MANSFIELD, PA—As part of Mansfield University’s First Year Experience last fall, a new First Year Seminar was offered called Craftivism (Craft+Activism= Craftivism). While it is a fairly new term craftivism in not a new concept. 
“We are most likely one of the first and only institutions to offer a course like it to freshman making do-it yourself crafts and activism accessible to more people,” Deb Rotella, chair of the Department of Academic and Human Development, said.
Twenty-two first year students explored and wrote about a current social issue that fueled their passion for advocacy. Concurrently, each student created an important piece of craft in the form of 
a quilt.
They also prepared a short “elevator speech” that they gave to visitors of the Craftivism exhibition at the end of the fall semester.
Topics that were explored include but are not limited to LGBTQ rights, substance abuse and treatment, autism, deforestation, domestic violence, fair trade, mental health, body image, child abuse, homelessness.
To see more photos from the exhibit, click here.
To learn more about the Department of Academic and Human Development and its offerings, go to mansfield.edu/ahdev/