DENIZ NAZAROVA CIVIC ACTIVISM AND THE ARTS

by Aidin Turganbekov - American University of Central Asia

Deniz Nazarova is a senior at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) doing a double major in software engineering and psychology. Deniz is a mental health activist and the chair of the Student Senate. In this article, she discusses her passion for improving mental health accommodations at the university for the benefit of the student body.

The First Milestone

Deniz is a committed student with a persevering personality. She has worked hard on raising awareness about mental health through her project, expanding it to work in non-governmental organizations, and now works on normalizing mental health issues at her university.

ART AS SELF-EXPRESSION AND CIVIC ACTIVISM

Early on, Denizstarted drawing and making comics about her mental health as a form of self expression When it comes to mental health, "it is not about rationalizing but rather an expression of emotions," she says. She thinks mental health issues are better expressed through visual art because people understand and relate more to things they can see. Deniz has expanded her project to the level of the magazine and now civic engagement.

When Deniz and I met, I was amazed by her consciousness on a personal and social level. "If you want to change the world, then you need to start with yourself," she shares. This is how she started working in the local feminist nongovernmental organization to advocate for women's rights. That first milestone in her beginning of work motivated her to go further and be committed. Deniz also shares that there always needs to be someone to kick off an initiative.

Civic Activism In The Student Senate

As the chair of the student senate, Deniz tries to mitigate problems before they become more prominent, working on the needs of students Her inspiration is to create spaces for marginalized groups whose voices are not often heard. The Senate, in her words, was quite effective. It was hard, at first, to get used to the activities and structural functions.

Deniz is quite humble as she shares that despite her active involvement, the Senate's work was a collective work of colleagues. Their main achievement was to show that students need to pay close attention to voting Among the Student Senate initiatives are the women's rights programs, such as installing menstrual products in all the bathrooms, creating an antiharassment policy, and coordinating and providing shuttle bus service for students staying late. Looking to the future, Deniz’ goals include working on upcoming student Senate elections and a smooth transition/orientation program for the new senators because sustainability is the most important thing. "If something works only for one year, then it is not a good project," she says, then laughs.

A Combination Of Work

Deniz also mentions that it is hard to do civic engagement work and totally detach from your personality, forget about your own struggles, and represent students' needs. It is about numbing all emotions and being more objective and focused. When there is a statement from the Senate, not just Deniz is affected. It involves many meetings and votes—all requiring discipline, resources, and time management. In social norms, there are challenges to being a woman in a leadership project. Last July, OSUN partially helped her initiative in getting additional training through CEU’s "Student as a Citizen" program.