CODE^SHIFT February Event Spotlight

By Manaswini Pillai, Magazine, News and Digital Journalism Graduate | February 28, 2025

Hate Has No Home Here, Feb. 13

CODE^SHIFT collaborated with the Newhouse DEIA Office and SU Stop Bias to co-host a campaign launch event. 

This event was a community celebration of kindness, inclusion, and compassion. Our team distributed free goodies like stickers, buttons, and posters and hosted interactive activities on positive affirmations to promote mutual respect and unity across all identities and backgrounds. 

The aforementioned poster was co-designed by CODE^SHIFT Director Dr. Srividya “Srivi” Ramasubramanian and CODE^SHIFT members Emily Guiterrez and Jacquelyn Trotman.

BHM Grad Research Showcase, Feb. 20

CODE^SHIFT presented a Grad Research Showcase event on the occasion of Black History Month. The panel comprised leading SU Black graduate scholars Tiara Johnson (The Newhouse School), Chelsea Bouldin (School of Education), and Minnie McMillian (College of Arts & Sciences), and was moderated by CODE^SHIFT alum Raiana de Carvalho. 

The event engaged participants in thought-provoking discussions on Black identity, media, and psychology. Tiara Johnson’s presentation was titled ‘Exploring the “Black Lady Therapist”: A Qualitative Textual Analysis on the fictional Black Lady Therapist character in television.’ Chelsea Bouldin joined virtually to present her research titled ‘Positioning the Unthought: Charting Octavia E. Butler’s Cognitive-Self’. Minnie McMillian’s talk was titled: ‘Intersectionality and Intersectional Invisibility in Psychological Research’.

Hands Off Higher Ed, Feb. 25

CODE^SHIFT hosted a viewing party and poster-making session in solidarity with the National Higher Ed Workers’ Rally, which was happening in 15 different cities around the U.S. as well as virtually. 

The purpose of this event was to build a safe space for the community and to foster open conversations on policies relating to higher education that affect all of us. The discussion spanned subjects like caps on indirect costs from grants, freezing funds for scientific research, threats to academic freedom, and curtailing DEI initiatives in education.