Commitment to Diversity

In our program, we try never to interview the same person twice in a trimester, or interview the same people repeatedly. We try to get as much of the student body involved in the show as possible and discourage staff from interviewing only their friends. This year I kept a running list of our interviewees, and before anyone went out to interview, I made sure nobody was doing the same people (unless absolutely necessary ), and that we didn't have a show of the same 6 students on screen. 

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Here at Cody High School, and in Wyoming generally, our student body is not very diverse compared to other places. I, myself, am Romani and Cheyenne (Native American)  (Southern Cheyenne (OK), married Northern Cheyenne (MT).) Not only is our student body primarily caucasian, I find that if you look caucasian too, you're likely to be asked to justify your heritage, should you mention it. I've been told "Oh, but you don't look Native, what percent are you?" more times than I can count. I have grown up off the reservation, but I have been raised immersed in my culture, often visiting my family in Lame Deer, MT. I've traveled to several other reservations repeatedly, and I believe bearing witness to and understanding from a young age the inequalities faced by people on reservations provides me with a unique perspective on diversity and representation in media that some of my peers may unintentionally overlook. 

Generally, I notice recently that students often shy away from topics including race, sexuality, or anything else that may spark a conversation. I believe there's a fear among our staff of backlash or criticism, whether it be from their peers or community. This is something I'm still working to combat on staff.  Though, of course I never force anybody to to a story they're not comfortable doing, I try to encourage the staff to go for deeper topics, and to tell the stories they're passionate about. 

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In my own work, I've done several stories such as my GSA story, and Beacons Of Hope short doc.