Presenters: Lena Felt, Claire Forsberg, Kelly Franks, Micah Mew, Emma Moyers, Madilyne Nguyen-Acosta, Isa Ramos, Kelsey Reasor, Taylar Schassen, Marin Stuart, Miles Warren
Faculty Mentors: Charlie Butler and Rachel Allen
ARC Session 4CQ
Research Area: Social Science
Media And Social Action Academic Residential Community
Funding: Undergraduate Studies & University Housing
With each passing day social justice issues become more and more prevalent in the United States. With these issues comes the challenge of spreading awareness of injustice and inequality within our society. Media and all that it entails provides a base for spreading awareness, finding a voice, and using that voice to speak up for issues that need resolving. Members of the School of Journalism and Communication’s Media and Social Action ARC combine their passion for social justice with their interest in media to create a platform for students to speak up about societal problems such as homelessness, hunger, safety, race, and many more.
In our first year as an ARC we have had several activists and advocates visit and speak to us about their passions. They come to tell us about their passions, experiences, and how they tell stories. We had a sit down talk with Bethany Grace Howe, a transgender graduate student in the SOJC who was the subject of a Register-Guard profile. Through this meeting we were able to peer into the life of someone who faces adversity often. We’ve visited Food For Lane County and got our hands dirty filling food boxes for hungry Eugene residents. And on the “media” side we’ve had the opportunity to visit The Register Guard and KEZI TV to get a taste of the professional storytelling world.
We have created a website where we publish pieces that highlight the stories we’ve seen. All members of the ARC contribute to the website in an area of their choosing, whether it be writing copy, taking pictures, making videos, or designing layouts. In addition to the website we support and promote our activities on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, also run by students in the ARC.
All around campus are people whose voices could be of value and may have the ability to inspire action in others. By finding these people and telling their stories we hope to spark interest and provoke movement towards greater equality among students at the University of Oregon, and hopefully providing a contribution to solving issues that spread across the country.