WGS announces winner of the 2020–21 Sharon Barker student activism award

The 2020–21 Sharon Barker Student Activism Award will be presented to University of Maine undergraduate Sylvia Jackson of Old Town at the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGS) virtual graduation celebration on May 5. 

Jackson, an undergraduate in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a focus in dietetics, will graduate in May. They are currently employed at UMaine’s Wilson Center where they work to advance diversity and equity and to address issues of homelessness, food insecurity and social justice. A passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, Jackson also serves as president of the UMaine Student Action Collective, an affiliate of the Maine People’s Alliance. 

Sonja Birthisel, the director of UMaine’s Wilson Center, nominated Jackson for the Barker Award. 

“Sylvia sees plainly the cracks in our social safety nets, and steps up every day to help build a world in which everyone is valued and has their needs met,” wrote Birthisel, who detailed Jackson’s efforts to better her community by distributing Thanksgiving meals and ensuring that a potentially violent 2020 political protest remained peaceful. According to Birthisel, Jackson routinely dedicates disproportionate amounts of time and energy to community organizing and mutual-aid efforts. 

The Sharon Barker Student Activism Award, which was introduced by WGS in 2019, honors UMaine student activists seeking to implement positive change in their communities by fostering social justice. Barker, a longtime UMaine employee, is known for her passionate advocacy for Maine women and girls. She founded the UMaine Women’s Resource Center in 1991, and served as the center’s director until she retired from UMaine in 2014.