Diversity. It’s a topic that is all too often difficult to talk about, whether in a class discussion or in the courtyard with our peers. Many of us have personal experiences with a lack of diversity. Though we attend what many would consider a progressive and liberal institution that we attend, the Free Press wanted to explore the ways in which the school and the community we all exist in are diverse. Though we started our discussion for this special issue with the question, “Is the New School diverse?” we soon felt overwhelmed by all the ways in which we could or could not be.
Demographics answered some questions, but other questions arose.What about religious, cultural, socio-economic and political diversity? And then, so many of our stories didn’t seem to fit into any of the neat categories. This compelled us to dig deeper and find stories that might explain what makes us diverse and to help our audience learn about the lives of our eclectic student body and to show diversity by giving voices to students who may not otherwise be heard.
In this special issue you’ll learn about the lives of students with disabilities, how low-income students are affected by the new wait-list system and how the school of fashion at Parsons handles the topic of cultural appropriation.
With this package, we’re telling stories that showcase different facets of what make us individuals- from photo stories about hair and identity to what international students cook when they’re homesick. You’ll also be able to read stories from some of our writers about their personal experiences, and speaking of Free Press writers, below you’ll find a video that introduces you to who we are and why we decided to tackle the topic of diversity for our first special package.
Tamar is a poet, writer, New York-lover and dweller. She studies jounalism+design at The New School.
