With Week 6 being ‘World At Lancaster’ week there are various campaigns and events going on around campus. One of the most exciting is the International Selfie Campaign, a campus wide campaign run by Roosa Raikko, Grizedale’s International Officer. If, like me, you’ve seen the posters around campus and are eager to get involved, you might be interested to hear a little bit more about it. I caught up with Roosa to find out.
So, give me the basics. What’s the idea behind the campaign?
The idea is to encourage international students to take part in a campus wide campaign. The selfies are an attempt to change the way overseas students are perceived and celebrate the huge variety of nationalities represented here at Lancaster. We are hoping to break down the stereotypes which often surround international student.
What would you say the stereotypes are?
It is sometimes assumed that international students don’t get involved in events and are stereotyped as only socialising with other students of their nationality. By using something fun and sociable like selfies we want to show not only the many faces of Lancaster butyl so highlight the stupidly of these stereotypes, and we aim to do this by getting as many people in one selfie as possible.
How can we get involved?
I’m asking students to take selfies throughout the week, either whilst attending the events or simply with their friends or housemates. Post these to Facebook or Twitter and add the tag #WorldAtLancaster. We want people to have fun with it, be as creative as possible, there is nothing strict or serious about this campaign. We want to see you crazy selfie faces!
Is it just international students who can get involved?
No of course not, we want all of Lancaster University to be represented. Most of the events are set up by societies. All students are invited to attend the events and all we are asking is that you take a selfie whilst you’re there and hashtag. This week is all about sharing cultures and will only be successful if everyone gets involved.
What are your plans for the selfies?
LUSU have assured me the selfies will be displayed in SugarHouse on Saturday of Week 6. And depending on the number of selfies we get we are looking into starting a photo wall on campus to demonstrate how different each international student is, and that we can’t be categorised.
Where did the idea come from and what made you want to run this campaign at Lancaster?
I originally heard of a similar campaign at Sheffield University, which we have adapted slightly to make it a better fit for Lancaster. In the past there have been a shortage of international campaigns run by the college JCR’s. This was one of the reasons I ran for JCR International Officer in the first place, I think the role has much more potential and I wanted to introduce a bit of variety in terms of campaigns both in the college and across campus.
After speaking to Roosa it is clear she is very passionate about this campaign and alongside Grizedale JCR they have put in a great deal of effort. So if you want to help change the image of international students or just fancy having you best selfie pout exhibited in sugar then don’t forget to hashtag #WorldAtLancaster.
