Community Voices

Honoring the stories of our DU community

In our C+V declaration, we declare our intention to “engage multiple perspectives and foster greater belonging.”

Born out of the Experience Pathway, C+V has made it a mission to gather the stories of the people we work, study, and live with to share our community's voices. There is power in a person’s story—in their culture, background, and experiences. We want to make space for everyone and ensure that all DU community members have a seat at the table. These stories will help us to understand the different experiences of people on our campus and how we can take action steps to ensure DU is a welcoming and inclusive place for all. We know that DU is not a perfect place, and we want to acknowledge these errors and learn from them. In addition, these narratives will inform our DU Values as we explore them as a community and boldly state what we stand for and what we do not stand for.

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Over the past year, we reached out to our community. Many responded with bravery and a willingness to share, and we are honored to feature their voices in our Community Voices initiative. There is power and importance in storytelling and sharing one's experiences (Crenshaw, 1997; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). We intentionally have created this space for our community. We want to emphasize that we encourage all of those listening to these stories to practice active listening, compassion, and empathy. This project is meant to honor and recognize that each individual’s story is unique to them, and this is not meant to be a space for conflict, but rather, a place for learning from one another in our community and creating connection so that we can begin to create a deep sense of belonging at DU for all.

We commit to continuing our efforts to capture our students, faculty, staff, and alumni stories. We know the importance of a personal narrative. And especially during these unique times, it’s more essential than ever to feel belonging and to bond through our shared values and experiences.

Check out other stories in the Community Voices Archives

Elevating Community Voices Through Digital Storytelling

Madeline Membrino | Josef Korbel School of International Studies

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Watch Madeline's Videos Below

 

Natalie Lamy | Sturm College of Law

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Watch Natalie's Videos Below

 

Sara Shahzad | Josef Korbel School of International Studies

Sara Shahzad Headshot
Watch Sara's Videos Below

 

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Community Voices Archives

Check out more stories of DU community members and the valuable work on campus.

Visit the Archives

  • References

    Crenshaw, K. W. (1997). Color blindness, history, and the law. In W. Lubiano (Ed.), The house that race built (pp. 280-288). New York, NY: Pantheon.

    Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education? International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7-24.

    Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2002). A critical race counterstory of race, racism, and affirmative action. Equity & Excellence in Education, 35(2), 155-168.

*The Interviewee must consent to video and audio recording. All interviews will be conducted and recorded via Zoom. Interview clips are uploaded on our C+V website, on our Instagram page, and used in other C +V communication items.

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Share Your Story

If you are interested in sharing your story* or if you have any questions, please email communityplusvalues@du.edu to connect.

Email C+V