About Us

The purpose of this organization is to amplify the diverse voices and interests of students of color at Yale, and to provide a safe space for those students to be their full selves. DOWN was born because of a dearth of excellent journalism covering the topics that matter to students of color at Yale. Our goal is primarily to provide that coverage. Our secondary goal is to provide a supportive space for students of color to challenge each other to become better writers, and to encourage and train new writers to help them find their voice. We achieve this goal through frequent writing workshops led by people like Mark Oppenheimer, Director of the Yale Journalism Initiative and various faculty members of the English Department at Yale.