Peace and Justice Studies Minor Holds Restorative Justice Circle for Project Requirement
By Laurel Bennett, Contributing Writer
Poster advertising the End of Year Restorative Justice Circle
On Tuesday, a Restorative Justice Circle was held in Glatfelter Lodge at 8 p.m. The event was organized by Jacob Singleton ’22, a mid-year graduate, to fulfill a requirement for his Peace and Justice Studies Minor.
The event was open to all students on campus.
Restorative Justice Circles are commonly held in K-12 schools, churches, and prisons as a way to build a sense of community and equality. Participants sit in a circle to allow for open conversations in response to prompted questions.
When asked what inspired his organization of the event, Singleton explained, “It started with a class that I took my sophomore year, called Education for Social Change with Dr. Hakim Williams. We did a few of these circles where I learned about it.”
Singleton noted that he is pro-peace on campus, but he acknowledged that it takes more than one event to create a sense of peace.
“I think the goal is just to get to know some members of the community a little bit better and work towards the pinnacle of peace and healing the community, but one [circle] is not going to do it,” said Singleton.
Prior to the event, Singleton told students that counseling services are available on-campus in the event that any heavy material is brought up that students may want to talk about following the discussion.
The Restorative Justice Circle started with a moment of meditation, prayer, or silence based on students’ personal preferences. Following this, students answered questions about topics such as their passions, overcoming tragedy, something they would like to change, and the best and worst parts of the semester, amongst other talking points. The discussions on the topics presented flowed from one student to the next.
After the discussion was completed, students ended the event with another moment of meditation, prayer, or silence.
Singleton reiterated that more Restorative Justice Circles and similar events should take place on campus, and he encouraged students to hold another circle next semester.
