By Emily Holmes

On February 6 2021, associate English professor Dr. Justine Pas spoke at a virtual event titled “Personal Perspectives on Race, Privilege and Responsibility” that was part of Alpha Chi’s 2020-2021 Educational Initiative titled “... And Justice for All” Seeking Racial Equality. Dr. Pas was personally invited by Dr. Kathi Vosevich, the Vice President of Alpha Chi’s National Executive Council and dean of Lindenwood’s School of Humanities to speak about her personal experiences. “I spoke about my personal experience with white privilege. I did so because many white people appear not to understand it or react badly when they hear it. I believe that white privilege is the responsibility of white Americans who must realize it and use their advantages to support social justice and anti-racist policies.” The audience really seemed to enjoy her story as the topics discussed were intellectually stimulating and covered a wide variety of different topics.

Alpha Chi is a national college honor society that is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership is by invitation only, and Alpha Chi accepts students who place in the top ten percent of their junior, senior, or graduate classes from across all academic disciplines. Alpha Chi has about 300 chapters across the country and inducts approximately 11,000 members annually. Dr. Pas stated that,“It should be worth noting that our Lindenwood University Alpha Chi chapter is not only a Star Chapter, but also the 2020 national champion, winning the prestigious Alpha Chi President’s Cup.”

Dr. Pas was extremely honored to have the opportunity to share her story with others as she feels it is necessary that these stories have a place in our education institutions, even if that makes for difficult conversations. Dr. Pas has spoken at other events before and presents a multitude of different scholarly research at a variety of meetings and conferences. Topics have ranged from translation studies, American ethnic and immigrant literatures, to the literature of the Holocaust.

In addition to this impressive conference earlier this month, Dr. Pas is also a co-sponsor of the Lindenwood Alpha Chi chapter along with being elected to the Vice President position of Alpha Chi Region IV last year.