Southern Connecticut State junior student-athlete Elijah Ortiz has been a competitor on the track for the Owls. He now looks to add his voice to a group that wishes to educate the community on social injustice.
Ortiz, a former Bristol Central standout, is one of 13 SCSU student-athletes on the new “Athletes Fighting Injustice” group, the school announced on Tuesday morning. The group came into being after a forum entitled “Owls Stand Together Against Racism”, hosted by the athletic department on July 7. The group’s mission, according to the news release, is as follows:
- Empower student-athletes to be leaders within the athletic department on anti-racism issues
- Cultivate conversations around anti-racism, systemic racism, police brutality, and activism
- Educating teams and coaches on implicit bias & micro aggressions
- Be progressive towards demolishing racist traditions
- Understanding activism through protests
- Create community around fighting injustices and developing ally ship
The group will organize events in the fall 2020 and spring 2021 that will focus on bringing awareness to racial and social injustices that affect not only SCSU students, but society as a whole. You can follow the group’s progress on Instagram @SCSU_AFI.
Photo credit: SCSU athletics
