Church World Service at national conference for student activists

Students at a forum on spirituality and social justice during the March 3-5 Idealist conference in Nashville, TN. Photo: Martin Shupack/CWS

March 21 , 2006

Church World Service and Sojourners-Call to Renewal led a forum on spirituality and social justice at the nation’s largest gathering of campus community members involved in service, activism and politics.

The annual Campus Outreach Opportunity League (C.O.O.L) national conference, organized by Idealist/Action Without Borders, was held on Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, March 3-5. Some 1,500 college students from all over the U.S. attended.

CWS Associate Director for Public Policy Martin Shupack and Mid-South Regional Director Kevin McCoy joined Christa Mazzone from Sojourners-Call to Renewal in leading a three hour forum on spirituality and social justice.

In an interactive exercise called “the Federal Budget as a Moral Document,” students decided how they would allocate resources among the various categories in the national budget such as education, environment, poverty programs and military spending.

The trio spoke about interfaith policy advocacy in Washington, D.C. and local faith-based organizing. The 60-or so forum participants also heard perspectives on why people of faith should work for social justice and how to nurture one’s spirit for sustained activism.

Resources on water and other CWS information materials and publications were made available at the forum.

Over 50 NGOs sponsored this year’s conference, including volunteer, service and student agencies, public interest groups, faith-based organizations, academic institutions, and the Presbyterian Church, USA.

C.O.O.L was formed in 1984 to increase service opportunities on college campuses. It organized a national student conference for 20 years before merging with Action Without Borders in 2003 to form the Idealist On Campus program.

Idealist connects students and non-governmental organizations “ to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.”