When Gandhi famously said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” most didn’t think he had markers, construction paper and magazine clippings in mind. But for a group of University of Maryland students, that was a start.
Terp Changemakers, a student group dedicated to social entrepreneurship, held a competition with the Center for Social Value Creation on April 28 that called on students to share their vision of change. In a competition entitled “Squares for Social Change,” students made drawings and collages on squares of construction paper, representing various issues, from cancer research to ending wars, and displayed them on Hornbake Plaza for judging. The winners received between $250 and $750 for the social initiative of their choice.
“We want to get people’s minds moving toward social change, and so they need to think about what they’re passionate about,” said Event Co-Chair Sonaly Patel, a sophomore international business major.
Patel said that Terp Changemakers began this process by holding events such as the drawing competition and asking the competitors what change meant to them. Although Terp Changemakers is only two years old, Patel says the group hopes to continue holding events in the future.
“A lot of people don’t think about these big questions or making change day to day,” said Patel. “I mean we’re in college we have a lot of work to do.”
The competitors followed through, making squares representing different issues that were important to them. Anisah Imani, a freshman anthropology major, addressed diversity and race-relations.
“We need to change our way of thinking about race. We’re used to covering it up and pretending it’s not there,” says Imani. “But we need to realize racial problems do exist, and we should be working together to fix these problems with a genuine interest.”
Zainab El Radi, a senior psychology major, was inspired by Michael Jackson’s song “Heal the World”, so she drew two hands holding the globe.
“My hobby is drawing and painting, and I support good organizations and charity institutions, so when I saw this going on, I knew I really wanted to be part of it,” said El Radi.
Changemakers brought a range of judges, from professors to a representative from a social entrepreneurial organization, Ashoka.
“We’re judging the entries based on how well it communicates the desired goal, creativity, its persuasive message for social change, and if it’s thought provoking,” said Amy Neurgebauer, a judge and an administrator at Paint Branch Elementary School.
SGA President Steve Glickman also arrived to judge after Terp Changemakers contacted him.
“I enjoy coming out and learning about all the different programs all these student groups put on,” said Glickman. “I was pretty impressed with a lot of these. Given what they have to work with, they’re very thought provoking.”