See Me Series at SEMO explores diversity through 'Hidden Figures'

Academic Hall sits behind banner Oct. 16, 2017 at the Southeast Missouri State campus in Cape Girardeau.

Ben Matthews

Southeast Missouri State University’s Department of Mass Media will present its fourth annual See Me Series from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30, at Rose Theater.

The theme of the free event is “Hidden Figures”, which is inspired by a 2016 film that tells the “remarkable story of three African American women who made vital contributions to NASA’s space missions despite facing both racial and gender-based challenges.”

“Hidden Figures is a powerful movie that inspires us to do better,” Pam Perry, this year’s moderator and mass media professor at SEMO, said in a news release. “I hope our conversations about discrimination of all kinds help us to eradicate them and to understand how we can contribute to true diversity, equity and inclusion.”

This year’s panel consists of Department of Mass Media chair Tamara Zellars Buck, associate professor of Nursing Vera Campbell-Jones, Film professor Fred Jones, Multimedia TV/Film major and Sports Management minor Kendal Lewis and junior Public Relations and Marketing student Leola Poe.

“I have been pleased with the participation we’ve seen in the See Me Series since its inception. The interdisciplinary nature of the program makes it an opportunity for faculty from different disciplines to incorporate media topics into their coursework,” Buck said. “In particular, I love how this year’s film demonstrates the impact public relations has on public perception. Corporate, government and nonprofit organizations are all reconsidering their treatment of people from marginalized identities and finding new ways to connect with those communities. This event allows us to have a public discussion about that, using the film as our starting point.”