BDEA Student Close-Up: Davin Cohen
Day Program Student Davin Cohen brings Social Justice Workshops to BDEA
Sometimes presenting to a group of principals and teachers is easier than discussing real issues with your peers. But that’s exactly what Boston Day and Evening Academy student Davin Cohen and four of his classmates have been doing this fall. They have been implementing peer workshops discussing issues like violence, gender, and stereotypes, promoting social justice and conflict resolution.
In August, Davin Cohen and four of his BDEA classmates participated in Boston Center for Community and Justice’s InIt program, a week-long retreat focused on advancing social justice among youth. After participating in the program, Davin and his classmates implemented the workshops at the school. He chose three topics: gender, violence, and stereotyping: prevalent issues in many communities all over the city. For Davin, focusing on these topics is a way to help his fellow students heal: “Violence plays a big role in the community. I wanted to make a place where people could come and talk about the violence in their communities to keep the peace in [school].”
But it’s not just the conversations that make these workshops function. Davin created a proposal and budget to implement this project – a task that involved careful planning of all aspects of the workshops, from stipends to materials.
With two workshops left, Davin is pleased with the outcomes so far. “I thought it would be harder to get people to participate, but everyone has been really supportive.” As for next year? “I would definitely do [InIt] again,” Davin says. “I want participants to take what they learned in these workshops and use it in their own way.”
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