Commitment to Diversity
Being a minority in my school community as both a Latina, disabled and a member of financial aid, I constantly think about how to improve the diversity in the newsroom and in our reporting. Here are some examples of that commitment:
Diversity in Mission Statement
Central to The Oracle is our mission statement which emphasizes the use of diverse voices and perspectives in order to provide the best journalism possible. Click below to discover more about the pillars of ethics The Oracle follows daily.
"As a student-run publication, the Oracle’s mission is to provide a forum that encourages authentic voices and discussion in our increasingly diverse educational community. We serve as a resource for the Archer community and beyond to report relevant, interesting and newsworthy information. The Oracle staff is committed to fostering critical thinking in our reporting as well as providing diverse student perspectives. Through these endeavors, we strive to strengthen student voices."
Diversity Audit
As part of our coverage for Scholastic Journalism Week in 2023, I was inspired by LAist's Newsroom Diversity Audit and decided it was time for The Oracle to have its own. Thus, in 2023, I started The Oracle's annual diversity audit where we surveyed the staff on a diverse array of identify factors including race and ethnicity, financial aid, religion,
Diversifying Coverage
Of course, a journalist should constantly be asking themselves about which stories are being forgotten on the news sites and how to best go about covering them. I've asked this to myself each and every day on The Oracle, always wondering how to push myself further.
I acknowledge that, as The Oracle is an eight-time First Amendment Press Freedom Award winner, we have much more freedom to write the stories we deem are important to be told instead of fearing we will be censored by our administration. Because of this, I've been able to tell stories about students of various ethnicities, disabilities, socio-economic statuses and background.
There is always work to be done, and as the features editor, I strive to go to as many affinity club meetings as I can to learn about the other communities on campus, speak to the leaders of those clubs and thus continue to reinvent how we approach our diversity coverage. From there, I pitch different ideas to the individuals wanting to write for features and help them be conscious of the language, tone and structure used in the piece.
