Lifeonthehill's goal is to create a community outreach social
platform for FAMU and the everyday diversity some may not see.
The environment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities are often depicted as not diverse.
Two Florida A&M University students decided to change that image and collaborated to create social media platforms to shed light on the diversity on FAMU’s campus.
Briana Davis a second year Health, Leisure and Fitness student from Tallahassee, teamed up with Malek Denard a second year Journalism student also from Tallahassee to create a community outreach social media platform called Lifeonthehill1887.
This project was started by two students who did not know each other, but both had the same goal: to create a community outreach social platform for FAMU and the everyday diversity some may not see.
Both students used social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to showcase the unique stories of diverse students and faculty, and how their paths led them to FAMU.
On Lifeonthehill1887 Instagram’s page, photos are taken on campus of students, uploaded with captions and quotes detailing a small interview initiated by Davis or Denard, regarding the student's name, major and topics about FAMU. Interview questions usually range from “ What has been the highlight of your FAMU career so far?” or “What’s your favorite part about FAMU?”
Davis stated that this project was inspired by Humans of New York, a viral social media platform started in 2010 featuring street portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York City.
Arah Johnson a fourth-year pharmacy student from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. said “I actually follow Humans of New York on Instagram, I love the concept and I hope the one started on campus can become very successful, I’m going to follow their social media.”
Davis said that the ultimate goal of the project is to convey that FAMU is not just for African Americans.
“It is not a school of just black kids, I want people to see the diversity that we have here,” he stated.
Eventually Davis and Denard’s goal for their project is to venture out to other HBCUs besides FAMU.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, In 2011, non-Black students made up 19 percent of enrollment at HBCUs.
Florida A&M University’s President Elmira Mangum stated in the Tallahassee Democrat this past June that FAMU is approximately 13 percent non-Black. As well as President Magnum stated “FAMU is currently working hard to visit places like Brazil, India, various African countries, and China as part of their effort to broaden their international student base”.
This project was started by two students who did not know each other, but both had the same goal: to create a community outreach social platform for FAMU and the everyday diversity some may not see .
Check out their facebook @lifeonthehill and their Instagram,Twitter and Tumblr @lifeonthehill1887 to see interviews from FAMU’s students about diversity and more on campus.