Andrew Post ’16, was a political science major and music minor from Denver, Colorado, who received a Humanity in Action fellowship and studied in Warsaw, Poland, this summer.

Team Warsaw 2016, comprised of 24 fellows from four countries — Germany, Ukraine, the United States, and Poland, focused on the issue of discrimination and hate speech. The group explored how these phenomena manifest themselves, what kinds of threats they pose to a democratic society, and how they could and should be counteracted.

Post and his colleagues examined the social mechanisms in which prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, and hate speech are developed, maintained, and transferred. They also aimed to answer such questions as “What are the strategies helping to restore solidarity between society members and to counteract discrimination?” and “What types of activism/awareness-raising initiatives could be effective?”

Post was a student tutor in Colorado College’s Colket Center for two years and was involved in the food activist community on campus, having helped with organizations such as Colorado Springs Food Rescue and Mobile Meals. Mobile Meals is a student organization that uses The Local food truck to share meals, culinary training, and food education with communities such as Inside Out Youth Services, an LGTBQ organization near campus. Post was also active in the music scene on campus and performed with Ursa Minor at this year’s Commencement dance.

“Andy has been a model of sustained, deep, meaningful community engagement throughout his time at CC,” says Dave Harker, director of CC’s Collaborative for Community Engagement and campus adviser for the Humanity in Action fellowship. “This fellowship is a wonderful opportunity for Andy to continue to explore themes of justice and social movements in an international context.”

Following the Humanity in Action fellowship, Post will continue research into his senior capstone project, titled “Media Coverage of Race Riots and the Transformation of the Liberal Label.”

The Humanity in Action Fellowship is a five-week, service-oriented summer opportunity for undergraduates and recent graduates.  The organization brings together international groups of fellows to study minority rights and produce original research exploring how and why individuals and societies, past and present, have resisted intolerance and protected democratic values. Separate programs take place for five weeks every summer in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, and Warsaw.