by Ben Quach ’27
In 2021, the US Census Bureau reported that 37.9 million American live below the federal poverty, representing more than 10% of the United State population. This number doesn’t even include those that don’t make a livable wage, even if they live above the poverty line and are not legally in poverty.
As such, learning and finding ways to fight this disparity is an important part of what it means to be Bell, or in other words, “Men for and with Others.” And so, this year’s annual Justice Summit aims “to re-educate for justice, to form people for and with others – people who understand that love without justice is a farce,” as Mr. Desumala, director of the Christian Service Program, said during the Justice Summit Assembly in November.
This year’s theme is Socio-economic Justice, with a focus on Mental Health.
The school has previously covered economic justice by focusing on equality and equity in financial systems and economic resources. Socio-economic justice, however, is broader, addressing not just economic factors, but also social factors, like “food, shelter, education, working livable wages, access to affordable healthcare, all the thing that might help us to thrive,” according to Mr. Desumala.
In tandem with mental health, this year’s Justice Summit will explore what happens when our basic needs aren’t met and how it affects our mental health as Mr. Desumala explains, “It’s also kind of cyclical. So like, what happens when we suffer from mental health issues? And how can that impact our livelihood, all the things we need.”
One of the biggest changes since last year will be the fact that there will now be a rotating set of four themes: socio-economic justice, environmental justice, gender justice, and racial justice, cycled through every four years. There will also be a subset of secondary themes, like mental health, violence, disability and accessibility, and integrity, that will also circulate over the years.
There will be about forty breakout sessions this year. “The majority of them are going to be presented by outside guests. So, community partners, some that students will have heard of,” like Martha’s Kitchen and Loaves and Fishes. “So, a lot of agencies that are doing the work of socio-economic justice.” Many sessions will cover housing, while an advocacy 1-on-1 in Sobrato will fit about 400 students and feature a panel presentation on what it takes to get things done at the State Capitol – the conception, discussing, and writing of laws. Micro-shelter building/construction will occur in the quad as well. Students and faculty will also be leading things, like Maker Lab’s workshop on effective communication skills, or a workshop of sweatshops lead by Ms. Eder from the Religious Studies department.
I asked Mr. Desumala if there will be any changes since last year. He responded, “The only thing that I can say is that there won’t be a second assembly at the end of the school day…There’ll be something else – we’re calling them ‘close-to-home’ gatherings.”
Bellarmine is founded on principles of social justice – it’s in our mission statement. “While the work of social justice in our mission is fully integrated into the entire life of the school, from the classrooms to co-curriculars, to the ways we interact with families, it’s important for us to pause from the daily routine, and really focus and zero in on things and issues that are important to us in this time in this place,” Mr. Desumala spoke on the importance of the summit. “It really helps us as a community to align ourselves to make sure we’re on the same page…It’s just a great kind of unifying time to do that…and we intentionally take time out of our regular routine to think about these things…That’s why it’s special to have this mandatory.”
He likes the break in routine, something he feels is really important to do. It’s also his first year organizing the event, which is now different from before. With that, he awaits welcoming our guests on campus, so “they can kind of see what type of place Bellarmine is and who we are as a community.” But, he especially looks forward to the student presentations. “I think that students get to talk about the things that they care about…so, it’s their time to shine. So that’s very special.”