The time is drawing very near for the ACA Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. I am looking forward to the trip as it will be my first time visiting Hawaii. I look forward to the many education sessions and exploring the offerings on the international focus. But I would be lying if I didn’t say I am really looking forward to seeing Hawaii and absorbing the beaches and the warm atmosphere. I’ve posted the ACES schedule on our list serve and I hope to see many of you at the SACES regional meeting on Saturday, March 29 at 11:00AM in Coral 3.

As you know, social justice is the theme I have chosen for this year and it occurred to me that one of the ways that I could advocate for social justice is to use this forum to promote advocacy among counselor educators and their students. If you are interested in becoming more involved in advocacy or want to design an advocacy agenda for yourself, it may help to start by using some of the ideas that can be found in the counseling literature on social action and advocacy. I’ve listed a few here:

1. Do more that you are required to do to learn about people who are different from you. Volunteer in schools in low-income neighborhoods, homeless shelters, sexual abuse and trauma agencies, or senior citizens’ facilities. If you have done all that, take your experiences to the next step and do more. For example, you may want to commit to becoming fluent a second (or third) language.

2. Increase your awareness of inflammatory and discriminatory statements and practices by colleagues and confront them on it. If you already confront people on their inflammatory language, try to confront those who make statements that represent unintentional bias. Even people who think they know better may make these statements and may appreciate learning that they must try harder.

3. Join professional counseling organizations and become active in their efforts on behalf of clients who are oppressed.

4. Join and become active in local advocacy groups representing the poor, ethnic minority groups, Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals, or people with disabilities.

5. Suggest or promote a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination and racism in your own work environment, in your own homes, and among your friends and extended family.

6. Encourage your elected representatives to support causes that promote social justice for clients and counselors by writing letters and/or e-mails to them.

7. Research the availability of resources for clients who experience discrimination and harassment.

8. Determine the institutional policies at your own institution that are detrimental to groups who are oppressed within your institution and join with student, faculty and staff organizations that are devoted to correcting such policies. If none exist, consider finding like-minded people at your institution and begin such an organization.

Those are just a few ideas taken from the literature and from my own experiences and they represent a jumping off point for social action. There are so many ways to make a difference and I am sure you will all discover the path that is right for you. I’m equally convinced that no counselor educator or counselor education student will sit by and do nothing. There is far too much to be done. This is an exciting time for Counselor Education and I am grateful to be a part of the evolution.