The Zine Library: Distribution of Information and Tools for Student Success and Belonging at SARUP.

Architecture, Fabela, Marina, Garcia-Rangel, Andrea, Kandall, Alicia, Mentor, Poster Presentation, Project, School and College, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, Student, Wait, Chelsea

Marina Fabela, Andrea Garcia-Rangel, and Alicia Kandall, “The Zine Library: Distribution of Information and Tools for Student Success and Belonging at SARUP.”
Mentor: Chelsea Wait, Architecture
Poster #55

The lack of diversity at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) at UWM limits student success including enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for students from diverse backgrounds and stifles their access to architecture as a profession, a field that concentrates wealth and exacerbates disparities. The creation and support of a diverse school culture requires top-down strategies such as hiring diverse faculty, but doing so does not always generate the feeling of belonging that every student needs and deserves, and it is not a guarantee of sustainability in fostering a culture of diversity. A sense of belonging must also come from surrounding peers and the place itself. Our completed research consists of structuring a resource guide, where different types of media have been accumulated and evaluated about diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion (DEBI). We are fabricating a zine library to distribute a first round of 15 zines, designed in collaboration with students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. This library will be on the first floor of SARUP for students to peruse and take zines that aim to support their holistic experience in school. We are designing a website that complements the zines and contains digital copies of them. This research will facilitate the implementation of DEBI resources into syllabi, reading lists, precedent projects, and context analysis. The field of architecture can only advance when design includes everyone—regardless of ability, gender, income, orientation, race, and other identity markers. Our methods are collaborative and humanistic, emerging from critical conversations that draw upon our knowledge and perspectives. We believe this approach to complex problems helps us to develop sustainable strategies that support our mission to create a better future for all students at SARUP.