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GROW Report 2001
Our 18 GROW participants reflected a very diverse group of student leaders working on many different campaign issues from ending racism to environmental to labor to women's rights to global justice. Participants came from campuses such as Seattle Central and Bellevue Community Colleges to UW Tacoma to UW Main campus to a Seattle high school.
Due to this diversity of experience and backgrounds, the actual training was of high quality. Students shared and learned from one another's experiences organizing on various types of campuses and in different types of communities. These experiences grounded the training in the real-life examples of our work. The panel discussion of organizers from our community also helped relate on-campus struggles to off-campus campaigns.
Whether supporting unions organizing on campus, protesting the undemocratic privatization of global trade, or seeking criminal justice reform, students display a capacity for dedication, commitment and activism that fosters mobilization and affects positive change in our communities. "Understanding the Relations of Power" provides students with tools that facilitate positive, long-term social change on our campuses and in our communities. The GROW gave Students and youth activists the tools to build our organizations around the principles of Direct Action Organizing to ensure long-term change through an interactive, hands-on learning environment.
The GROW itself was fast-paced and very participatory. Our GROW national trainers remarked on how lively the training was, ending each day with lingering discussions and often having to cut off role plays, debates, and networking to keep to the schedule. We all came away ready to apply the new skills that we have gained and to maintain the citywide network of student activists who attended the training together.
The weekend nurtured a discussion of how we build a more cohesive student movement. Several leaders committed to organizing another GROW in Seattle specifically with Students of Color. Participants supported inviting panels of organizers from the community. Students expressed interest in developing a more cohesive network cross-campus and cross-issue. Our future work to build this network will be an important step to help build the student/youth movement. The first GROW was a great success and we are looking forward to making it available to more students in the future.
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