I will collect interview-based qualitative data in the form of semi-structured interviews with students of color on campus who have had direct or indirect experience with the Judicial Board or other disciplinary offices, such as the Dean’s Office. I will also conduct interviews with students of color who are artists on campus (not necessarily, but perhaps some of the same people) who contest dominant narratives of race and the criminalization/penalization and silencing of POC through their artistic expression. I plan to conduct three interviews for each section, for a total of six interviews. I know some of the students who I want to interview but I hope to recruit more through snowball sampling. Interviewing students of color about their experiences with the judicial process will give me insight into if students of color feel they are treated differently than white students, as well as the psychological and physical implications of this treatment. Furthermore, engaging with artistic methods of contestation will help me to uplift the voices of students of color, as well as to understand the strategies of resistance to colonial/neoliberal marginalization of POC.
I decided that it would be best to present my findings in the form of a video. I think this format could include both the testimonies of the students that I interview as well as showcase the students’ artistic forms of resistance. I am guessing that I will interview students with multiple artistic mediums, including visual art, music, and poetry, so I think a video would provide the audience with an all-encompassing viewing experience.
Lopez’s Comments:
Aliya, this continues to sound as a great project. There is a lot of discontent among POC students on campus, so it would be interesting to document some of their experiences at large and with the J-board. Remember, some of the information you gather might be confidential (like with the J-board), so you will need to be careful with this. I like the idea of you doing a video.