Naturally, people tend to move away from the unknown, and more often than not we choose to stick to what we know.

There’s no secret that individuals show bias based on social backgrounds such as income, education, religion, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. The list goes on and on.

A bias that’s to blame for the social uniformity across the nation, but millenials are reaching for change, people are taking opportunity to stand up for the freedom of differences.

In regards to the El Vaquero newsroom at Glendale Community College, Reut “Rory” Cohen, journalism professor and advisor, has taken the task of shading her students toward the open-minded direction.

Cohen has provided a safe haven to individuality and creativity, in what she’s called the “judgement-free zone.”

Upon entering the newsroom, our instilled biases wouldn’t leave you to imagine that writers such as James a Swedish-Filipino dancer/journalist, or Belinda, a bright-pink haired action photographer, to Marian an Armenian political journalist and activist who provide overtime hours to El Vaquero, editing and designing just as many others.

The class almost gives off the feeling that we were picked at random, from the assortment of international students and minorities, to talented athletes, dancers, photographers, musicians and artists.

This beatnik group is quite unconventional, but that is what makes the team so unique. We fight the ‘norm’ and use our individuality to become more than dreamers, but doers.

The difference in our upbringings makes for interesting conversation topics, detailed debates, and variety in news articles. As we all continue to learn about the broad spectrum of journalism, this group is changing from a class to a family, building relationships that will last even after we leave GCC.

Cohen has helped take our skills and used them to develop dreams, both in and beyond the journalism class.

To better understand the values of diversity, from our point of view, check out our podcast by scanning the code on this page.