Last year's group that conducted the "I am, but not" campaign was extremely effective in getting students on campus talking about the issue of stereotypes and how they aren't applicable to every member of a specific group. But while that campaign did an extraordinary job in that regard, there were areas of the subject that were left untouched. The overarching theme of this multi-year campaign is to explore the intricacies of the concept of identity.
The idea of identity encompasses everything that makes a person who they are, going far beyond a basic stereotypical notion. And while "I am_, but not__" did an excellent job of breaking certain stereotypes, it left idea open to what that actually means. An individual merely expressing what they are not doesn't fully express their identity, there's more to it than that. So for this year's edition of CU Identity, we're going with the phrase "I am___, but also__." Instead of explaining what we aren't, this year we're going to attempt to delve even deeper into the identity concept to show who we are in addition to what society initially believes of us.
This will encourage people to seek unique characteristics about themselves and others without being confined to a particular stereotype. Students will be asked to fill out index cards, t-shirts, and buttons in order to show their support for the project, and create dialogue around campus about breaking through stereotypes and discovering identities. Our goal is to expand ways in which people think of others and challenge the constraints of racial, ethnic, and social identity.
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