Executive Summary
Our project aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals of good health and well-being, quality education, reduced inequalities, and peace, justice, and strong institutions. Mental health is important and is challenging to prioritize when in school, as other responsibilities seem to take precedence. We want to share these stories to uplift students and let them know that they are not alone when they experience challenges or setbacks that impact their education. We want to help students spread positivity, understanding, community, and most importantly, support. In addition, all students are deserving of a quality education and a big part of learning how to cultivate quality for students is to hear from them. Stories are data, and they are key to piecing together the whole picture of how students of color navigate the University of Washington. This can in turn help the University see where and how there is room for improvement. Improvement can then lead to reduced inequalities.
The main focus of this project is to highlight these experiences so we can ultimately reduce inequalities and continue the work of making the University of Washington a more inclusive and diverse place. Inclusion takes time, commitment, and most importantly learning. Learning how students of color experience the University of Washington on a daily basis while uncovering the obstacles and/or disenfranchisement they may face can be a call to action for the University to do something different in their approach to reducing inequities that persist. These priorities each align with the development goal of peace, justice, and strong institutions. In order to create a peaceful learning environment free of disenfranchisement, we first need to acknowledge the ways in which it persist and how that has impacted students of color. This project will share that information so that we can positively impact social justice at the University of Washington and help cultivate a strong commitment to racial justice and equity. This project seeks to assist in community building while also sharing this data with the university to help inform practices around inclusion and truly build an equitable culture that does not perpetuate marginalization.