Jessica Snyder, an International Agriculture and Rural Development (IARD) major, talks about the impact of a government class in this story about her experience at Cornell.
"Another noteworthy class I took at Cornell was GOVT 3401: Refugees and the Politics of Vulnerability: Intersections of Feminist Theory and Practice. Professor Jane Juffer gave her students space to put theory into practice when the class organized and launched the currently ongoing Free Ingrid campaign — a movement to help an El Salvadoran LGBTQ+ woman who has been held by ICE with no due process for approximately two years. Through weekly video calls with Ingrid, the class developed a strong rapport with this brave woman."
"Wishing to help, we thrust ourselves into an awareness campaign on her behalf. One of the campaign’s features involved creating a website to illuminate many of the injustices immigrants like Ingrid experience in immigration detention centers. Despite having no experience in website creation or design, I took on the role of web design manager. We all cared deeply about the cause, yet we struggled to achieve what we set out to do. While Ingrid is not yet free, the campaign continues to gain traction and strength. It was exhilarating being part of a class of incredibly motivated students all struggling together for a cause that holds real world impact. This class genuinely gave me and many others a sense of meaning and purpose that is difficult to find in many classes."
Read the whole story on the CALS Department of Global Development website.
