Photos from student stories about diversity. Click on the links below to read the articles.
Lecturer Ruchika Tulshyan is a seasoned content strategist and journalist who knows a thing or two about writing to encourage diversity and equality. She taught “COM 364: Journalism in a Diverse Society” this fall quarter, educating students to look beyond stereotypes and report with a wider lens.
“As journalists we have a lot of power and when we choose to just highlight existing voices, we really leave a lot of stories untold,” Tulshyan said.
Tulshyan challenges her students to ask the hard questions: Is African American the correct way to address someone in an article or is it black? What’s trans-inclusive language? Did you interview three white male sources?
“Journalism is evolving and within the next decade America’s demographic is going to look very different from where we are right now,” she said. “Students who are equipped with a lens toward diversity and are able to be culturally sensitive from the beginning will have a much higher chance of success.”
Below is a select list of stories by COM 364 students that were published by local news organizations:
Joseph Park, International Examiner (print and online): Seattle’s Vietnamese-American community leads protest against rock band named Viet Cong
Brie Ripley, International Examiner (print and online): YouthCAN: Teens gather for free creative workshops
South Seattle Emerald: Preserve what’s been observed: Seattle’s first youth poet laureate guides change in the south end and beyond
Olivia Fuller, International Examiner: 10 years later, SSAFF is #ComingHome
Dominique Etzel, International Examiner: Bruce Lee exhibit packs a punch, breaks barriers
Joseph Denton, South Seattle Emerald: More than undocumented: ‘Modern day freedom fighter’ Maru Mora Villapando
Megan Herndon, La Raza (front cover): 21Progress works to empower undocumented community through leadership