The USG Diversity Committee started a photo shoot last week, taking photos of students holding up a white board that says what inclusive excellence or diversity means to them. The photo shoot will continue through this week, with a table on the Driscoll Bridge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. The working title for the project is the Inclusive Excellence Initiative.

“We wanted to do some type of initiative that brought together a whole bunch of identities,” said Alejandro Garcia, chair of the USG Diversity Committee. “When people hear the word ‘diversity’ they tend to think of minorities, but it involves everyone. We want to include a lot of different kinds of people. The goal is to tie campus together.”

On Friday, April 25, the photos will be posted to different social media pages such as Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram. Physical photos may also be posted in different colleges on campus or on the Driscoll Bridge.

“Photo projects on Driscoll Bridge have been popular this year, so the challenge is to do something new and fresh so people will actually look at them,” said Garcia. “We’re trying to think of a way to make it stand out more.”
According to Garcia, the committee has taken about 50 photos so far. They are hoping to include undergraduates, graduates, faculty and staff in the project. They will also continue to collect and post photos for the rest of the year.

“Hopefully this will be a project that will continue on after this year,” said Garcia. “After this round of photos, the subject might shift. It could change every couple months or every year to address a new subject related to diversity.”

Garcia said the future of the project depends on the chair and members of the committee next year. The president of USG chooses a new chair for the committee every year, and membership fluctuates. There are currently 23 active members of the Diversity Committee.

“The Diversity Committee is a big group of people and we wanted this, so we decided to take it on and make it happen,” said Garcia. “It’s something that a lot of people have wanted for a long time.”

Garcia said he believes it is easier to get people involved in these projects if they are part of a group that has been historically marginalized. However, the photo project is trying to involve everyone on campus.
“Most people feel marginalized in one way or another, but if people don’t think they fit into the campaign they might be afraid to participate,” said Garcia. “That’s part of the reason we’re doing this in the first place.”

Garcia added that involving a lot of different people also relates to the idea of being an ally. He said one of the goals of the photo project is to create allies and expand what it means to be an ally.

“You don’t have to be part of an identity to support it or be aware of the issues they face,” said Garcia. “It’s important to be an ally for all identities.”

According to Garcia, the Halls mirror incident last fall inspired the campaign. It started the Be(A)ware campaign, but it also highlighted the need for an ongoing campaign that was proactive instead of reactive.

“There’s always been talk about doing a student-led initiative like this,” said Garcia. “I feel like it’s a lot more impactful when it comes from the student body. It’s students saying: This is what we care about.”