UCO PR students highlight intersectionality with Culturs magazine

UCO communications students are participating in the 2024 Bateman Case Study Competition by asking students to examine hidden intersectionality within cultural fluidity. In other words, their own hidden culture.
The Bateman Case Study Competition is a part of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), a student organization that is part of the strategic communications program. PRSSA assigns students a real world client for whom they must develop a public relations campaign. The 2024 Bateman client is Culturs magazine, a publication focusing on intersectionality via identities that may not be immediately visible.
Culturs Magazine was founded in 2014 as part of Colorado State University’s journalism department. Part of the mission of Culturs is finding the hidden culture within individuals, which is why there is no “e” in Culturs. The magazine operates under sixteen different definitions of cultural fluidity, available on their website.
The UCO student group, named Blue Stampede, is asking students “What’s Your Cultur?.” Their project is inspired by journalist Michele Norris’ Peabody-award winning “Race Card Project” from 2010. They tabled in the Communications Building on Monday, February 12, as well as Wednesday, February 14. The intent behind tabling was to examine what UCO students know about Culturs Magazine, as well as what they think of the cultural identity of UCO’s campus.
According to Blue Stampede’s survey of students, “68% of respondents agreed that UCO has easy to digest cultural programs and activities,”while 87.5% said they think the university is a safe space for multicultural coexistence. Furthermore, 81.25% were interested in consuming more literature related to multiculturalism. Only 25% of those surveyed had heard of Culturs magazine.
“It was really cool, because we got a few students who were telling us about their whole, like, family ties and genealogy and everything and how it’s changed how they see their culture,” account executive Angel Stark said of the experience.
A project focusing on the hidden intersectionality of personal identity brings to mind recent headlines regarding the Oklahoma government’s handling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in public universities. On December 13, 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt signed Executive Order 2023-31, which prohibited DEI in state colleges and universities.
“I’m not afraid to say that I think that getting rid of DEI education and trying to erase history is not okay,” Stark said about political leaders denying the importance of DEI. “I think that if, you know, we don’t learn about it and we don’t, you know, encourage people to look back into history and look back into, you know, anything and really take a look at where we are in terms of DEI in the workplace and society and university, nothing’s going to get better.”
Stark, who plans to pursue a career in public relations, said that she believes getting rid of DEI in universities is the worst thing society can do.
Blue Stampede will be partnering with the Oklahoma City Zoo during the week of February 19 and has plans to potentially table in the Liberal Arts Building before the end of February.