THE General Body’s “Teach In to Act Out” is a productive and educational way for the organization to advance its message.

The two-day event to take place at the Community Folk Art Center Friday and Saturday will host workshops, panels, discussions, film screenings and a keynote address. The three main events include a workshop and performance from DarkMatter, a trans south Asian performance art duo; a workshop lead by Minnie Bruce Pratt, a professor of women and gender studies and writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University; and a keynote address from Margo Okazawa-Rey, a scholar focused in armed conflicts, militarism and violence against women.

Organizers expect around 300 participants; currently more than half of that number has registered for the event. Several departments are sponsoring this event, including women and gender studies, geography and LGBT studies.

THE General Body’s decision to invite local and outside experts is representative of how the conflicts at SU are not atypical. Having these additions to the event will provide diverse viewpoints contextualize larger problems.

During THE General Body’s 18-day sit-in in Crouse-Hinds Hall the group invited the SU community to learn about the issues they were fighting to address. While some supported THE General Body’s message, not all agreed with the group’s tactics, specifically the sit-in. Now “Teach In to Act Out” offers students the chance to educate themselves in a more comfortable environment about topics that are often underrepresented, such as social justice and intersectionalism.

Those who choose to attend “Teach In to Act Out” will have the opportunity to learn more about importance of the issues that THE General Body fought to address at last semester’s sit-in. This event will allow members of the SU community to shed light on marginalized concerns in a productive way that moves the conversation forward.

If this event is a success, THE General Body should continue on in this same vein to bring these spaces for enlightenment to the SU community.