"Still I shine": Student photovoice project on racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion at a public university in the United States

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in Higher Education have been approached from the majority group membership, often not fully integrating input from marginalized groups. In this study we explored a public university students' view of racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion on campus. We utilized the Photovoice method, in which participants express their community's strengths and concerns, and promote critical dialogue and knowledge about important community issues through group discussions of photographs. Twenty students of different racial and ethnic identities from various majors and stages of study participated in the project. Each weekly session focused either on exploring the topic of ethnic/racial DEI on campus, learning, and practicing specific photography skills using smart phones, or on taking and discussing photos. Thematic analysis of students' photos and captions resulted in four main themes, Importance of Diversity, Privilege, Barriers, and Power of Education/Need to Fight for Equity. Students' written reflections revealed that working on this project increased their awareness of campus inequities, their self-esteem, provided motivation to stand up for themselves and others, and decreased their feelings of isolation.