Working in social justice and anti-racism has been an interest for Yasmin since high school. Studying Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) has meant that she can study and take co-ops that are related to her passions and help expand her understanding of challenging topics.
Yasmin Wallace entered her degree at University of Waterloo with a strong interest in social justice and advocacy work from high school. Since then, she has had the chance to study and work in related areas throughout her academic experience in Peace and Conflict Studies and a double major with Legal Studies. She has been able to apply what she has learned from both disciplines to interesting co-op positions, and this has given her opportunities to grow.
This past summer Yasmin worked for Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the International Network as part of the Wellness and Culture team. In this role she worked to help socialize new changes across national and international networks. She also worked on the team’s equity, diversity, and inclusion portfolio, and learned a lot about how EDI work looks different for international audiences with differing social issues and perceptions of equity. When the Ukraine and Russia conflict began, she helped distribute communication tools for Canadians travelling to Poland to help refugees from Ukraine.
This position really opened my eyes to see the number of people that are involved in conflicts and the different supports that are necessary when conflict occurs. Furthermore, it really emphasized for me how trauma can show up in different ways, specifically vicarious trauma.
Yasmin is also currently completing an 8-month position from September 2022 to April 2023 with the University of Waterloo as an Anti-Racism Project Coordinator in the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (EDIR) and has been enjoying knowing the work she is doing has an impact on students at UWaterloo. She comments on this role:
I enjoy this co-op position. I am a student in the university community so it is nice to be able to be part of the change for other students. My role provides me with a lot of knowledge on advocacy work in academic institutions. There are a lot of roadblocks in institutions in with procedures and policies that make change extremely hard. I am more aware of how policy and programs are implemented now which will help me with my future work.
In this role, she is working on several exciting projects including an initiative called The Sankofa Pathways to University. In consideration of the unique barriers and challenges faced by Black youth, this program intends to offer historically underserved/underserviced Black youth in Ontario the opportunity to earn a free and transferable University half-credit over the summer to increase the likelihood of participation in post-Secondary studies. Yasmin is also working on an e-module for responding to disclosures of racism. She reflects on the process for disclosures of racism and the knowledge needed for that project by connecting it back to some courses in PACS, such as, PACS 331: Trauma, Healing, and Social Transformation.
PACS 331 really helps me while working as an Anti-Racism Project Coordinator. It gives me perspective and a trauma-informed lens when working with people. When receiving a disclosure of racism, it is also important to be cognizant of how the histories of racism impact current-day realities, and I appreciate how PACS 331 framed racism and histories of colonialism as sources of trauma, as well as avenues for healing.
Yasmin also shares that the EDIR office has a lot of support for students and she encourages members of the university community to check it out for learning resources and support.
Another course Yasmin expects to make use of in the future is PACS 329: Restorative Justice. She notes that this course connects well with her double major in Legal Studies.
The course connected well with the Legal Studies courses I take. I am very interested in researching the injustices and oppressions that exist within the criminal justice system, and this course helped me learn how to conceptualize justice with a peace-building lens rather than a traditional legal viewpoint. The ways in which the current criminal justice system functions is not peaceful, and I use my double major in PACS and Legal Studies to investigate ways to change this reality. The lessons learned in PACS 329 are also transferable outside of the criminal justice system. I have turned to restorative and transformative justice theories and practices throughout my academic and professional roles.
It is because of these experiences as a PACS and LS student, Yasmine is thinking about either pursuing law school after she graduates or becoming more engaged in social justice and advocacy work in some form. She adds:
For me, anti-racism is an integral component of Peace and Conflict Studies for a peaceful society to be achieved. Racism is violence. No matter how one defines peace, it is impossible for it to be achieved if racism still exists. We must work to dismantle systems of oppression for all people to be able to live peacefully. I cannot imagine a world that is peaceful if racism still exists. Anti-racism and peace work needs to work together.
You can learn more about the goals and mission of the work Yasmin is doing with the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism checking out their website here.