Bert's Alerts—Dec. 11, 2020

Communication and Marketing students at College of Western Idaho (CWI), in partnership with Media students from Boise State University, are challenging you to Get RAD! The Get RAD Challenge is an effort to create and encourage effective conversations about race.  

"Launching the #getRADchallenge was a collaborative effort,” said CWI student and Get RAD Lead Marketing Coordinator, Thea Jordan. “More than 80 minds went into making this student project a success. People of all races, backgrounds, and situations worked together to address the question, ‘How do we have effective conversations on race?’ It is grassroots projects like this that make lasting impacts. Students are exploring what makes these conversations challenging and what we can do right now in our own lives to change the narrative."

Bringing this project to life are students in Dan Garrity’s Multimedia Storytelling (COMM 261), Intro to Video Production (COMM 268), and Introduction to Marketing (MRKT 125) classes at CWI, as well as his Studio Television for Community (MEDIA 116) class at Boise State. On Dec. 5, students launched a #getRADchallenge social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram encouraging followers to make personalized changes to the way they listen, communicate, talk about, and deal with discomforts that may accompany discussions on race. Each day during the week of Dec. 7, #getRADchallenge posts prompted followers with a series of challenges encouraging them to get RAD, or radically diverse.

“This is truly their expression,” Garrity said. “I had given them some challenges, but the choice of how to solve the challenges is completely up to them. Along with being an exercise in applying storytelling skills to social justice issues, students also get an exploration of leadership. Each class selects its own Team Lead, and each Lead has very real decisions to make. Teachers are often concerned with providing just the right way to motivate their students; with this project they take care of that all on their own and become completely invested in the project. I’m very proud of their effort this semester, especially how they’ve come up with creative, effective ways to coordinate (5 classes, 80 students) in a remote environment.”

The Get RAD Challenge website, launched Dec. 12, provides an additional platform with resources and information aimed at helping change the narrative about race.

Visit the Get RAD Challenge Website