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Community, Diversity, and Social Justice

At the time Commonwealth Honors College was founded, UMass Amherst was undertaking a campus-wide effort to make the university a more inclusive and equitable environment for teaching, learning, working and living. This effort, the Community, Diversity and Social Justice (CDSJ) initiative, was embraced by the honors college, as well as by many other units of the university.
The Community Engagement Program pays special attention to these three values. In our CSL courses and programs, we aim to:

build community among students, faculty, and residents of the cities and towns around UMass,

acknowledge and respect the many ways in which we differ from one another, and

work to create and maintain more just relationships.

Community Service Learning, done with thought and care, is a powerful vehicle to advance these three values.