Three Loyola students named keynote speakers for the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice
| By Molly Robey
Kassina Dwyer, ’19, Alexandra Heredia, ’20, and Rachael Martines,'18, M.A. '19
Three Loyola students will serve as the keynote speakers at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018.
Kassina Dwyer, ’19, Alexandra Heredia, ’20, and Rachael Martines, ’18, M.A. '19, who are members of the student movement, Loyola Rising, will speak about events in Baltimore following the murder of Freddie Gray in 2015.
The Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice is an annual Ignatian gathering that was started in 1997 to commemorate the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador. Held in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3–5, 2018, the event is designed to connect Catholic faith and justice and address timely issues through two days of dynamic speakers, breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and an advocacy day on Capitol Hill.
As part of the largest annual Catholic advocacy day of the year, Loyola’s delegation of 19 undergraduate students and two graduate students will join more than 135 Jesuit and other Catholic universities on Nov. 5 in meetings with members of Congress and their staffs to urge them to enact immigration and criminal justice reform.
Last spring, Loyola Rising held a campus-wide demonstration on the anniversary of Gray’s death to draw the community’s attention to the daily violence that impacts our society and Baltimore City. The students' address will be broadcast via livestream on Sunday, Nov. 4, around 9:15 a.m. by visiting the
Ignatian Solidarity Network Livestream.
During the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice event, Loyola Mosaic leaders, Frances Almodovar, ’20, Nia Kuttamperoor, ’21, and Haleema Hafeez, ’21, will hold an additional breakout session describing the impacts they’ve made as a student movement.
Hafeez, hopes to bring awareness to women of color at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice event.
"This weekend, I would like to enlighten and bring awareness to the topic of women of color and the importance of intersectionality," Jafeez said. "This event is an opportunity for Nia, Frances, and me to inspire other students to come to terms with the idea as well as igniting a spark within them to support a cause that uplifts an entire community."