Dear readers, 

As we worked on this project, we noticed patterns of events in our community. From divisive speakers and conflicts breaking out on campus to media reactions about racial justice protests to the spread of hate and misinformation online, it was clear that discrimination is alive and well in our community. 

Every time this was reaffirmed, we arrived at the same question: Why does this keep happening?

Confronting the hate in our own community is difficult. Analyzing where hate comes from, how and why it thrives and proposing ways to combat it is even more difficult. As so many leaders and advocates in our community know, working toward a more inclusive world takes work and lots of thought. 

We felt we needed a more comprehensive look at the issues, including turning the focus on ourselves; at what each of us could be doing as individuals, as journalists, as a company and as a community.

Instead of merely amplifying the problems, we want this series to be a part of the solution.

In conjunction with The Poynter College Media Project, we present to you a series that seeks to analyze discrimination issues in the Colorado State University and greater Fort Collins community in a way that honors their complex and varied nature. We wanted to look at every part of a problem, from its root cause to its impacts to how it could play out differently in the future.

Poynter is working with student media organizations across the country to create projects that increase civil discourse on their campuses. You can see projects from other schools here, here and here.

There is so much work that needs to be done, and we recognize that many people in our community are actively doing this work as you read this. We acknowledge that improvements need to be made at The Collegian just as much as they do anywhere else. You can read more about our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from this year, some of which have been funded by Poynter, here. 

We hope this series, in starting conversations we desperately need, can be a small part of that change. 

Sincerely,

Abby Vander Graaff, content managing editor

Lauryn Bolz, editor-in-chief

Matt Tackett, digital and design managing editor

Read part one of the series. Read part two of the series.  Read part three of the series.

The editorial board can be reached at editor@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.