A photograph has the power to capture the emotion of a time and place. It can preserve in time moments of glory, passion, victory and defeat, as well as social injustice. The Black Student Union, along with the Inter-Residence Association, spoke with UVM students about social dominance and began a Microaggression Photo Gallery project Jan. 27. In celebration of Black History Month, the photos taken will become part of a Living and Learning center photo display. The photos will also be catalogued online, and interviews collected will be edited into a mini-documentary.The idea for the project came from a successful BuzzFeed article, titled ?21 Racial Microaggressions That You Hear on a Daily Basis.?A microaggression is an act of nonviolent aggression that is made, intentionally or unintentionally.The aggression is on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class or ability status. Students and staff were asked to sign a release form, speak for 30 seconds before a camera about their chosen microaggression and pose for a photo with their microaggression printed on a whiteboard. Student Roman Christians, who identifies as gay, spoke about microaggressions from within the gay community and the prevalence of slogans such as ?No fats. No femmes.? on gay dating websites. Other students spoke about being told things such as ?I can?t believe you don?t drink,? and ?I can?t believe you don?t believe in God.?A big question for participants: To smile or not to smile? ?Smiling in the photo does not mean you are not offended, but that you have the power to transcend the microaggression,? Career Center counselor Ashley Michelle Fowler said. Inter-Residence Association President, Joseph Oteng, reflected with passersby on the criticism and ?othering? of minorities. Students were encouraged to reconsider their usage of a handful of problematic question phrases, and were asked to sign a ?Normal is Relative? pledge.