Visible Campaign FAQs

The work of building a diverse and inclusive community is far more than a set of boxes to check or a series of events to attend. It happens in small steps and in big leaps, in one-on-one conversations and in massive demonstrations. To succeed we must be both relentlessly intentional and open to the spontaneous opportunities for positive change.

VISIBLE is about shining a light on all of it – the good work, the hard truths, the differences we easily embrace and those that make us uncomfortable, the barriers, the opportunities, and most of all of the people who are or strive to be a part of our Bobcat community.
 

It’s our hope that every member of our community will see themselves reflected in this work. We hope that all Bobcats can find a place and see themselves as part of Visible.

Through a pedagogical lens, we understand that the combined social identities and diverse perspectives that are represented by members of the OHIO community provides a platform that enhances and enriches our educational pursuits and mission. Within our community we strive to foster a conversation that pushes us beyond race and gender to see other more subtle differences, and the intersectionality that binds us together as a community. 
 

Our community, in our endeavor to achieve inclusive excellence, understand the notion that the word “visible” can evoke a sense of ableism and on its surface seem to exclude members of our community who are visually impaired, sight challenged, or blind. To this end, we hope that through this campaign the stories of those members of our community are seen and reflected within the campaign. On a practical level, we will continue working with our partners in the Office of Information Technology, Office of University Accessibility, and University Communications and Marketing to ensure that our communication meet the specifications set forth in the American Disability Act (ADA) for accessibility.

“Invisible” identities, or those identities that are not easily visible, are 100% included in Visible. In fact, Visible was created to shine a light on the identities and diverse backgrounds of ALL Bobcats. We believe the moments we don’t see are the ones that can matter the most, and those are the ones that should be a part of our everyday conversations. Visible provides a platform to the voices of the overlooked, a space to engage, to be challenged, and to grow.

Performative Activism is a term that has been coined to refer to activism conducted to merely increase one's social capital rather than out of true devotion to a cause. 

The Visible campaign represents our continued efforts to elevate the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University. The campaign’s creation is not solely a reaction to any particular global, national, or local event that it’s launch may coincide with and reflect efforts started when the Diversity and Inclusion units were elevated to a Division, a new Vice President position was created, and the areas in the Division began reporting directly to the President.

Our vision for Diversity and inclusion is to celebrate all members of our University community and to broaden our collective understanding by uplifting diverse identities, cultures, experiences and perspectives. We recognize that this requires a willingness to have hard conversations, to recognize and call out prejudice, to hear and respect vastly different points of view, and to do all this with respect and grace. 

One way this campaign is centralizing all diversity, equity, and inclusion work on campus is by updating www.ohio.edu/diversity. The new website will become a central repository for all diversity, equity, and inclusion work happening across the University. Many new elements have been developed including a dashboard providing data related to diverse populations at OHIO and the site will ultimately include a space where progress on campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion action items related to the University’s Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan will be displayed for public view.