Tag: Charlie Butler

Media and Social Justice

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.

The Media and Social Action ARC: Amplifying the voices of those who may not have one and advocating for progressive social change in our community and the world.

Presenter(s): Jaden Gill

Faculty Mentor(s): Charlie Butler

Oral Session 2 CQ

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 second first year as an ARC we have had several social justice advocates and journalists visit the ARC and speak to us about their work. 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. We met with Michelle Matassa Flores, editor of the Seattle Times, to discuss how her newspaper has covered the metoo movement. We heard the stories of Rev, Peter Do and how his immigration story from the 1980s mirros many of the immigration stories of today. Through these meeting we were able to peer into the lives of people who often face adversity in our society. In addition we have volunteered at Food For Lane County filling food boxes earmarked for the neediest in our community. We’ve toured KEZI TV to get a taste of the professional storytelling world. And we have taken field trips to some of Oregon’s natural wonders to get a better understanding of the state we live in and environmental challenges it faces.
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 Instagram account, 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.

The Media and Social Action Academic Residential Community

Presenter(s): Devyn Jacobson—Psychology, Family and Human Services

Co-Presenter(s): Maxwell Ely, Nick Lamora, Makenzie Elliott, Alan Torres, Isabel Kristensen

Faculty Mentor(s): Charlie Butler, Emily Henkelman

Session 2: Media and Social Action ARC Panel

In the fall of 2019, 29 first-year students from across the nation with different backgrounds but, with the same passion for journalism had met for the first time as The Media and Social Action ARC . Eager to get to work, these students very quickly understood that their power was not in numbers but in being passionate young adults in America . This role in society is one that allows us to work towards meaningful changes and know that we can achieve this by elevating voices and spreading awareness .

This group has worked throughout the year to learn more about journalism, communication, and social justice . For example, by joining clubs like UOJPEG, writing stories for the Daily Emerald and Ethos Magazine, they had classes based on learning about journalism from UO faculty from the SOJC, and had off-campus opportunities such as volunteering for Food for Lane County .

The students of this ARC used their learning throughout the year to create a platform in which they could truly elevate their voices and spread awareness . This platform is now known as Amplify, their online publication . The focus of Amplify this year is sustainability in the city of Eugene and

on The University of Oregon campus . Thus far, the ARC has produced five stories on this topic and are currently working in stories about COVID-19 and its affects in communities nationwide . Moving forward this group of students will continuing to spread awareness about social justice and motivate others to do the same .

Note to the judges: Attached below is a link to our 2019–20 online publication, Amplify . https://maxwelle7 .wixsite .com/amplify