As an extension of CHARP, our participatory research in the Optimist Park neighborhood

made me very nostalgic of the place I grew up in. Walking around the streets during our first visit
felt like an actual walk down memory lane (technically it was 15th street, though). Some mixture
of my nostalgia, desire to serve the community and my passion for social justice has fueled my
enthusiasm for this course and our coursework. However, during the beginning of the semester, I
struggled to understand the purpose for which we were involving ourselves with the
neighborhood, but I now realize that that was entirely intentional. By physically placing our
bodies in the realm of this neighborhood and interacting personally with its residents it became
nearly impossible to miss the point: their voices need to be heard.
Zoning committees, neighboring communities, and governmental authorities have been
ignoring Optimist Parks boundaries, and through our oral history recordings we have been able
to preserve some amount of history located within those bounds. I really enjoyed the opportunity
to be able to sit down with a resident face-to-face in her own home and watch her open up about
the evolution of the neighborhood and where she thinks it may go in the future. It was definitely
encouraging to hear and feel her optimism. When I first think of community service my mind
doesnt immediately go to intimate conversations or passing out newsletters or participating in
meetings, but this class has shown me that it can be just that. The oral histories our class has
recorded will, hopefully, stand the test of time and be available for hearing years and years from
now just like the oral history recordings the librarian showed us from the 1960s.
Because, prior to this year, Ive lived in the same place my entire life, my conception of
citizenship has always been vague. I know that I am a citizen of the United States, I know that
people struggle to attain citizenship, and I know that some people are citizens of multiple places
but I had never really considered the implications of being a citizen. By discussing the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, reading stories from the Voice of Witness collection, and being
asked to conjure our own definition has altered my understanding of the word. In our class
discussion, I initially said that it was only a matter of legality but after talking about it I
understood that my definition didnt have to mutually exclusive from those of others in the class
who defined it as also being something personal. I now know that citizenship is an individual
identifier, a legal identifier, and it comes with responsibilities.
Although we had a few guest speakers, watched videos and a documentary, and
participated in various class activities, the one thing I always looked forward to was the
discussions. They have consistently produced the most learning an introspection on my behalf. In
Citizenship class weve discussed, well, citizenship, privilege, institutionalized racism, poverty,
and homelessness. These were legitimately hefty topics to discuss; our class couldve easily been
devoted to in-depth analysis of just one of the aforementioned. One discussion that really stuck
out to me, though, was when we did the interactive SPENT poverty simulation. I saw it posted
on Moodle prior to that particular class day and did it alone before class. It was sort of triggering,
which I did not express in class or to anyone. To be hit over and over again with crippling
situation after difficult decision it becomes stressful and anxiety inducing and emotional. Im sad
to say that I could complete that simulation with ease every time. This experience wasnt so
much of a learning curve as it was a reminder of the things I already know and experience and
how the issue is systemic in nature.
Because experiences of poverty have plagued my childhood and leaked into my
adulthood I decided to use that as an extension of my semester long history project. I narrowed
my focus onto the topic of gentrification and investigated it in the context of Optimist Park. Ive
had an interest in the topic for a couple years now so I enjoyed being given the opportunity to

continue learning about it. I also feel like being required to present it in website form made it
easier to streamline my research and decide what information was most important and
formidable for a broader audience. My thoughts on gentrification, however, have not changed.
Instead, they have been reaffirmed, too.
Two of the biggest chords struck with me this semester have been during our discussions
of racism and homelessness. It was interesting, to say the least, to see what a class full of mostly
white people had to say about race/privilege and the issue of systemic/institutionalized racism.
Although I am one of those white people, I anticipated hearing more bias than I actually did.
When Dr. Susan McCarter spoke to our class she highlighted the idea of implicit biases. I knew I
had heard the term before but it didnt click with me until that presentation just what it really
means. Racism isnt just people yelling slurs and spitting at the feet of racial minorities, its
hidden discrimination in job/school applications, its when your heartbeat speeds up at the sight
of a black man in a hoodie, and its wanting to blame an individual for their shortcomings instead
of looking at the bigger picture. Our discussions have inspired me to take a step further and
participate in the dismantling racism workshop hosted by the same organization the Dr. McCarter
is involved in, in July. Im really looking forward taking our discussions outside of the classroom
setting and into this workshop.
Homelessness was the other topic which I felt will stick with me beyond this course. It
was another thing which has always lingered in my subconscious because I knew of it happening
to people I know and I knew that my own family has struggled with our mortgage payments for
as long as I can remember, but talking about it really brought it to the forefront of my mind. My
thoughts on homelessness have shifted slightly towards favoritism to the housing first model,
which I wasnt aware of prior to our Moore Place visit. Seeing and hearing stories from the

people living there that this model has benefitted from definitely had a huge impact on me. I felt
so grateful to them for sharing their journey with our class and making themselves open and
vulnerable to our questions. It wasnt until debriefing about our trip there that I made a
connection between issues of racism and homelessness. Both are systemic and institutionalized,
and our society is set up in a way that implicitly perpetrates both of these issues if we dont
retaliate against them.
Looking retrospectively on this class, I feel more confident about my beliefs and my
ability to articulate them to people who may not agree; most importantly, the latter. Even if I
disagreed with everything we talked about, if I didnt have the ability to listen and respectfully
discuss an opposing viewpoint with them, I wouldve gained nothing from this class. There
arent many things I would change about this course, and I am glad to know that all students in
the honors program are required to take it. I think that its easier to be book-smart about certain
subjects, but a well-rounded, cultured student has the ability to participate and interact with the
people affected by their topics of study and to discuss and theorize solutions to larger societal
problems.