UW-Stout: Undergraduate receives Student Activist Award

For details, contact:
Hannah Flom
University Communications
715-232-2381
flomh@uwstout.edu

Menomonie, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Stout undergraduate student Rohini Singh has received the

Student Activist Award from the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Singh, of Edina, Minn., is a senior majoring in applied social science with concentrations in anthropology and

sociology and a minor in applied peace studies.

The award is given to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to activism related to peace and

justice issues and who demonstrates a commitment to peace and justice through activism on campus or in

the community.

Singh’s adviser, Jim Handley, nominated her. Handley is a senior lecturer of geography and peace studies.

Singh is involved in numerous organizations on campus. She founded Stout Students UNITE, a nonviolent

student-led activist group dedicated to promoting justice and equality; is an officer of the Social Science

Society, a program-associated organization that meets to discuss social issues within society; and is a

senator in the Stout Student Association.

“I firmly believe in the power we have as an educated group of young people to inspire change and

innovation, which is a beautiful concept,” she said.

Singh accepted the award in April at the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at UW-Stevens

Point.

“The award represents all the time and wisdom my mother, mentors and professors have invested in me,”

she said.

“I am enveloped in this cushioned bubble of love, inspiration, knowledge and endless hard work. I am

immensely privileged to have what I do, and it’s humbling.

“I’m also surrounded by other amazing students who will undoubtedly change the world in different ways, in

fact they’re already doing that now,” she said.

Singh chose UW-Stout because of its reasonable price and its proximity to home. Initially planning on a

medical career, she chose applied science. She quickly found, however, that she did better in classes

related to social issues and to raising students’ social awareness. “I fell in love with the social science

program and professors,” she said.

The applied peace studies minor focuses on:

 Causes of violent conflict and the conditions of peace

 Practices of peace-building and reconciliation

 Sources of war, social oppression and violence

 Challenges to promoting peace and justice

 Strategies for introducing nonviolent conflict resolution

 Actions to transform unjust, violent or oppressive situations

“Stout is where I found myself, my passions and what I want to do with my life. I couldn’t be more grateful for

the mentors I’ve grown to know and love, as well as the tremendous privilege of receiving higher education,”

she said.

Singh will graduate in December and hopes to find work on a Native American reservation to help reform the

public education system. She also would like to go to graduate school for public policy.

For more information about the programs in the social science department go to

www.uwstout.edu/socsci/index.cfm.