A campus organization that helps develop community leaders will present the first Empowertown to talk about important social issues at Tempus campus on Friday.
The theme of Empowertown, hosted by ASU Collegetown, is “Know Your Campus” and will include two workshops about prejudice and identity issues meant to teach students how to recognize these issues in their day-to-day lives.
The event will start at 9 a.m. and last until noon in Payne Hall, and lunch will be provided.
Fifty students can attend the event and only half of the spots were filled on Wednesday. Students can sign up through today.
Steven Russell, sociology and interdisciplinary studies in psychology and communications junior, is the co-chair of Collegetown directors; he has been involved in these events for five years and has done about 10 to 15 programs.
“We’re hoping to help people to find themselves,” Russell said. “We don’t typically hold these conversations in our daily courses.”
Collegetown came to ASU this January with the help of ASU students who have been involved in town events. The Anytown events were started in the 1950s in hopes of raising awareness about certain issues, but they were only presented at high schools. Collegetown didn’t exist until about two years ago, when it was brought to UA, Russell said.
ASU Collegetown has grown in this short amount of time to include more than 80 members.
Max Mendoza, a marketing and sociology junior, is the public relations director of ASU Collegetown and helped bring the town events to ASU Tempe campus.
“Empowertown is part of Collegetown. It’s like a mini version of it,” Mendoza said. “It still has the same effect but it’s almost a teaser of all that we do.”
There are six-day Collegetown camps throughout the summer and winter seasons that go more in-depth about other issues, like sexism and social justice.
During the winter session, about 60 ASU students went to Prescott for the camp.
Joshua Judd, a philosophy sophomore, has attended three town events and will be attending Empowertown this week.
“My town experiences were important parts of my life because they opened my eyes to social issues on so many different levels — the state, nationally and global level,” Judd said.
Most students who get involved in the town events have told other friends to join the next one, which makes the program successful, Russell said.
“Collegetown ASU is one of the most inspiring organizations and that’s saying a lot cause we have a lot of great organizations here on campus,” Judd said.
Reach the reporter at mpareval@asu.edu
