A group of 9th graders from Northwestern High perform “We’ll Be Our Own Critics” skit during the “Seeing Is Believing: Visions of Social Change” event in the Ulrich Recital Hall on Wednesday, April 29.

Nine university students and 20 ninth-graders at Northwestern High School, presented different art forms Wednesday night in Ulrich Recital Hall with a mission to foster social change.

The university students enrolled in the class ENGL 388C: Writing Internship; Writing for Change worked in collaboration with the high school students this semester with a goal of putting on this performance for more than 50 people yesterday.

The performance, titled “Seeing is Believing: Vision of Social Change,” showcased cultural conflicts in society, including gender equality, racial stereotypes, immigration and media misrepresentation.

“We are writing and discussing the importance of social change,” said Anna McAllister, a senior nutrition and food sciences major and student in the English course. “The high school students decide what they want to explore. We help them to get their ideas on paper. As college students, we hope to get their community involved, encourage them to think and start a dialogue about issues.”

The high school students were divided into eight groups during the third annual event with each group paired with a university student. The groups then presented different cultural conflict issues with various forms of art, including videos, stories, drawings, speeches, songs and photographs.

“I am proud of them and impressed with everything they came up with,” said sophomore Olivia Wallick, an English major and student in the course. “Every single student contributed something amazing to the project.”

Justin Lohr, the professor of the writing course, said he was excited to see the performance finally come together. He said he could see how much work the high school students put in to having a voice about important issues in society.

“The goal of the event is to really highlight the knowledge that is in these students and the valuable contribution they make to these issues that we largely don’t see and don’t think of,” Lohr said. “It is remarkably valuable for these 14-year-old teenagers to speak passionately about these things.”

The university and high school students worked together for three months to figure out how to portray combatting social issues through the power of word and performance. The students in the class would go to Northwestern High School every Tuesday to work together, Lohr said.

In addition to social change, the program also places an emphasis on the importance of higher education and signifies a bond between the university and its surrounding community, he said.

“On some level, we help students realize their potential academically, making them aware of the events happening in community and the importance of higher education,” Wallick said.

The collaboration allows for university students to get the high school students thinking about college, Lohr said.

“We hope to expand their imaginations so that college becomes a possibility and an option for them,” Lohr said.