- The way The Social Justice Society functions it allows for direct contact with the BRB Social Justice Hub’s intended community. The student-volunteers communicate directly with the community and are finding ways to support it in any way possible. Also, The Social Justice Society will choose members of the community to be a part of the system to make sure it meet the BRB Social Justice Hub’s purpose and needs. The type of volunteers participating in the system is going to be a crucial part of The Social Justice Society’s success in terms of meeting the SJH’s intended purpose. We have to make it a mission to choose people from diverse backgrounds (gender, sexuality, race, class, etc.). The Social Justice Society is encouraging members of marginalized communities to have a voice and self-assurance first within the hub, eventually expanding outside of the hub. It’s helping people gain access to the resources made available through the BRB Social Justice Hub and other social justice outlets at TNS.
- Members who feel displaced at The New School due to their race, sexuality, financial status, and class are the ones being targeted by the system. This is a result of the BRB Social Justice Hub’s intended purpose. The system targets these groups by making them feel comfortable once they’re in the hub and creating materials that’ll attract these groups. There’s no way to tell if someone feels marginalized or is from a group that is, therefore, we’ll have to construct our language carefully and the message we’re sending in any promotional materials.
- The techniques chosen are effective in reaching the target audience so far. It will be difficult to weed out people who use the BRB Social Justice Hub in a way that’s not intended or geared towards them.
- The documentation of the engagement process doesn’t effectively communicate the value of this project. The documentation method used was surveying after the initial interaction which didn’t distract the participants. Participants aren’t able to fully experience the design proposal because there isn’t a group of volunteers, any physical item that lets you know this person is a volunteer, etc. Also, for the system to operate it must have tasks that need to be completed each time a volunteer is at the hub so contact has to be made with other organizations that use the hub.
- We are reimagining the role of a designer as that of a creative facilitator rather than a creative expert.- This is the only point that has been manipulated.
Engagement Summary and Evaluation
To document the engagement with my audience I created a survey for them to complete once I was done speaking to them. There are three questions on the survey about how the person(s) feel about The Social Justice Society as a system within the hub. This seemed to be the best way to document the test since it would be uncomfortable to record the interaction or take notes while speaking. With the survey, it’s a way to recap what was stated, see how effective it was, and if the presence of the TSJS is needed. To recap the system’s test, I went to the SJH and spoke to people using the space, welcoming them to the hub and asking them if they had any questions about the hub, how it should be used etc., and letting them know it’s a possibility that there will be volunteers stationed around the hub to assist with its progress. At the end of the conversation I explained the project to them briefly and asked for feedback. Overall, many people didn’t know much about the hub (as expected) but once they were informed they liked the idea of it and wanted to find out more information. The BRB Social Justice Hub is the hidden gem of TNS once people hear about it they’re intrigued and want to know how it functions. Some people who were using the hub wasn’t the intended audience (those who are not marginalized or face forms of systemic oppression) so when spoken to they understood who the space was for and why., maybe they won’t return to the hub? One thing that was interesting is that people had a issue with sharing the problems they face as a member of a marginalized group, at least with the TSJS, if the circumstances where different maybe they would be more open. Currently, most if not all of the design justice principle are being implemented. The system is built to meet the communities needs, build community, and is constantly changing depending on what the people in the SJH community require.
