Hello everyone! My name is Alesha Davis, I am a junior studying journalism and English, and I will be The Post’s first equity director. I am super excited to work with The Post to increase and advance diversity in The Post’s practices and procedures.
I am entirely new to The Post’s staff, although I have been a reader for the past two years. Even though I am unfamiliar with how The Post works on the inside, I am confident my outside perspective can bring The Post the changes it needs to be a beacon of inclusivity on campus.
I joined The Post because I am passionate about improving diversity on campus. I work in the Office of Multicultural Success as a peer mentor, in the LGBT Center as a student worker and with multiple clubs that focus on diversity and culture. While in these positions, I wished there was also a news publication on campus that focused on diverse topics, like Ebony Magazine, which focuses on Black news. I had even discussed creating one myself with my colleagues in Ohio University’s LGBT Center. However, when I heard about the equity director position at The Post, I decided to take a different approach. I thought we should not need to create a new paper for the diverse communities on campus to get more attention. Instead, what is already here should advance to serve the community properly. The university is evolving to create a more diverse and enriching environment, and The Post should also evolve to reflect these changes.
Because this role is a whole new position, my role as the equity director continues to develop as time goes on. My main goal is to ensure The Post operates in an inclusive manner. That applies to what goes on inside the workplace between the staff and our coverage. I ask: “Who are we covering, and who are we not?” With the help of my equity team, I try to connect our reporters to diverse sources on campus and let them know about cultural events to ensure that The Post is engaged with the various communities on campus outside of their determined weeks. Diverse communities deserve attention outside of Black History Month, Pride Week, Asian American, Pacific Islander Heritage Month and so on. We coexist on campus all the time, so we should have coverage all the time (and it shouldn’t be hard to find).
My goal for this year is to start creating a foundation for more diversity in The Post. I hope to create a relationship between the different minority groups on campus and The Post; I want our presence to be expected outside of the typical times. I do not expect The Post to become a beacon of diversity right away, because doing that properly takes time and training. But hopefully, in due time, The Post will do more than just reflect the diversity of our campus, but amplify it. I want to raise up the voices on campus that are not always heard. That is one of the fundamental principles of journalism, and I have made it my mission. I am ready to get started, and I cannot wait to see what the equity team and I accomplish.
Equity Director
