This roundtable discussion honors the community organizers, community groups, and collective action that have cultivated positive social change for our university. The speakers present and analyze material from the Bell Library Special Collections and Archives in an effort to uncover the cultural history of the university on Ward Island. Of particular interest is the participation and achievement of Black students and non-white, faculty, staff, and community members.

Ava Coronado presents her paper, "Love in Harmony" which uses personal narrative to explore the the complexity of alignment, balance, and harmony as they relate to love, relationships, friendship, coming of age, romance, and family. Natasha Haas' paper, "Cycles: A Reflection on Childhood Trauma and COVID-19's Impact on the Mind," tears down the cycle of violence by using literature to give love to survivors of abuse who are seeking comfort. 

In "Neurographic Art: Informal Art for Spiritual Healing and Analytical Thinking," Zoe Ramos examines the use of neurographics as a meditate, informal—and empowering—art method. Jacob Benavides uses narrative and lyrical poetry to imagine Queer existence and identity as capable of creating entropy and order in "The Melting of Mars and Other Bodies." Ellianna Nejet presents “What I Deserve: Learned from the Fire and Waves," which uses poetry to explore trauma, love, insecurity, and healing.

The 2022 CLA Interdisciplinary Graduate Symposium is excited to offer a poetry writing workshop led by Dr. José Rodríguez. Dr. Rodríguez is the recipient of many awards, including the Bob Bush Memorial Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. He was also a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize. He has also been awarded the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award from Paterson Literary Review, the Founders’ Prize from RHINO, and the Clifford D. Clark Doctoral Fellowship from Binghamton University.

Chloë Leal presents an autohistoria that employs interviews, autobiography, fiction, and history to illuminate cultural inequality in the Coastal Bend area in "Unprofessional." Brie Moynihan presents "Coastlines and Borders," a hybrid collection of poetry, essay, historical mythology, and short story that examines the immigrant experience. Keenan Larriviere fuses poetry and marine biology in "Interspecific and Interpersonal Connections" to speak to local ecological health.