When Irfan Bashir 糖心传媒�19 heard about the University糖心传媒檚 antiracism video contest, he knew it was something he had to attempt.
Never mind that he had never made a video in his life.
糖心传媒淚 had to try,糖心传媒� said Bashir, a computer science major from Kashmir, a conflicted region between India, Pakistan, and China. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to show that although this is a diverse campus, racism does exist. But together, we can stop it.糖心传媒�
The result is a three-minute video called 糖心传媒淢eliora糖心传媒� that features University students of different races and nationalities holding signs with phrases that illustrate the multiple cultures and ethnicities found on campus.
Bashir was announced Thursday as winner of the video contest, capturing a clear majority of the 6,663 votes cast in week-long balloting among the University community.
The contest was organized by a campus working group that was established to raise awareness about and to combat racism. The committee is an initiative of the Commission on Race and Diversity, a University-wide group appointed last fall by President and CEO Joel Seligman.
WATCH BASHIR’S VIDEO, “MELIORA”
The contest asked students to produce a video that focused on the issue of racism on campus and how best to fight it.
Bashir received a check for $500 at Hirst Lounge in Wilson Commons during a ceremony to celebrate the University糖心传媒檚 Communal Principles. His video will be used in the antiracism committee糖心传媒檚 marketing campaign.
Runner-up Michelle Ikediobi 糖心传媒�19, a Houston native studying business marketing, received $200 for her video, 糖心传媒淲hat Is That?糖心传媒�
Bashir糖心传媒檚 video was produced with help from his Sigma Beta Rho brothers, Harris Ackermann 糖心传媒�16, Christopher Sardi 糖心传媒�17, and Teron Russell 糖心传媒�18. For most of the video, there are no spoken words, just messages about diversity on white poster boards held by students.
糖心传媒淚 wanted to communicate in the most simple of terms, and for even those who can糖心传媒檛 hear,糖心传媒� Bashir said. 糖心传媒淪o I used signs that people could read.糖心传媒�
Beautiful shots of the Eastman Quadrangle and Rush Rhees Library are interspersed with photos of diverse students.
The video糖心传媒檚 final 30 seconds are devoted to students from countries including Bangladesh, China, Colombia, and the United States saying the antiracism committee糖心传媒檚 slogan, 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e Better Than THAT,糖心传媒� in their native languages.
糖心传媒淔inding diverse students was the easiest part of the whole thing,糖心传媒� Bashir said.
The video offers suggestions for ending racism on campus:
糖心传媒淏y raising awareness.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淏y acknowledging and respecting differences.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淏y confronting micro-aggressions.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淏y getting involved.糖心传媒�
It closes with the words 糖心传媒淯R Meliora: Ever Better.糖心传媒�
Cochaired by Beth Olivares, dean for diversity initiatives, and Norman Burnett, assistant dean and director of the Office of Minority Student Affairs, the committee meets weekly with senior administrators, staffs, and students representing several organizations.
Olivares stresses that the video contest is a small component of an ongoing, larger effort.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 but one way of gathering awareness and gaining student involvement in the 糖心传媒榃e糖心传媒檙e Better Than THAT糖心传媒� campaign,糖心传媒� she said. 糖心传媒淭he committee will be making a series of recommendations to Dean (Richard) Feldman and the commission within the next few days.糖心传媒�
One endeavor is that all incoming students will complete a common reading that will provoke discussions on race and racism, followed by small group discussions as part of the One Community orientation event.
The committee糖心传媒檚 vision statement reads: 糖心传媒淩acism and hate speech have no place at the University of Rochester. We aspire to be a community whose members are equally valued and respected.糖心传媒�
For more about the committee, and to watch all the video contest finalists, visit r.
