Note for the reader:

For our project, we have decided to create an instagram feed in the style of the popular Humans
of New York. We have decided on this genre of work and this particular medium as it is very
appealing due to its ability to transform consciousness, refine the senses, promote autonomy,
raise awareness and express the complex feeling-based aspect of social life (Leavy 2016). It is
not a medium restrained by academic boundaries and thus can manage to be emotionally and
politically evocative (Leavy 2016) for several audiences.

In fact, our audience is largely the general public but especially teenagers and other avid social
media users. This audience is one that is always eager to learn about the current pressing issues
that concern various aspects of society. In order to appeal to this audience we will use striking
images and powerful quotes which are aimed at grabbing attention. These pictures and quotes are
coupled with information explaining the inherent issue in what the picture is describing. Each
picture will showcase a different way inequity manifests itself in our discipline. The purpose of
the feed is in fact to create awareness of the issues of disparity present across our disciplines. It is
our hope that this conversation can spark conversation and initiate a discourse that could one day
potentially lead to effective reform.

https://www.instagram.com/humansofdisparity/

Hi Emma and Nirali,

I love this Instagram feed approach its fun to read and works extremely well with both of your
topics. I am a huge fan of the Humans of New York account, and I definitely agree following that
format is a smart way to evoke emotion from your readers. For Instagram captions, the writing is
rather long, which Im sure is because you both have done copious amounts of research.
Humans of New York also has a Facebook account for their longer stories, so perhaps you
could take some inspiration from their Facebook page as well.

Naturally, as you are communicating through Instragram captions, choosing teenagers and
young adults for your audience makes the most sense as they will be the easiest to reach. With
that said, I think you can appeal to the audience in more ways than simply putting it on
Instagram. Education and crime enforcement are both topics that matter to a lot of teens and
young adults as paying for school or drug abuse influence our daily lives. I think your writing
could benefit from a more proactive voice where you really try to connect your readers with the
stories to create more compassion.

Regarding your content, I can tell that both of you are very knowledgeable on your topics. I am
assuming the photographs are not original (correct me if I am wrong), but I am curious to know if
the quotes are real, fictional, or borrowed. I also dont see any quotes/sources, so I was
wondering if you guys were planning on adding that in later. I know it may not fit the Instragram
caption feeling that well, but I feel like a lot of what you guys wrote were not general knowledge
and needed citations of some sort.

I also have a question about the crime enforcement bit of the writing not because its not good
but because I do not think I feel the emotions that I think the author wants me to feel. For
example, in the first photo, I understand the law needs to be reformed, but I feel that way mainly
because of the statistics you gave on how harsh without being effective it is. You mentioned in
your note to the reader that you wanted to use the photos and anecdotes to grab the audience;
and while I see the man was jailed unfairly, he was three times a felon, so I am more persuaded
by the fact that the law is ineffective. Im not sure exactly where I am going with this, but its just
something to think about.

Finally, while both of your topics and goals are clear, choosing this Instagram format does not
give you room for a conclusion or a place to state your cause (and you guys have such a strong
one). I went onto the Instagram page and saw that in the about/bio section, you guys wrote
Nirali And Emma Humans of Disparity: This page is dedicated to looking at the roots of
multidisciplinary disparity through the stories of real people. What would be really cool is if you
guys wrote a one-sentence thesis there instead, where you stated the goal of the page more
explicitly. Instead of explaining what the account contains, state what all of that information is
meant to do a sentence like: Humans of Disparity: Promoting equal opportunity to education
and freedom one story at a time (cheesy, I know, but I am sure you guys can come up with a
better one).

I hope I have not been too harsh in my review. I truly did enjoy this draft I just had a lot of
recommendations because I felt so invested in it. In any case, I think your unique approach on
this paper is very refreshing, and I hope some of my advice has been helpful.

Best,

Cindy
(1)

I am serving life without parole for stealing $300 dollars worth of video games.

The three-strikes law is one of the most damning pieces of legislation introduced through the
get tough on crime policy. It dictates that anyone found guilty of a felony, that has two prior
felony convictions, must serve a mandatory life sentence in prison. It does not matter how
serious the last felony is. In Florida, any theft of property with value greater than $300 is
considered a felony. The main purpose for this law is deterrence but there is very little evidence
that it is in fact successful. Most crimes are not premeditated; the prospect of a life sentence is
not going to stop people who are acting impulsively, without thought to the likely consequences
of their actions. It is important that through the power of vote, we scale back the policy and pass
initiatives that give judges more discretion and possibly reduce the penalties for lower-level drug
and theft crimes (such as the one described in the image). This is successfully happening in
California where of 2000 former life prisoners freed as a result of three-strikes reform, only 4.7%
have returned to prison.
(2)

They call it the war on drugs, I call it the war on African-American women. This is as personal
as it gets.

Policies such as the war on drugs, broken windows policing and get tough on crime measures
have received significantly backlash and criticism. There are a plethora of negative implications
of all these policies and no one is affected more than African-American woman. Extensive
research has in fact shown that the war on drugs has a negatively disproportionate impact on
African-American women. When it comes to drug offenses, women are more likely to be
imprisoned than men. However, statistics show that while women of all races consume and sell
drugs at the same rate, African-American women are more likely to be caught up in the system.
They represent 12% of the total population of drug users but 38% of those arrested and 59% of
those incarcerated for drug offenses. African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison
for a drug offense (58 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61 months). Drug policy
reform is absolutely necessary in order to reduce these shocking disparities.
(3)

They abuse us in here. We need nutrient rich food and all we get is sour and expired milk. I
barely get to see a doctor - its like they dont want me to take care of my baby. I am honestly
terrified they might cuff me when I give birth and take my baby away from me.

At any given time, around 8% of the women serving time in the US are pregnant. This equates to
several thousand babies born in prison each year. For female prisoners, giving birth while
serving time is often a distressing experience. The women receive very limited access to health
care - they are treated no different than if they were not pregnant. During the few doctor
appointments they actually receive, women are cuffed and placed in belly chains. The families
are also very rarely notified of the pregnancy and childbirth. In fact, no one is allowed in the
delivery room during labor, making it a very lonely and traumatic experience. Additionally, 46
states have no laws restricting the shackling of these women during childbirth thus making it a
very common practice. Furthermore, they only get one day with their baby: the law maintains
that a woman must be out of the hospital and back in prison at most 24 hours after delivery.
(4)

Im getting married today and my entire family is beaming with joy. I am the only girl in my
family to be married and be allowed to continue my education. Starting next week, Ill be going
to college to study engineering. At my age, my mom had already had me and my brother. Its
quite shocking to my parents that I want to keep going to school. There was some tension
regarding this, but recently, everyone has been supportive!

In todays world, it seems insane to some that girls get married off before even entering their
20s. These girls dont have the luxury of finishing or even attending school. Girls in India get
pulled out of school for many reasons. One main reason is that schooling costs money. For the
parents of these girls, it makes more sense to save the money to add to the dowries for their
daughter rather than investing in their daughters futures. Even though the practice of dowry has
been ruled illegal in India, many societies still heavily practice it. Not giving a significant dowry
can result in the death of the girls. Another reason that education is put on the back burner for
girls in India is because of family responsibilities. It is a cultural norm that the daughters will
cook and clean. Education seems like a waste if thats all girls will be doing around the
household. Some of these girls grow up being trained for marriage alone. The more household
chores she does, the better equipped shell be to be a future housewife in turn getting her a better
marriage deal. For cultures that dont place such importance on marriage and gender roles, this
seems absurd to deprive girls of education from the beginning.
(5)

I grew up learning that we always help each other. We always look out for each other in
school. Helping my friends do better, makes me happy.

Collectivist cultures are those that value the whole rather than the individual. The people that are
a part of these cultures have similar values and usually live more intertwined lives. There is less
competition in classrooms and the workplace. People are willing to help one another rise rather
than put themselves first. This thought process is very much affected by what their culture
preaches. This line of thinking is also applied to education disparities. The teachers, parents and
even the kids want to make sure that everyone is on a level field. In a collectivist society like
Africa, one can see that the average level of education is fairly consistent throughout the board.
This may be why we see a much higher illiteracy rate of 38% in Africa. In a more individualistic
culture, the value is placed more so on the individual. Individuals value their personal growth
over a communal growth. This is probably why we see such staggering statistics for education in
America. Here we have some of the best educated people alongside illiterate adults.
(6)

I want to study hard and be the first girl in my village to go to college. I want to be a doctor one
day. I want to show everyone that girls can do anything. We can do anything boys can. I will
work hard and prove myself right.

Many girls around the world are refused the education that they wish for. In many cultures, it is
written off as a waste of time and money to educate girls. Many cultures that are surrounded by
poverty tend to value education less than other cultures. From a young age, these girls are taught
that they should not be educated. While many girls dont question this, in recent years, more girls
have tried to break the status quo. Recent studies have proved that educating girls can help a
society in the long run. In a study done in 2008, the data points out that educated women add to
the workforce of the country, which then benefits the countrys overall economic growth. There
are many organizations dedicated to the simple idea that educating girls in impoverished areas is
beneficial to the entire world. For example, the One Girl project has something called the girl
effect. The girl effect discusses the domino effect the world feels when we just educate one girl.
Educating girls gives them the confidence they need to make their own decisions and to follow
their dreams.