Ryan Reece, an assistant professor at OSU Cascades, led the project as part of PhotoVoice, a community based initiative, which is designed to give those who don't have a voice, an opportunity to express their feelings on events in their communities through photographs.

 

Reece says the overwhelming feeling of the finished gallery of photos is one of 'Strength' and 'Positive Empowerment.' "This project really aimed to capture the student perspective as it relates to our University's current natural landscapes and how those might be integrated into the campus expansion moving forward. So, the purpose was then to create a student vision for how different natural spaces at Cascades Campus might continue to be sustained and integrated in the coming years during the campus expansion."

 

Reece led the project as part of PhotoVoice and says the students produced 31 photographs that expressed how they imagine the natural spaces of the new campus expansion will look. "The overall feeling was really positive. It was empowering. Multiple students were like, 'You know, I didn't really know what this project was, and this ended up being a really cool experience because I got to know the space where the campus is going to be and I felt like I was able to have a voice,' and to me, that was a real, strong positive."

 

The gallery is open for public viewing from 9am to 8pm in the Dining and Academic Building's second floor main hallway until December 8th.