Student Projects

The Community Studies Center collaborates with students in the design, implementation and sustaining of a variety of community projects. Although many of these projects emerge out of social action projects that students develop in COR 220: Civic Engagement Seminar, any student who wishes may come see us with an idea for a community project. It is our goal to provide the conceptual, methodological and institutional scaffolding to bring students’ ideas to fruition.

Please contact us if you are interested in talking with us about ideas you have. Don’t feel like your idea needs to be completely worked out, because our goal is to help you get from Point A to Point B.

Fall 2008 Course Projects:

Public Achievement Program
A national program implemented here in Boulder to help children and youth find their voice as citizens.  Volunteers go into local schools to help the children in facilitating their own social justice initiatives dealing with various issues including homelessness, environmentalism, etc.

People Advocating Respect Toward Youth in GLBT Community (PARTY)
Students initiated their own activism group, reaching out to the Boulder LGBT community with an event held on the Naropa campus including music, refirst-year studentsts, and an open mic session.

The Village Memoirs
Students are working on collecting artwork, poetry, and other written works by or related to homeless individuals in Colorado to be compiled into a book to be published and sold as a fundraiser.

Peaceful Warriors
Students are collecting artwork and strategies or written works dealing with peaceful and non-violent conflict resolution which they hope to publish and mass produce to schools and the Boulder community.

Art of Human Connection Collective
This group had the pure goal of creating human connection through artistic expression.  A mural project was facilitated with about 25 community members and there was a performance art parade on Pearl St. where free art was distributed to the community.

Colorado Free Internet
A group raising awareness about "Net Neutrality" which is internet access free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms.  The group set up an educational website about the subject where visitors to the site can write to their elected representatives about net neutrality legislation. 

Volunteer Support Group
Several students presented their stories about working as a volunteer in different nonprofit settings including a facility for adults with mental illness, a childcare facility, a community garden and a facility for incarcerated youth.

Infants and Children:
A Civically Engaged Perspective
This group focused on the importance of working with children to better the world, as they are the future peace makers.

Naropa Glean Club
The students facilitated the gleaning process of local farms in the area and routed the food to deserving shelters and organizations in the area. 

Healthy, Fast, and Cheap
Students are working to promote the work of a former Naropa graduate who wrote a cookbook offering "healthy, fast and cheap" recipes for college students

Student Eco-Empowerment (SEE)
This group is hoping to work with local high schools
and middle schools, as well as university students, to raise ecological citizenship awareness through educational projects.