Students across campus will be able to create and submit videos that explore images of a different world for the Institute for Citizenship and Social Responsibility’s “Imagining Otherwise” video contest. 

“Essentially, the video contest is a way for students to film what they believe is a just world,” Scarlette Briones, graduate assistant for ICSR, said. “How can we work towards a just world if we can’t envision what we want?” 

Contest participants must submit videos that are within 30 to 90 seconds in length and reflect the participant’s vision of an ideal world. The videos will then be divided into three categories—local, national and global— and judged by a panel comprised of students, faculty and staff members from various disciplines. 

First place winners for each of the three categories will receive $200 that will be redeemable at the WKU Bookstore, according to the contest’s press release. The runner-ups will receive $100 to the WKU Bookstore. 

Briones said she believes that videos serve as an ideal form of imagining individual viewpoints. 

“We really wanted a video contest because we wanted a visual—something concrete, something you can see,” Briones said. “We’re in a physical world, and the best way to get that is through video.”

One of the main objectives of the contest is to allow student’s voices to be heard, Briones said. 

Kate McElroy, a junior from Bowling Green and the student marketing coordinator for ICSR, said she’s excited that students will be able to utilize their creativity to spread a message. 

“We really like seeing social justice themes being put into a creative output because we have such talented students here,” she said. 

The video contest also encourages students to see the world differently, McElroy said. 

“We get people to think critically [about social justice issues] and have them use that critical thinking to apply it and act more generously in the world,” she said. 

The ICSR is located in Tate Page Hall 110, is a place for students to feel comfortable, Briones said.

“This area is supposed to be a safe place for all students, no matter what background,” Briones said. “They can come here and get our support to help them with what they’re trying to change, especially on campus.”

The contest is one way of exploring topics of conversation in an accessible platform. 

“If we learn about these things, that’s how we can create a better world for the future,” McElroy said. 

To conclude the contest, the ICSR is hosting a ceremony on Tuesday, April 28, from 4-6 p.m. in Downing Student Union. The viewing party will be “set up like the Oscars,” Briones said. 

The submitted videos will be shown during the event before the winners are unveiled. 

While the event is designed to celebrate the submitted videos, Briones said she also hopes it will spark conversation.

“We also want to make it a platform for students to talk about issues and how we can go about resolving them, especially if they’re issues on campus or in the community of Bowling Green,” Briones said. “We want to be able to try and move forward with what we’re talking about. 

Contest submissions are due to the ICSR by April 20.