Dartmouth students whose racial identities span beyond simple check boxes posed for portraits in the Black Family Visual Arts Center Sunday evening to take part in “The Changing Face of Dartmouth,” a photography project sponsored by MOSAIC, a group of multiracial and multicultural Dartmouth students. The photos will be on display in Baker-Berry library later this month.
The project, organized by MOSAIC executive board members Nushy Golriz ’15 and Lulu Riley ’16, aims to create a greater space and community for people that do not identify with just one cultural group on campus.
Dalia McGill ’16, the project’s photographer, had taken at least 30 photographs as of Sunday evening, Golriz said.
The photo shoot is modeled after the “Changing Face of America” project by National Geographic magazine, which profiles Americans whose identities are not accurately reflected by the options presented in the census.
Up until 2000, respondents could not check more than one box for race or ethnicity on the U.S. Census. Though this has since changed, respondents may still feel uncomfortable with the options presented to them, Golriz said.
Golriz noted that students face a similar experience when filling out the Common Application, which asks students to check boxes for all identities that apply.
Golriz said that she hoped that, after sitting for a portrait, students would appreciate the size of the multiracial and multicultural community at Dartmouth.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on racial minorities, but I don’t think there’s a lot of conversation on people who don’t identify with just one racial minority,” Golriz said.
She added that the project was not just for multiracial students, but also for multicultural students.
“A lot of people identify with one culture -— but because it’s not an American culture, they feel like they’ve had a fusion experience, where they grew up with one culture immersed in American culture.”
Riley said that the project would mark a shift in activity for MOSAIC — from discussion-focused projects to action. It also allows the group to establish a new presence on campus, she added.
Students unable to commit to weekly discussions could still participate, Riley said.
Golriz said she hopes to display the photos later in the spring in Berry corridor. The exhibit, she said, will feature the portraits, along with the check boxes that subjects would have checked on the last census and quotes about their experiences at the College.
Golriz hopes that students who view the project will rethink how they view others.
“It’s a way of challenging how people identify others, and challenging whether skin color and facial features necessarily mean anything,” Golriz said. “People need to be aware there is a growing community of people that don’t fit into these racial minorities or cultural minorities.”
Many multiracial students at Dartmouth are grouped into one specific minority group, Riley said.
“You think ‘this isn’t all of me.’ There’s always a different part of you that is not satisfied,” Riley said.
Ravynn Nothstine ’17, who posed for a photograph, said the project was an important way to inform students about what it means to be multiracial. Kohar Avakian ’17 also sat for a portrait, and added that the project would be especially important at Dartmouth.
“It’s important because there’s a lack of awareness about multiracial and biracial people on this campus — we are here,” Avakian said. “There’s not a voice for multiracial people.”
Simone D’Luna ’16, who also posed for a photo, said that at Dartmouth she has not been able to engage with all sides of her identity.
After the project, Corinne Kasper ’17 said, she hopes “people will stop saying I look white.”
D’Luna and Golriz are former members of The Dartmouth staff.
