Commitment to Diversity
South Asian representation through media was something very stereotypical and in journalism, it was practically non-existent. To see a South-Asian American mentioned in a magazine or newspaper is something that was not even a thing here until recently with the Juggernaut.
Having been the Copy Editor, Opinion Editor, Managing Editor and now, EIC, I was able to bring in as much South Asian representation into our paper as I could. This is from writing a personality profile on an Indian dancer to talking about how a South Asian is the first female vice president of the United States.
Not just through Nadanta or Newspaper am I committing to diversity, but also outside of it, I student-teach at Chinmaya Mission Balavihar in Ann Arbor. I explain Hindu culture with day-to-day examples of why we do certain things. This piqued my interest for journalism because I always am curious to find "the why." Courtesy of Vidya Ramanathan
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I use the platform I have as an editor to also make sure other diverse perspectives within our newspaper classes are also being heard. Last year I worked with staff writer Melaniia who lived in Ukraine, as the war was occurring. I worked with her one-on-one making sure her perspective bleeds through the paper. But I also wanted to make sure she was not spreading slander to the Russian community overall. After several drafts and conversations, the piece was finalized and in our issue 5 last year.
Diversity just does not stop at just race. It also covers gender, socioeconomic conditions, sexual orientation, age, cultural + religious diversity, and political parties. It's something that I value extremely because we need various perspectives to inspire change and efforts to fix the inequities many people face.
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This past year we reported on food insecurity and youth homelessness. We even had an article published about "Ann Arbor from a conservative, is A2 open-minded," and heavy story packages/spreads on sex. Click on the design to view pages on ISSUU.
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Though I do have my own biases and may not agree with some things, as a journalist, I have devoted time to listening and understanding, rather than skipping to judgment. Everyone has different perspectives, it's up to us to start conversations and learn from one another. Not every publication is perfect when it comes to diversity coverage. The New York Times, for instance, has had some editorial bias when it comes to reporting on the trans community.
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I am working on a story about Trans Rights in Michigan. I am planning on interviewing sources from the ACLU. But more importantly, I want to make sure I do it right - reporting on stories that get lost but also encouraging those stories to be told.
Being a journalist, dancer, and builder, with every platform, I am always using my position and platform to the best of my abilities and sharing stories that are not being told. Journalism will stay with me forever. It has taught me so much and I plan to take everything I learned from the conversations I had to the skills I gained in my journey to simply inspire change and the people who come after me.