Jamee Haney
Contributing Writer
The current pandemic has not stopped Dr. Storm Heter and Professor David Mazure from having their third annual Inclusion Poster Project, which has pushed a new topic of conversation: our very own Zoom classrooms.
Mazure first started this project three years ago when he came across the Heller Daily’s “The Tolerance Poster,” started by Mirko Ilic in 2017. This project was widespread throughout the world focusing on inclusion.
“The thing about this project is that students are communicating with images to help our campus community recognize differences,” Heter said.
“Images do a lot to communicate what can’t be done over words.”
Mazure had similar feelings about the inclusion poster project, “It’s a way for students to express themselves in a public way while also making the campus community aware of current issues affecting them that we might have been unaware of.”
This project is seen as important to the students as well, giving them a space for their voices to be heard.
“I feel like the most important thing about this project is that there are students and faculty on campus that are motivated to take the initiative to raise awareness of issues of inclusion, which results in students of all backgrounds to feel heard, understood, and accepted,” said senior Demi Burley.
Burley is taking part in the Inclusion Poster Project through Heter’s Race, Gender and Culture class.
In this class, students were asked to use the eyeball test and observe what goes on in their classrooms.
She found that there were several things she would not have noticed before.
“I never really noticed the race differences of my peers, the patterns professors have when calling on students, and how many of my peers keep their cameras off during class,” Burley said.
The Inclusion Poster Project had students discovering new things they would not have normally noticed.
One thing to look forward to is the art that Mazure’s Graphic Design 1 class is creating.
Sophomore Daniel Zimmerman is just one of many art students in Mazure’s class taking part in the Inclusion Poster Project.
“I feel that the most important part about the Inclusion Poster Project is that it allows students to convey/express feelings or messages in a creative and impactful way,” Zimmerman said.
Many students are looking forward to seeing the outcomes of their hard work.
“As an artist I hope to be able to convey how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected my day-to-day life,” Zimmerman said.
“I feel disconnected from the world and very alone. My goal with my poster in the Inclusion Poster Project is to convey these feelings in the past months.”
Mazure was inspired to create his own version, the Inclusion Poster Project, and wanted to bring this to the university. It was not until he got contact with Provost Joanne Bruno that this idea really took off.
Bruno was so elated with the idea, that she got in contact with former President Marcia G. Welsh. With both of their support, they told Mazure to contact Heter.
Heter was equally as supportive over the idea and soon they, Heter and Mazure, begun to collaborate and begin the work for the Inclusion Poster Project.
Flash forward to three years later and the Inclusion Poster Project is still impacting ESU and its campus life.
Be sure to check out the virtual Madelon Powers Gallery exhibit to view these creative posters which is set to go up this month.
Email Jamee at:
jhaney3@live.esu.edu
