#LABELFREE #andJewish showcased the diversity of Jews and Judaism and challenge stereotypes and pre-conceptions about Jews. 

As a project exploring identity by exposing the simple assumptions that too many of us make when we assign labels to others, #LABELFREE #andJewish deliberately played with names, categories, and yes labels. Yet it didn’t ignore the powerful and personal way people choose to identify with some labels as part of a full expression of their unique identity.

Some diversity campaigns or well-intentioned universalists might call on us to imagine a world where “there’s no countries…and no religion too”. At UJS, as a union of students from a minority faith and ethnic community, we promote the rights of all minorities to express their religious, cultural, ethnic and national identities, without fear of hate or prejudice.

The stories of Grace, Ed, Catherine and Alyson are fascinating, personal and poignant reminders that under each of our labels – including those we tussle with and treasure in equal measure (our ethnicity, gender, nationality or religion) – there are distinct, diverse and passionate personalities.

We want to embrace the distinctiveness that enriches the diversity of our student communities across the UK by celebrating the universal way each of us can be free of the labels others assign to us, yet define ourselves with the labels we choose