The students and faculty of the St. Edward’s University Social Work Program joined other colleges and universities from around the state to partake in Social Work Advocacy Day (SWAD). SWAD is an annual event hosted by the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-TX) and is a day of education designed to encourage current and aspiring social workers to advocate for current policies and legislation, and to network with other social workers and organizations to highlight the importance and efforts of the social work profession.
This year’s SWAD theme was “Serving All Texans: Unity through Action,” reiterating NASW-TX’s mission to bring together social workers to engage in transformative change through action to help ensure that support and resources are available for all Texans.
The day began at 9 a.m. at the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium at the University of Texas, starting with a welcome address from the NASW-TX executive director Will Francis, a spirit contest for all schools to partake in and the presentation of the Andrews Marks Student Advocacy Award. Then the Government Relations Director Bryan Mares gave a presentation discussing members’ efforts in influencing legislative policy wins and also discussed the ongoing Texas Legislative Session, which was followed by a discussion panel and Q&A with four policy advocates. The four advocates engaged in conversation about current social and political issues as well as sharing advice to attendees about advocacy strategies and activism in today’s current political climate.
After a brief lunch break, attendees headed to the south steps of the State Capitol for the SWAD rally and resource fair. Students and faculty gathered with various creative signs and stood by to listen to speakers that ranged from students to activists and current social workers, who spoke up for the change of social issues such as immigration policy, reproductive health and LGBTQ+ rights, but also called for a change to help improve the pay and quality of those who are in the social work field.
St. Edward’s students and faculty also met with Rep. Gene Wu and Rep. Lulu Flores in the Capitol to ask questions and discuss upcoming hearings of bills in the current Texas Legislative Session and how they can get involved. Associate Professor of Social Work, Natalie Beck Aguilera, explains that SWAD gives students the courage and knowledge to be able to engage with state and local officials for their future careers.
”I think it’s so important because it helps break down the barriers to accessing the Capitol and our representatives,” Beck said. “It can be really intimidating — the building is huge and even though they work for us, it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. I feel like what this day does is have us go as a group. It makes it a lot easier to go into the Capitol for the first time or talk to a representative for the first time, and then realizing it’s not so hard or not so scary and making it easier for future times.”
SWAD’s value for students allows them to not only gain crucial experience and skills for their future careers in the social work field, but also to show them how they can help their own community and students on campus.
Senior Maggie Rittmeyer, president of the Social Work Student Association, expresses how SWAD motivates social work students like herself to show up for other students who may be targeted by recent harmful policies.
“It can be very motivating, especially when it just feels like we’re constantly being met with obstacle after obstacle,” Rittmeyer said. “I also think it can be a good sense of support and safety for students to know that there are students on their campus who are actively going to the Capitol to advocate for them, for their rights and knowing that there are people who support them and who care about them.”
The biggest takeaway of SWAD is to show how social work is not only applied on the micro level, but how the efforts of social workers can go beyond, create a bigger change and show the many intersectional attributes to social work.
Associate Professor Laurie Cook Heffron states how SWAD continues to ignite change and advocacy within social work students and the overall social work community.
“We’re re-engaging with those roots of activism and advocacy and social work,” Heffron said. “Advocacy day will be a way that structurally we can come together as a state and remember and practice those skills.”
