FAQs

Why are you doing this project? What is the vision?

Attacked: This project was brainstormed over the course of a couple weeks of class. During these class times we worked diligently as a class to come up with a list of various topics we felt were important. Narrowing down these topics were focused more on taking a look at our campus climate and choosing topics that we felt were specific to the current state of our campus. In light of recent events on our campus such as racism, gender based discrimination, etc we felt drawn to stories surrounding these two challenges that students on our campus are faced with. The vision of this project is to shine a light on these topics and to give a voice to those who have felt attacked, suppressed, and voiceless. Our vision revolves around creating a more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming campus. 

Belonging/Mental Health: Inspired by the CNN campaigns “25 Influential Muslims” and “The First Time I Realized I Was Black”, our classes are trying to provide a platform on which marginalized voices can be heard. Supported by the recent University Climate Study Finding, we are trying to address the population of students who feel as if they do not belong on campus whether this is due to sexual orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic status, etc.

Our vision –

Attacked: With this project, our goal is to spark a conversation on the state of our campus community, and what we should be doing to make Saint Joe’s a more inclusive, understanding and safe place for everyone. We are more focused on the informational aspect of our project because the content and the spotlight is in what people share and their stories. Through this medium we hope to enact necessary change and give a voice to the voiceless. 

We want this project to draw attention to the issue of those who have felt marginalized and discriminated against within the SJU community and in addressing the issue, finding ways to solve it.

Belonging: Our goal is using simplicity to draw the focus on the narrative itself and not the technical aspects of our project. We used a simple grey background to demonstrate this and a close-up profile. Nothing fancy, because the content is in what our interviewees share.

We want this project is to draw attention to the issue of belonging within the SJU community and in addressing the issue, finding ways to solve it. We hope to make the SJU community more inclusive, open, and more receptive to discussing issues of belonging.

Mental Health:  Our goal is to share vulnerable stories of mental health in a sensitive and respectful way that allows the narrative to empower the individual rather than exploit them.

Why did this class choose belonging as a topic? 

Attacked: We have been struggling to combat an issue with diversity and inclusion and gender based violence, and though it necessary to bring these stories to fruition. The overarching idea of “Attacked” allows for all of these – national identity, race, gender, sexual orientation, sexual assault, et cetera – to be examined through one’s own story. 

Belonging/Mental Health: We had an issue with the inclusivity of St. Joe’s and had all these issues we thought deserved to be addressed. The umbrella idea of “belonging” allows for all of these – mental health, national identity, race, gender, sexual assault, et cetera – to be examined through one’s own story.

What about belonging is the class most interested in?

Attacked was purposefully chosen because it is a term that encompasses the many issues we wanted to address at Saint Joseph’s University, including racism, sexual assault and discrimination of any shape or form, which are very relevant to campus climate right now. Over the last few years, Hawk Hill has seen an increase in derogatory behavior that affects different communities on campus. We want to bring some of these experiences to light and start creating awareness of these situations on campus. Through this project, we hope to create a change on campus, and in day-to-day lives. We also hope to create a sense of responsibility and accountability in members of the Saint Joe’s community to prevent these issues from happening again. 

Belonging was purposefully chosen because it is an umbrella term that encompasses the many issues we wanted to address at Saint Joseph’s University. Of course, the goal is to make more people who feel “othered,” or are concerned with “othering,” feel a more palpable sense of belonging within a campus that purports its concern for the “caring of the whole person.”

Mental health because we believe it to be an important topic of discussion and concern, especially among college students. We feel as though mental health often contains a stigma with it, and by sharing these stories, we hope to break the various stigmas from mental health. Overall, we hope to generate a discussion surrounding mental health on our campus through these stories.

Do I have the ability to stop my participation if I want? 

All participants will have the full ability to be included through every step of our project through viewing the content, and sitting down and editing alongside us, as well as having the final say before the content is posted. “You have control over your story and if you would like to stop participating at any time, just let us know and we will not use anything that we already have in our project.” If participation is no longer wanted, it is important to tell your interviewee that you are still thankful for their engagement in the project and that what they did provide is still valuable and appreciated. 

Who else is involved? 

Other students or professors from the university will be interviewed for the project and our class will be involved in the filming and photographing.