From volunteering to teaching projects, the U’s Honors College engages with the broader Salt Lake City community.
One of the most unique ways they do this is through an Honors course called Humanities in Focus. An 11-year-old program that teaches students everything about making films, the course brings in people from outside the U to create documentaries. Most of the students are nontraditional students who have never had the opportunity to achieve higher education.
Jeff Metcalf, an Honors professor who often teaches the course, said it’s a great way to shed light on overlooked aspects of society.
“We make documentary films, and we talk about issues in social justice — we make movies about domestic violence, what it’s like to be homeless, to be a refugee. They are very powerful documentaries,” Metcalf said.
On Monday the students in the class will present their documentaries. The event begins with appetizers and mingling at 6 p.m., with the screenings starting at 7:15 p.m.
The screening will feature the five films produced over the course of this last semester. The films range in topics ranging from homelessness in Salt Lake City to the process of coming to the United States as a refugee.
In addition to the engaging topics, it is also interesting to note that most of the students do not have backgrounds in film.
“We have engineers, history majors, physics majors, but this year we actually do have two film students, which has never happened before,” Metcalf said. “We hope that we have people who are in other colleges, because the project helps you understand the richness of people. You meet people who you normally considered invisible.”
Aaron Hoenig, a student who’s taken the Humanities in Focus class previously, produced a documentary called Inn Between about a hospice facility for the homeless population of Salt Lake City.
“The few times I went there to film were some of the most eye-opening moments for me because it really hit me that many of these [wonderful] people may not be around in a few weeks,” Hoeing said. “Everyone has a story to tell, whether it’s their own or others, and I feel like this class helps you bring that story out and share it with the world.”
Metcalf said he is enthusiastic about the upcoming screening.
“If you watch these five documentaries, I guarantee it will change your life,” Metcalf said. “You will think about things completely differently. There’s no way you won’t be affected by these documentaries.”