INTERIM TRIPS
“Who Gets to Be An American?” Exploring immigration issues at the border
The reality of life on the borderlands is much more complex and unjust than most people realize. Our community partner offers experiential learning opportunities that explore the difficulties of migration and life along the U.S./Mexico border. The goals of the trip will be to explore historical and current immigration policies and their impacts, speak with people directly affected by migration, build connections with people and organizations fighting for migrant justice on both sides of the border, think critically and intersectionally about solutions to the root causes of migration, and develop tools to act for positive social change in home communities. During this trip we do not meet with Border Patrol (BP), or any arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this organization tries its best to make this a safe space for everyone regardless of their immigration status. However, this trip will be emotionally demanding, so please take this into consideration upon applying.
January 19-25, 2020
Cost: $450 (domestic-flying)
Team Leader: Yazmin Baptiste ‘20
“New Beginnings: Refugee Resettlement” Refugee Resettlement in the United States
The UNHCR defines a refugee as “someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.” The world is witnessing the highest number of displacement ever recorded in history. Currently, there are 70.8 million people forcibly displaced, 25.9 million of them being refugees.This trip will allow students to take an in depth look at this issue. We hope to learn more about the root causes of the crisis, previous humanitarian actions to fight this, and ways we can currently help remedy this issue as well as bring light to how Lafayette as a campus can aid. The trip will focus on education, advocacy, and work with an organization that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps resettle refugees in the United States.
January 18-25, 2020
Cost: $200 (domestic-driving)
Team Leader: Ayat Husseini ’20 and Maria Ahmed ‘20
“Lead the Scene and Keep it Green” Female Empowerment in Developing Countries
On this trip, we will attempt to further the efforts made by a small institution. This institution helps women develop skills to enhance the scope of possible careers. Women are also encouraged to create their own business plans and develop sustainable projects in their communities. Our work with this organization will mainly involve peer mentoring, tutoring and supporting these local female leaders continue their path towards developing their voice and creating change.
January 15-23, 2020
Cost: $650 (international-flying)
Team Leader: Simba Wu ’20 and Angie Orellana ‘20
SPRING TRIPS
“A Promise to Keep” Native American Communities and Rights
Native American communities are among the most impoverished and underrepresented in the country. Plagued by a history of distrust and deceit by the U.S. government, Native Americans continue to suffer as life on reservations often goes unsupported and ignored by the greater U.S. population. Besides being forcibly removed from their homelands, these communities are actively stripped of their culture, heritage, and even language. The goal of this trip is to expose ourselves to the reality that Native Americans face every day, to learn the history that goes untaught in most American schools, to build lasting relationships with community members, and to listen and learn what we can do to help. It is important to
note that this trip typically involves quite a bit of manual labor and physical activity. Besides direct service and discussions with community members, this trip also includes invaluable cultural experiences and incredible opportunities to learn the history of the community directly from those who lived it. Ultimately, we will bring everything we learn back with us to Lafayette and the greater community, and implement our new knowledge in our every day thoughts and actions.
March 14-21, 2020
Cost: $600 (remote domestic-flying)
Team Leader: Maddy McLaughlin’20 and Sharon Engel ’22
“Break the Cycle” Mass Incarceration and Restorative Justice
Each year thousands of juveniles become trapped in a recurrent cycle full of poverty, racism, and unequal educational opportunities. This trip aims to increase awareness of the culture of incarceration within an educated, privileged, and capable population of young adults (Lafayette students) as well as try to make positive change by disrupting the cycle of incarceration by providing support, encouragement, and educational opportunities to incarcerated juveniles. We will largely focus on mass incarceration, the school-to-prison-pipeline, and zero tolerance policies.
March 14-21, 2020
Cost: $200 (domestic-driving)
Team Leader: Rachael Broder ‘20 and Ciara O’Connor ’22