Our Project
Diverse Universe creates an opportunity to address some of the issues people encounter when discussing race, gender, and sexuality, and their respective oppressions. Sometimes people do not have the right "words" or understanding of the concepts related to diversity and inclusion. Often, these subjects are considered "controversial" so people may avoid engaging in these conversations. In our experiences with adults and our peers people mistakenly believe that by acknowledging the differences we see, we will offend someone. They also fear that if we talk about these "controversial" topics we will cause divisions rather than bring people to a better understanding and a more meaningful relationship. Ideas such as "color blindness" don't promote understanding and connection. Rather, they render some of us "invisible." We believe that most people are well-meaning but we also believe that those who belong to dominant/majority groups have a responsibility to educate themselves. Our goal is to create learning opportunities and help people develop some skills and comfort necessary in discussing these topics in everyday conversation without reluctance or fear.
Who We Are
We are three middle school Girl Scouts in Troop 2959 who completed this project as our Silver Award. This is the highest award a Cadette Girl Scout may earn. While working together on a different project, we realized that we had similar experiences in trying to talk to our friends about diversity, inclusion and social justice. As a group we have experienced many incidents where someone makes a “mistaken assumption” about who someone is, how we identify or what identity groups matter to us. They were “embarrassed” when we pointed out their mistakes, and in many cases they shut down rather than engage with us further in the conversation. Their responses made it likely that they would repeat the same mistake and avoid future opportunities to learn. In the moment they fail to acknowledge us for who we are. If we can’t have these conversations, we have little hope to address and eliminate racism, sexism and oppression based on sexual identity. We knew we wanted to be part of the change so we started this project.
Sophie loves singing, acting, reading, writing when she can, and all things Marvel and Star Wars. She had been a Girl Scout since 1st grade and enjoys hiking, outdoor activities, the arts and earning badges. She got involved in Diverse Universe because she has witnessed the discomfort people experience when talking about certain “controversial” topics. She believes that when people are more educated on these topics, they won’t be uncomfortable and can have good conversations regarding them. She contributed to the content on this website.
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Judith enjoys making art, creative writing, reading incredibly thick books, and being with her cat. She has been a Girl Scout since 3rd grade and enjoys campouts, s'mores, campfire songs and earning badges. She was interested in Diverse Universe because she hopes to help spread acceptance of all people. She contributed to the content on this website and created all of the artwork.
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Yessenia loves writing, reading, small scale electrical engineering projects, swimming, roller derby, cats and everything Star Wars. She has been a Girl Scout since 2nd grade and enjoys outdoor adventures, camping, SWAPs, working on badges and s'mores, of course. She got involved in Diverse Universe because she is part of several identity groups and believes people should know enough to talk about the different aspects of identity that are a part of her. She is the designer of this website, project organizer, and contributed to the content on this website.
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