What does it look like to belong on campus?
For underrepresented students, that question can be difficult to answer. For some, the answer might be that they don’t, or don’t feel like they do.
For Joanna Labija, the question represents the heart of her project, “Here to Stay,” supported by a JustArts Fellowship, in which she seeks to counteract real and perceived erasure of student cultural identity on campus.
The project, which integrated data Labija collected in discussion groups with fellow students and photography, in a way illustrates Labija’s own academic journey toward Interdisciplinary Studies and the Arts, Media, and Entertainment emphasis, a major that has allowed her creativity to flourish.
“I’ve always been a very creative person, whether through dance or singing or arts and crafts, but when it came to starting college, I never thought that I could go the creative route. I didn’t feel confident in that,” said Labija, who originally considered majoring in management information systems. “When I joined the College of Humanities as an IDS major, I was taking those bold steps to bet on myself and do the scary thing that I was passionate about. I wanted to get more involved in my interests rather than step into a field that could make me miserable and unfulfilled. At that time, I was having a lot of creative ideas and making sure to write and record them. One of those ideas was: ‘Here To Stay.’”
As a student, Labija had seen how Black students and others from racial minorities don’t necessarily feel as welcome on campus, but often worked together to create spaces to feel comfortable. A sense of belonging on campus is different for everyone, but some have to work to assert their right to spaces on campus.
When she learned of the JustArts Fellowship, Labija went back to her initial notes on Here to Stay and revised it to fit the program.
“I went with the project idea I’d had and it grew. Between the time I first had the idea and now, I have developed in so many different ways, which has made my project become bolder,” she said. “I tend to be a perfectionist and I can be very picky with my own work. In a lot of ways that causes me to hold myself back and not do the things I want to do. With this project, I had to start taking the steps, even if I didn’t have everything figured out.”
To start gathering her data, Labija organized a discussion circle with other students in January, listening as they told of their experiences on campus and reflected on the experiences of others. That discussion circle led to two photo shoots, the first at the MLK Jr. Student Space, designed to show the different cultures and diversity within the Black community on campus. The second photo shoot involved students of Indian, Latin American and West African backgrounds and took place around the Mall, Bear Down Building and Main Library.
Labija directed the photo shoots, illustrating specific stories and experiences she’d heard in the discussion circle.
“I’d asked participants what does it feel like to be minoritized on the U of A campus. There were different words, like isolated or conflicting or awkward. It was a very impactful and heavy conversation. During the photo shoot, you can see those different story lines,” she said. “Minority students on campus are here to stay, whether we’re come from a different country or have a different skin color, we matter as well.”
In the course of her IDS studies, Labija developed the communication, creative storytelling and critical thinking skills that heled inform the scope of her project.
“One thing that really drew me to IDS was the fact that it’s such a broad major. It’s perfect for those like me who are interested in so many different things,” she said. “I have a deep interest for community impact. Little by little, I’ve grasped different things from the classes that have impacted the way I’ve worked on my project. Being able to have that academic knowledge to back things up is important.”
After presenting her project publicly at TENWEST and the JustArts showcase, Labija is working on a digital presentation so “Here to Stay” can live on and have a greater reach. Some photos and quotes with a QR code link to “Here To Stay” will be showcased this week in the Student Union Memorial Center. And she is working towards showing a photo with a quote on one of the food delivery robots in the fall.
“I began to feel that the results and the message and the impact of the project might end in the four walls of an art exhibit, and that’s not the point of the project. I want to get the message across even outside the U of A campus,” she said. “I don’t know if this project will ever really end because of the message and because of how far it can go.”