Page 9 - Priorities #37 2007-April

Academics Priory Juniors Explore San Francisco’s Poor,
Diverse and Vibrant Tenderloin District
Dressed in casuals that fit the neighborhood, somewhat damp and rumpled from a rainy day and a two-hour bus trip, Priory juniors trooped up the stairs to the San Francisco Tenderloin District’s YMCA, sleeping bags in tow and ready for their two-day class retreat.
During this time, they learned about the lives and cultures in the Tenderloin, the needs and strengths of the community, the resources for help—and some things about themselves.
Junior class theology is about social justice. What better way to ground Priory students’ learning in reality than to experience a community where social justice is a critical issue? And what better way to accomplish campus ministry goals of growing in spirituality and morality than reflecting on these experiences?
The students’ first assignment was to get acquainted with the neighborhood. Armed with $5, a Polaroid camera and some film, they headed out in groups with this mission: explore the Tenderloin, document their experiences, and later in group sessions place in perspective the situations and the people they encountered.
They found themselves at the library, encountering cultural and ethnic festivals in progress, the local coffee shop, the sites of several philanthropic organizations, and they captured an image of a unique cityscape. Later, a professor of sociology from Notre Dame de Nemeurs University who teaches a course on the characteristics of this community, led the debriefing discussion. He led students to think not only of the poverty but of
the multifaceted reasons for it. He cited support
for people’s needs that come from both inside and outside the community.
The Tenderloin District begins, perhaps symbolically for students of social justice, at the edge of the Civic Center and San Francisco’s City Hall.
“One of the university students grew up in the Tenderloin and others came from similar situations. Their stories of their lives and how they found their way to better futures gave us new insight,” said Ben Owens, theology teacher.
“Also, I was impressed to discover what a vibrant community the Tenderloin is despite the desperate needs, and how ethnically diverse it is. By the end of the retreat, I sensed it as an open, alive place, not as a place closed to hope,” he added.
Students explored the same sites at night; they watched a theatrical presentation on growing to accept the differences among the neighborhood’s inhabitants. In small groups, they worked at various free food services, health service and philanthropic service sites within the Tenderloin.
“It was helpful to have the sociological perspective. Some groups are charitable—they meet an immediate need. Others are philanthropic—they look for longer-range solutions,” Mr. Owens said.
Many students will especially remember
Junior class theology is about social justice. What better way to ground Priory students’ learning in reality?”
9