Bridging Knowledge, Building Community, Brewing Justice
For three years, students have been cultivating a space for community and conversation around human rights through bi-weekly meetings at Bordertown Coffee, organized by the Human Rights Program’s Undergraduate Working Group. Elizabeth Gust, a third-year English and political science major, was a regular at Brewing Justice coffee hours when she began to attend as a first-year student. Now, two years later, she has stepped into a leadership role, encouraging and energizing students to engage with human rights in new ways.
Brewing Justice was launched in 2023 by two undergraduate students, Madison Plemens-Schunk and Bridget Thuli, with support from HRP Director Carrie Walling. The goal of coffee hours was to create an accessible, welcoming space for students to discuss human rights. These founding members inspired Gust to become more involved with the Human Rights Program, and she hopes to do the same for other University of Minnesota students. Now in her third year, Gust is the Brewing Justice student coordinator. In this capacity, and with the support of a Campus Climate microgrant, she has been able to plan initiatives to engage students in new ways, as well as provide the essential components of Brewing Justice: coffee and pastries.
Bridging Knowledge
Small-group, student-led conversations about human rights are not always easy to find for students across the University’s wide range of disciplines. But the interest in these types of discussions is clear. Riley Stern, an Undergraduate Working Group member and coffee hours regular, has been able to utilize coffee hours for just this purpose. “As someone who cares about human rights, and a math and economics student at the university . . . those aren’t really conversations I get to have all the time in my classes,” Stern acknowledged. Brewing Justice is intended as an avenue for students to come together to have those conversations, learn from each other, and lessen any intimidation that may come with discussing sometimes difficult and controversial topics.
The environment at Brewing Justice is different from other discussion spaces that students might find at the university. Students can interact in an informal way, with activities and conversation-starters that are approachable and applicable to their own experiences. “Having a safe environment where students can come without expectations, without grades and come to share with their peers and learn really fosters student learning,” Stern said. This kind of safe environment is what allows students to consider their ideas about human rights, foster authentic, relational learning, and brainstorm collective actions to engage human rights advocacy. Students can take a step away from constant exposure to heavy news about human rights issues and have meaningful conversations that renew a sense of agency and community.
Building Community
Brewing Justice serves as an important space for undergraduate students to get involved in human rights. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Friday of each month at Bordertown Coffee, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Gust has been happy to see increasing attendance and participation from students from across the university community. “Especially this year, there has been a lot more diversity in the disciplines that are represented at the table, which is great to see,” she noted. And Gust wants to make sure that new participants feel welcomed and keep coming back to coffee hours. She emphasizes small, but purposeful, actions to create an environment where students can feel comfortable to share their viewpoints. For her, those small things make the biggest difference and are the foundation of what Brewing Justice is about. These gestures make those who are in the room feel like their ideas matter and leads to richer, more nuanced conversations.
Gust has also been working to bring more faculty and professional guests to join the conversation. Regent Robin Gulley and Professor Patrick McNamara of the history department have been memorable guests at coffee hours, engaging with students in a small-scale, casual setting that is often hard to come by. Guests can share more details about how decisions are made, and offer their perspectives and experiences that students may not always be aware of. On the other hand, students have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and perspectives first-hand and access individuals who may have greater leverage and shape our institution. This is another example of Gust’s efforts to expand the Brewing Justice community and make human rights advocacy more accessible to undergraduate students. In this smaller setting, students can learn from individuals with expertise on different human rights topics, help them build informed opinions, offer action steps, and, ultimately, bolster their confidence as human rights defenders as they move through their daily lives.
Connecting with thinkers and problem-solvers from across the university is what Brewing Justice is all about. “Even if people are disagreeing, at the root of it, everyone is there to learn about human rights and advocate for human rights . . . and we should definitely listen to each other,” Gust emphasized. This understanding shines through in how students interact with each other at coffee hours. Gust is proud of the space she has curated alongside student participants, which centers understanding and shared motivation for furthering human rights.
Brewing Justice
Brewing Justice does not stop once the bi-weekly conversations end. They have hosted letter-writing sessions, Know Your Rights trainings, and op-ed writing workshops. Gust hopes to incorporate more skills-based topics to help students become more confident human rights defenders. “You want to find ways to provide space for dialogue, but also help them gain the skills and ideas to have the dialogue in the first place,” said Gust. She is excited to continue expanding the topics covered at meetings and find new ways to reach students who haven’t heard of the Human Rights Program.
Brewing Justice continues to grow as a multidisciplinary, diverse community where students can digest human rights topics, both on campus and across the world. Not only is it a great place for discussions, but it is also a great place for community, which is especially valuable for students right now. “It can be easy to overlook change that is happening in our communities, right here in front of us,” Stern said. Gust agreed that coffee hours can be a gateway for students to become more involved with the Human Rights Program and the vibrant and interconnected human rights community in the Twin Cities. “The Human Rights Program is a testament to the fact that the people of Minneapolis, from many walks of life, do care deeply about human rights and are willing to show up for them. The sheer amount of people who have shown up to protests, time and time again, definitely speaks to that and the growing Human Rights Program presence on our campus,” said Gust. She has learned that if you make human rights action accessible and visible, people will show up. Supported by a strong network, small, intentional actions are amplified, and people are inspired to continue advocating. Brewing Justice is expanding networks of human rights solidarity on campus and beyond.
