge and awareness of macro social work, increase macro social work opportunities for students, and support networking among fellow students and macro practitioners within the broader social work community.
*SGA-supported
The purpose of OASIS shall be to promote unity among African-Americans and to empower students by providing academic, professional, social, and spiritual support. OASIS works to highlight issues of race, African-American culture and provisions of social service to African-American communities. Additionally, OASIS strives to improve the school’s overall climate for all students.
*Inactive this year
*SGA-supported
The SSW Parent Alliance will:
Create a safe space that fosters Connection, Openness, Validation, and Encouragement for MSW and PhD students who are parents/child caregivers.
Collaborate and plan social events for student parents and alumni.
Create and share resources with SSW students that are parents.
Advocate for policies on behalf of SSW students that are parents
*Inactive this year
*SGA-supported
TIKKUN, the Jewish Social Work Student organization, promotes events in the school which help raise awareness about Jewish concerns and issues in social work while working towards the goal of “tikkun olam” (repairing the world).Through guest speakers, films, and special events, we help educate the school community about Jewish holidays, rituals, anti-semitism, and the Holocaust. Additionally, we seek to promote unity among Jewish students as well as provide opportunities for students to become leaders in the community. TIKKUN advocates for the inclusion of Jewish issues on campus as well as in school policies, guidelines and activities.
Faculty Committees with Student Representatives
Recruitment video linked here
Admissions Committee
Clinical Concentration Committee
Field Education Curriculum Committee
Global Initiatives Committee
Macro Curriculum Committee
Master’s Program Committee
Student Grievance Committee
Student Review Committee