This section summarizes the student’s data-gathering process and key findings from survey, interview, or other inquiry methods.
Over the past month I have been questioning the ways that our very own UVU community members have viewed community organizing. Because I find community organizing simple. The act of bringing people together for the purpose of “creating relationships that advocate for change.” Following this line of questioning I have also worked to understand how individuals' inter-personal circles have impacted their view on community organizing and their participation in community organized events. My data gathering was done via a Qualtrics survey and was distributed via the snowball method. For one of the prompts, I had the surveyed rate a statement out of one through ten depending on if they agreed with the statement. The statements and results I would like to highlight is the statement “I would attend a community event if I knew someone attending” and “I would attend a community event alone.” These two questions are helpful in understanding the impact that active community members have on their inter-personal social circle. The average score of someone who would attend a community event if they knew someone was 8.89/10. This average can be seen as high when compared with the average score of someone who would attend a community event alone is 3/10. There are a variety of hypotheses that justify these results. However I believe it's best to listen to the individuals who make up these results. I asked another question regarding what community organizing meant to them. One of the interviewed said:
“It means thinking about someone else than yourself, learning from others, and challenging what you thought you knew/didn't know.”
It is hard to get into the space of thinking about someone else at first. But after practice it comes naturally. I find that most people simply need that first push into community organizing. Whether that be inviting your neighbor to your next game night or telling your co-workers about a city council meeting you plan to attend. Inviting your friends into parts of your community helps you to bring people from different origins together. Others said when questioned about the meaning of community organizing:
“Actively engaging in making positive social change, while ensuring that all decisions are made thoughtfully, strategically, and ethically”
I found this answer in particular rather interesting. While most of the results focused on specific events and experiences, this answer highlighted the importance of the impact. The value that comes from analyzing an issue and analyzing the impact of the solution on the issue. Some stated that community organizing did not mean anything to them while others said that it was as easy as bringing people together. One said:
“I feel like community organizing doesn’t have to be in activism towards something, but at the bare bones just getting together with your community to share your time and appreciation for one another.”
Sharing your time and appreciation for one other. At a fundamental level, people come together to enjoy each other. It is helpful to have a greater understanding of why your organization brings people together. Because to understand the impact of your community organizing is to understand the value of it.
Community Partner Discussion
This section shares insights from a community partner interview, connecting their perspective to the Pathway theme.
For my community practitioner interview I was lucky enough to be a part of a Q&A with the director of the film American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez. A film which later won the Sundance Audience Award: Best U.S. Documentary Award and the Festival Favorite Award. American Pachuco has its roots tied with activism. Luis Valdez is a pioneer in the activist theatre world. He wrote the world renowned plays Zoot Suit and Los Vendidos as well as writing and directing the world renowned films La Bamba and Zoot Suit. He was born in Delano, California to a family of migrant farmworkers and began working in the fields at 6 years old. (Brehm, 2024)
Despite his intermittent schooling, he found his love for theatre at school. The first time Luis auditioned he was cast as the lead character. But right as the show was set to open his father got the truck fixed, and the family moved away. Valdez said: “That left an unfillable gap, a vacuum I’ve been pouring myself into ever since.“ (Brehm, 2024) He won a scholarship to San Jose State University in 1960. Then in 1965, after graduating with a B.A in English with an emphasis on playwriting from San Jose State University; He went home to Delano and joined the newly formed United Farm Workers Union under the leadership of César Chávez.
The agricultural industry was exploiting workers through unjust labor practices. The United Farm Workers Union fought against these unjust practices. In the United Farm Workers Union Luis fought for the rights of just wages, sanitary working conditions, and union recognition. While Luis started as an organizer in the UFW, he quickly saw the ways his talents in writing and theatre could be helpful to the cause. Luis used the power of theatre to uplift the spirits of striking workers while entertaining and educating new workers on strike. He founded the now famous El Teatro Campesino (The Farm Workers’ Theater). On the Delano Grape Strike picket lines they would put on satirical plays for the striking workers. These satirical plays while hilarious and engaging also maintained a biting critique of the agricultural industry.
During the Q&A the question of whether there is a place for theatre within activism and community organizing was posed. The filmmaker's answer was:
“I think it would be incredible if more people did it. Because of the world of social media, you know, to actually experience something live with an audience is even becoming a more special thing. I’m not saying we don’t need social media but we should find out more ways to connect live.”
While social media dominates the media landscape it's easy to forget about the many ways to organize communities. Social media is a valuable tool in community organizing but it should not be seen as the only tool. Theatre however, has something that social media will never have. People within the theatre community consistently talk about the importance of ephemerality in theatre. The power of real people in the moment connecting with the story and performers in a live setting. This type of connection is invaluable to community organizing. Community organizing & activism works to bring people together and fight for a common cause. Theatre and many of its sibling arts work to facilitate that connection. Whether through song and chant or through comedy and satire, the power stories and art hold is valuable in the fight for solidarity.
This section summarizes readings and research related to a relevant topic within the student’s Pathway and connects them to larger patterns or themes.
In tragic news that shocked people everywhere on March 27th 2025 the Sundance Institute announced that they were leaving Utah. This decision will have major implications for Utah's artistic and cultural scene as well as Utah's economy. The Sundance Film Festival, first known as the U.S. Film Festival, was first founded in 1978. The festival brought together US filmmakers to help showcase new and upcoming films. Through the years Sundance has flourished creatively. However, Sundance has always been politically liberal leaning. Something that Utah legislators have disagreed with. But the Sundance Institute says that the legislature was not the main consideration they took into account. The Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough said:
“This decision was informed by a detailed evaluation of the key components essential to creating our Festival. During the process, it became clear that Boulder is the ideal location in which to build our Festival's future, marking a key strategic step in its natural evolution,”
The Sundance Film Festival Director and Head of Public Programming Eugene Hernandez said
“The Sundance Film Festival’s move to Boulder, Colorado in 2027 preserves and builds on its four decade journey. Together we continue to create a Festival that acts as a vibrant space for independent films and filmmakers to shine. A place where each January, a community of artists, industry, and audiences can gather to discover what’s new in global storytelling...This city is ready to embrace emerging and established global storytellers, our staff and volunteers, and, of course, global audiences. Whether you are a Sundance Film Festival regular, or someone who has dreamed of experiencing the Festival in person, we invite you to join us in January 2026 in Utah and then come along to nearby Colorado in 2027.”
While the head executives are quite excited about the move the volunteers and employees have a more mixed response. After talking with many of the volunteers during the 2025 and the 2026 Festival, it seems they were more concerned about the logistics of moving the whole festival in a year. Many were also concerned at the possibility of more employee positions being turned into volunteer positions. However the hope is that Boulder will revitalize the Festival and bring back that sense of community it once had.
For many, the truth is that Boulder had a better offer than Utah did. Boulder offered more money, has legislature that is more liberal leaning, and is a fresh place for Sundance to see some new faces. In the world of Indie-films building communities full of young people and new faces is valuable in the ever changing cultural landscape.
Community Resources
This section highlights helpful tools or guides that support real-world application of the Pathway.
It is always valuable to know your rights when protesting. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has created a helpful pamphlet that showcases the rights protesters have when protesting. It also provides the rights organizers have for organizing a protest.
Cutting Through Rocks the documentary about Sara Shahverdi, the first woman elected to a village council in northwest Iran. Sara fights for women’s rights, battles patriarchy, stops child marriages, and advocates for equality. In Sara’s activist work, we can see the ways she fights for women's civil liberties.
What is activism is the TEDxYouth talk given by Anjali Appadurai about defining activism. She talks about the importance of getting past fear and instead utilizing hope as a motivator for change.
This section reflects on a firsthand or immersive experience related to the Pathway topic.
For my immersive experience I went to a Sundance Film Festival showing titled Birds of War. The documentary was a harrowing tale of activism, love, community, and perseverance. During the film, love blossoms between Janay Boulos, a London-based Lebanese journalist, and Abd Alkader Habak, a Syrian activist. Their relationship started as a working one. “Abd was a cameraman in Aleppo and Janay was a journalist in London working at the BBC” (Alkader Habak, Boulos; 2026). Janay would ask Abd for any stories or photos he had. In return, he could show the world updates on the activism and the internal struggle within his country. As they continued their correspondence they started to slowly fall in love with one another. She would go on work trips to his country but he was unable to visit her. He then crossed the border between Syria and Turkey to be with his love. In Turkey they were married and continued to advocate for their homes. They later moved to London and continued their advocacy and documentary work.
Before the film started the directors, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, were able to introduce themselves and talk briefly about their story. They spoke about how they hoped the film would reach the hearts of the audience and light a spark from within. For them, the film is about “Love in the face of conflict and of fear born of politics and war.” (Alkader Habak, Boulos; 2026) Habak was known before this film as “the ‘symbol of the revolution’ when a photo of him rescuing a child became viral.” (Alkader Habak, Boulos; n.d.) This virality however, put him in a dangerous situation.
When watching this film, it's hard not to get teary eyed. I attended the showing with some friends of mine and by the end our eyes were cloudy. The directors themselves said: “We didn’t know if any love could survive the violent and devastating conflict.” But the roots of love, it seems, must be grown from anywhere. From grasslands to rubble. The activism shown in Birds of War is seen with a dire yet complex lens. In the film they examine the feelings surrounding the way social media has, to an extent, attempted to digitize activism. Seeing major conflicts conspire in your home land through your phone. Watching video after video and feeling hopeless to do anything. However, this hopelessness is a lie sold to you, to all of us. We can act and in Birds of War that is exactly what they do. They start filming again, they go to protests in London, they start building communities. They break through the feedback loop we so easily find ourselves in.
There is one more question asked, should you stay in the new safety you’ve found or go back to continue the work you had started. This answer does not come easily. For many of us, we did not choose this work. We did not choose a world of discrimination and injustice. But we inherited it. There is a comfort in knowing that. A comforting solidarity in knowing that you are not the first or the last to continue the struggle. So fight on, for you are in good company.
This section offers closing reflections and invites readers to consider how they can apply the insights in their own lives and communities.
Many of us feel trapped, isolated, doomed. We are not doomed; However it is an understandable feeling to have. You may feel as though the world itself is fighting against you and your cause. That you are alone. In these moments of utter depression and complete despair it may seem as though there are few things to be done. That we must endlessly watch the despair in every part of the world. That we must scroll through the neverending torturous truth of our reality. In these horrifyingly closed off moments we must remember the power in solidarity. There is no loneliness in the solidarity of community. There is no isolation in the serene pastures of camaraderie. We must organize as a community.
When we join together for the common good, we fight for our past and our future. There will be times when the world breaks you; when it seems as though nothing has changed. In these moments we must ask to be hoisted onto our comrades shoulders. To join them in arms in the sweet countryside of comforting solidarity; Knowing we are not alone.
As Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior once said:
“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.”
Activism is only one of many ways that you can get involved. If you see news about an upcoming protest, first research who is organizing it. Then see if their values align with your values. If you have decided that the protest aligns with your values go to the protest. Make signs that showcase why you are protesting. Then get into contact with the organizers of the protest. Ask them what would be most helpful. Work within your community to find and address the real issues at hand.
