SFTV’s Equity Council is a group of committed faculty, staff, and students working in alignment with LMU’s core mission to dismantle institutional racism and implicit biases. In the 2022-2023 academic year, the Equity Council achieved several accomplishments thanks to its stalwart supporters and acting members across SFTV’s community.
SFTV’s passionate students championed the Equity Council’s mission and helped bring multiple ideas to fruition. A two-hour Zoom panel held in April entitled “Navigating Entertainment Careers with Disabilities and Neurodivergences” was an idea championed by Shaunak Kapse ’24 to help inform and support disabled and neurodivergent students pursuing work in film, TV, and digital media. Kapse was inspired to co-create the panel after seeking out resources specifically for disabled and neurodivergent students working in entertainment and realizing that options were slim.
“It’s important to discuss these topics because people with neurodivergences and disabilities are underrepresented and marginalized throughout the entertainment industries’ sectors,” said Kapse. “This panel was one step toward addressing these systemic issues by increasing awareness, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
During the panel, participants discussed topics ranging from TV and media networking, practicing self-advocacy, and transitioning from college to career building. The Equity Council also leaned on SFTV’s successful and talented alumni, including Skyler DeYoung ’21 and Harrison Hamm ’23, in planning and executing the event. Hamm moderated the panel while DeYoung lent her advocacy expertise to coordinate contributors to the panel, all of whom were neurodivergent, disabled, or both and spoke of their experiences in the industry.
The LMU Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion awarded the Equity Council with a Community Healing Practice Grant to develop, administer and facilitate community practices that promote safety and healing. The Equity Council used the grant to create and host two separate Non-Violent Conflict Resolution Workshops for SFTV faculty and staff. In the workshops, attendees were provided with nonviolent communication tools to increase empathy in the classroom and the workplace.
In November, the Equity Council collaborated with SFTV Dean’s Office to hold a screening of “The Woman King,”courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Immediately following the exclusive screening, Terilyn A. Shropshire, the editor of the film, joined distinguished faculty and thought leaders on LMU’s campus for an intimate panel discussion.
Panel moderator and Equity Council member Stacy Spruill reflected on the event, “Our discussion was fascinating and focused on the intellectual and cultural value of Black sisterhood, Black trauma and resistance in film, women as leaders, and the history of the representation of Black women in film,” she said.
This spring, the Equity Council highlighted three inspiring films, “Love and Basketball,” “Moonlight,” and “Entergalactic,” in its Black Love Film Series, co-sponsored by the LMU Office of Black Student Services. Distinguished guests joined panel discussions with SFTV students following each film. Guests included Mia Davis, Kodye Pugh Jennifer Williams, Joseph Gould, Cameron Fisher, Umaimah Damakka, Magaela Bethune, Darnelle Casimir, and Christian Tejeda. The film series, hosted during Black History Month, celebrated stories that showcase the power and resilience of love and our connectedness to one another.
In addition to workshops and events, the council has revised their mission statement, provided hiring procedures to avoid biased practices, and disseminated information to aid students in understanding biases in course evaluations.
