MSU Diversity + Equity Network launches revamped street series

MSU Diversity + Equity Network to bring advocacy back to the streets, aiming to spark conversations on equity, diversity and inclusion on campus

On Mar. 11, 2025, the MSU Diversity and Equity Network announced on Instagram that the Diversity on the Street series, giving students a chance to win prizes while sharing their thoughts on campus life and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Diversity on the Street is an Instagram reels series that amplifies the voices and thoughts of McMaster University students on diversity and equity. In each episode, a DEN executive engages with students on campus, asking questions about equity, diversity and inclusion while also raising awareness about the services DEN provides. 

This past month, DEN released the first episode of the series, titled "Hot Takes for Hot Chips," where they asked McMaster students to share their hottest takes. This episode aimed to celebrate the diversity of opinions within the community. 

Aisha Mahmoud, a social and political advocacy coordinator for DEN, shared her experience working on the series and its goals. She explained that DEN aims to engage students in a way that is both interactive and reflective of popular social media formats. She also emphasized that the series aims to highlight the diversity of the McMaster community.

“DEN is a service that is still finding its identity. One of the best ways that we can show who we are to students is by creating a really authentic online presence, and just putting ourselves out there by actually meeting people,” said Mahmoud. 

Mahmoud also noted that the second episode will focus on what music students are currently listening to, with each person being asked to rate the previous song. The third episode will feature a Jeopardy-style format, where students answered questions about MSU services.

She explained that previous videos focused on diversity, equity and inclusion but they did not seem to engage students in the way DEN had hoped. As a result, DEN sought to explore different ways of showcasing diversity through these interviews.

Mahmoud mentioned that the second episode was designed to engage students with a variety of musical genres and introduce them to new artists or cultures.

“The idea is that by asking the next student to rate the previous song, we’ll be introducing them to a genre, artist, or culture they haven’t interacted with before,” said Mahmoud. 

Mahmoud shared that the third episode was inspired by DEN’s recent mandate change a few years ago when it became a peer-support service. DEN wanted to better understand what students already knew about peer-support services and what they wanted from DEN’s peer support offerings. 

“Everything we thought of [for the episodes] was still informed by celebrating and showcasing the diversity on campus, but maybe in ways that people wouldn’t necessarily expect,” said Mahmoud. 

She emphasized that the goal was to record the videos in places where students already gather and feel comfortable, such as the McMaster University Student Centre and The Hub. 

Mahmoud also shared her vision for expanding the series.

“It would be really cool if we continued this style of interviews at ClubFest, going around and introducing some of the cultural clubs or diverse groups in a street interview style,” said Mahmoud. 

She also noted that they wanted to create a legacy for the series, ensuring that despite turnover from the academic year with new members joining and executive members graduating, the series would remain a consistent presence.

“We want to have a recurring series so that the identity of the service and our social media presence has one consistent throughline despite that turnover,” said Mahmoud. 

The next two episodes will be released in the coming weeks. For more information and to watch the series, students can follow DEN on Instagram.