Niagara University has long gotten its students involved with various social justice efforts. But for a time it lacked a space properly housing all such organizations.
The Vincentian Center for Justice, also known as the Justice House, is now operating out of Balio Hall and the school will host a grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“It’s a living, learning community for students involved with human rights and social justice advocacy,” said Chris Lee, a political science professor and one of the program co-directors.
Prior to its move, Justice House activities were out of Timon Hall, which did not have the proper meeting spaces. It was near special housing called Justice Houses for students interested in social justice programs at Varsity Village.
Hundreds of students are involved in the different activities or advocacy efforts the Justice House is involved with.
Lee said the issues they cover are very diverse, including helping four Afghan women flee persecution from Taliban rule, advocating for causes to Albany lawmakers, joining in protests, and going to the United Nations.
Inside Balio Hall are classrooms that can also be event spaces, rooms for existing student clubs like Model UN and the NU Pride Alliance, space for pre-law students studying for their LSAT tests, European Union simulations, and offices for involved professors.
Since all these activities are now happening in one space, it would encourage more collaboration between the different groups, working on more joint projects together. Those include not just working with the Vincentian priests who live on campus, but the priests of sister institutions like St. John’s University in New York City.
“One thing I’ve noticed is seeing more collaboration between groups now than ever before,” Lee said. “It goes along with students talking to faculty to achieve certain things and pursuing what they are interested in.”