Our Commitment to Racial Justice
You may have seen our statement on social media:
CollegeXpress is the place you go to connect with colleges and search for scholarships, but we want to address something more urgent and important right now: the serious issues facing Black students, families, and communities everywhere. We realize actions speak louder than words, but we encourage all students to engage in the conversation, stay informed, and do what they can to stand for justice and equality. In turn, we will strive to learn, educate, support, and make an impact through our platform. The future we envision is a world without racism, and we are dedicated to taking action now and always to make that a reality.
We stand by our words, but we’ve been wanting to talk more about racial justice with you—and tell you what we’re doing about it. We’ve been collecting our thoughts, having open and honest conversations, navigating how to support each other and our communities, and striving to remain authentic in everything we share with you.
What is CX doing to promote positive change?
CollegeXpress is passionate about equality and equity for all. We are heartbroken over the continuous senseless violence and discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPoC), and we believe that all lives can't matter until their lives matter to all. We want to be a part of the solution, not the problem. So, what does that all mean in actionable terms?
Internal progression
Since January 2020, Carnegie Dartlet, the agency that houses CollegeXpress, has been working with a diversity consultant, now our in-house Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, to drive change from the inside out. From our hiring process to our daily communications, we know that there is room for improvement—and we’re excited to make our office a more inclusive and supportive space for our staff, clients, and readers.
As of July 2020, our Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer has created and distributed a survey to better gauge each individual employee on matters related to diversity and cultural understanding. In time, each employee across the agency will have an individual assessment to better understand their unique survey results—and the work they need to do.
Our colleagues have also collaborated on an awareness and unity resource to reference and learn from, providing literature and educational materials for all of us to utilize.
Our website and community
When it comes to the CollegeXpress website, we’re committed to amplifying the voices of BIPoC students, parents, counselors, and higher education professionals; recruiting diverse talent to contribute to our myriad of helpful content; and making our community a warm and welcoming one. We’re also actively working to include visual representation of BIPoC across the site, not just in our College Diversity section.
How can you get involved?
Student writers
We’re constantly looking for new voices to join our community of student writers. If you’re interested in writing for CollegeXpress, reach out to us so we can get to know you better. We’re also always in the market for student vloggers, so if writing isn’t your thing, be one of the many beautiful faces of the CollegeXpress community on our YouTube channel.
What do our student contributors write about? Anything and everything relevant to our audience! Topics that fit perfectly into our site sections include:
- Campus visits
- College athletics
- Majors and academics
- Student life
- Test prep
Basically everything that applies to writing for CollegeXpress applies to videos/vlogging: topics, tone, audience, research, etc.
Student activism
Have something to say? Use your voice for good. If you’re as passionate as we are about racial justice and equity for all, you probably want to take action, too. Check out this blog about getting involved in activism for more.
What’s next?
We’ll continue to keep the CollegeXpress community in the loop as we learn and grow together. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or comments. We’re here. We’re listening. We’re hopeful. Will you stand with us?