COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
Let’s face it: the journalism industry is clearly lacking in its diversity.
As a minority journalist myself, I feel this deeply.
Last year, I was recognized by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation as Pennsylvania's "High School Diversity Champion." The award honors a "high school student journalist from diverse background who has made outstanding contributions to their newsroom."
The plain truth is, I don't see or read many journalists who look like me — never in my own newsroom nor in professional spaces. That unfortunate reality has driven me to carve out my own space in journalism, making sure stories like mine — and those of others who often go unheard — are told with the depth and nuance they deserve.
Motivated by this, I also helped launch our inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team — dedicated to analyzing each issue both before and after publication, to ensure we are truly representing our stakeholders. Later on, I revamped it as editor-in-chief, drafting up new, concrete guidelines for the team.
Read them here.
Diverse Coverage
In February 2023, we published our first Black History Month-themed issue. Working in conjunction with the Black Student Union to ensure proper diverse and sensitive coverage, each section highlighted Black culture, history, and more.
As part of the package, I wrote an editorial condemning Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banning AP African American Studies from Florida schools. The editorial received a widely positive response from the student body, while still being faced with healthy, respectful disagreements — even from within our own staff. Now, our school is introducing APAAS to our own school next year.
Read the article here.
That editorial wasn’t the only one I wrote focusing on the issue of diversity. In December 2022, months before it was overturned, I penned an editorial in defense of affirmative action. While the editorial board overall voted in favor of affirmative action, a significant minority of our board opposed it — and I made sure to acknowledge both perspectives in the award-winning editorial.
Read the article here.
The goal of these editorials isn’t just to present an argument. In this context, our editorials aim to provide an informed opinion on a relevant topic our stakeholders may not be aware of. Amplifying these perspectives encourages our readers to think more critically — whether they agree or disagree — a crucial skill in a time when fake news is becoming more common and opinions become more polarized.
Since the beginning of my journalism journey, diversity has been one of the core subjects of my news and feature reporting as well. One of the first stories I wrote focused on how Black and other minority students do not feel included in our school district, despite school board efforts.
Read the story here.
At the same time, we're not highlighting random diverse individuals to simply "check a box." We consciously look through our lists of sources to see if there's a qualified person who meets our source requirements, and do our best to find underrepresented people from within that narrowed pool.
Arakkal removes invasive species from conservancy grounds. Photo by Katerina Starry.
Take, for instance, an article I co-wrote last year on environmental activism. While there were a number of students we could've chosen as the face for this story, we chose Aidan Arakkal, a senior of Indian descent.
Arakkal's unique story, his longstanding leadership in environmental advocacy, and the fact that South Asians are prominently active in local activism (but seldom recognized) are what led us to choose him for the face of our story, more accurately representing our own community.
My most recent project was a story on how our local community — including students — is dealing with Donald Trump's new policies on immigration and mass deportation orders.
This story centers perspectives that are frequently overlooked — particularly students who, despite being U.S. citizens, face immense emotional and familial challenges due to immigration enforcement.
In interviewing countless students, officials, and experts, I've looked to foster inclusion by creating a space for students with mixed-status families to share their realities, helping my readers develop empathy and awareness of what's going on in their very own communities.
Read the story here.
Diverse Opinions
As opinion section editor (and later editor-in-chief), I've done my best to champion diversity in all forms, not just my own stories and editorials. I've worked with writers on many controversial pieces—including one criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the height of the Ukraine War. Along with several other pieces through the years, this stirred conversation amongst the student body along both sides of the argument.
Regardless of the topic, I make sure to treat all pieces with equal scrutiny as this ensures fairness, allowing diversity of thought to flourish.
I've also worked to include guest columnists from both our Young Republicans and Young Democrats groups at school, allowing The Stinger to be an open forum, as is prescribed in our revised mission statement:
"The Stinger strives to offer a diverse and
inclusive community that welcomes all who
wish to contribute to our paper. Our Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion team works to ensure
that members of the East Penn School District
as well as Emmaus High School community
are recognized, included, and given a voice,
particularly those within our underreported
audiences. The Stinger’s publications — print
and online — seek to represent our diverse
community and provide a range of perspectives
on the topics that are covered."
Diverse Standards
I also constantly revise our editorial policies — including our style guide — to meet the needs of our readers. While generally adhering to AP Style guidelines, we've offered additional guidance to our staff on the respectful and accurate portrayal of race, ethnicity, gender, and religion.
Here are just a few of the several updated entries I added to the style guide last year specifying inclusive language, complete with examples:
RACE
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Capitalize "Asian," "Black," "Brown," "Hispanic," "Indigenous," "Latino/a/x," "Native American," and "Pacific Islander."
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In accordance with AP Style, keep "white" lowercase.
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Use "South Asian" when referring to people from the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, and India), Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), and as well as their descendants and diaspora.
NATIONALITY
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Nationalities are capitalized.
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If someone identifies with two cultures/nationalities, hyphenate and capitalize them.
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Example: "Vietnamese-American" or "Pakistani-American"
-
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Racial-nationalities are not hyphenated (but are capitalized).
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Example: "African American" x
-
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Terms referring to a region but not ethnicity are not capitalized.
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Example: "I have southern roots."
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Example: "I am South Asian."
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GENDER
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Use "LGBTQ+" as the standard umbrella term for the community unless otherwise noted.
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When nationality, race, sexual orientation, etc. is relevant to a story, always ask the source how they identify.
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Even if a source uses multiple sets of pronouns, stick with one through the story for clarity.
I’ve also done my best to champion diversity outside of The Stinger as well. In my op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer, I promoted the idea of not only including Muslim communities when considering our school calendars, but also listening to our Jewish, Hindu, and East Asian neighbors, among countless others.
My work with The Juggernaut has also amplified stories coming out of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, and Pakistan — nations often forgotten or overshadowed by India.
In addition to writing editorials and op-eds on the need for greater diversity, I’ve also worked to amplify the work of the Asian American Journalists Association. Their programs for high school students — especially the flagship JCamp program — work to address the lack of diversity within the journalism industry.
I was one of 30 applicants selected for JCamp — the 100% free, six-day multicultural journalism training program for high school students — out of hundreds of applicants nationwide this summer. After
graduating as a speaker for our cohort, I've volunteered at Q&A sessions about the program to get more people involved.
More than anything, JCamp taught me how to navigate the industry as a journalist of color while ensuring my reporting remains inclusive and representative of the communities I serve.
This year, JCamp was held in Texas, and I took advantage of the opportunity to explore journalism outside of my normal environment. Specifically, as part of the program, I reported on stories that highlighted underrepresented communities, broadening my perspective on diversity in media...
At the Capitol Building Visitor Center, they had a scale LEGO model of the iconic structure. A lifelong LEGO lover, I had to snap a quick picture.
The relentless Austin sun blazed overhead as I walked across the Texas State Capitol grounds, alternating between interviewing passerby and photographing the location’s various monuments. I navigated through open green spaces dotted with mature trees providing brief respites from the 99-degree-heat.
As I wandered the well-manicured, shaded grounds, one monument in particular caught my eye: a memorial dedicated to the Confederate army.
Seeing the monument inspired me to bring more awareness to the contentious issue of statue removal in a polarized time when many are afraid to discuss politics. While I had the option of writing about Austin’s cultural relevance or the city’s famous murals, I challenged myself to write about a topic few wanted to discuss. In fact, out of the 25 people I interviewed, only a handful were willing to speak candidly about their opinion.
After interviewing countless tourists, park rangers, and officials, I had a nuanced story with diverse perspectives. But it was one African American man, Shaun, I interviewed whose words impacted me the most.
“I feel like we’re doing our due diligence trying to rectify racism, and tearing down history doesn’t do that,” he said. “Part of our history is when we were divided as a nation. But when we come together, look what we can do.”
Read the full story here.
Part of my JCamp cohort from around the country gathered at the Asian American Journalists Association Convention, where I spoke to over 50 professional journalists and industry leaders.
A man studies the Texas African American History Memorial, a monument erected in 2016.
I wandered through countless levels and halls of the beautiful Texas Capitol Building, interviewing visitors and staff alike.