The New Humans of YorkU

Alexia Lawson, Arts Editor
Featured images courtesy of Humans of York U
Since its launch in 2010, the popular Humans of New York blog featuring street portraits and interviews has catapulted in popularity beyond the Big Apple. It has inspired many others of its kind, each leading a new trail as it gives voice to the community it represents.
Meet alumnus Mohammed Khan, and third-year kinesiology student Amina Khan, the photographers and writers behind the Humans of YorkU Facebook page. The brother-sister duo founded HOYU in November, which has grown to have a following of over 1,600, capturing the vitality of the York community.
Like many initiatives, the idea for HOYU was inspired from failure. Mohammed describes a day when he and a friend spontaneously walked around campus, asking to take photos of people. “We tried it but it wasn’t a success initially,” he says. Camera intimidation played a big role.
That same evening, as Amina and Mohammed ate poutine at Hero Burger, Mohammed shared the story of the failed attempt. Amina was ecstatic.
The two began to plan their ideas and establish objectives, one of them being to share York in a positive way, contrast to the flack it often gets.
“It is a goal of ours to shed a more positive light. I feel it’s a reflection of my brother and I,” says Amina. “We both like to see the good in things.”

As siblings, the two grew up close and were very artistic, making them the perfect duo for this project. “We both grew up sketching, painting, and all that, so it was a really cool opportunity for us to be able to collaborate on a project,” says Mohammed.
The page has since featured over 30 people, with stories ranging from everyday norms to more personalized ones. Amina and Mohammed set up these interviews in one of the two ways: either pre-arranged, or after spotting a student doing something interesting on campus, they would approach them, tell them about the page, and ask to interview them.
Far from seeming unreachable, the Khans are open to featuring anyone. “We give everybody who shoots us a message an opportunity to be on the page,” says Mohammed. “We don’t like to pick and choose.”
Their openness in including everyone stems from their philosophy that everyone has a story to share.
“A lot of the time I get this reaction where the person will ask, ‘Why do you want to interview me? I have nothing interesting to share’,” says Amina. “But that’s the beauty with what we do. Something can be really ordinary to someone else, but there’s something so beautiful that can come out of it. Even things as simple as, ‘I’m late for my class.’ Everybody can relate to that.”
HOYU has also been a learning curve for the founders as they often address sensitive topics. In recognition of Black History Month, the page shared stories and perspectives on race, inequality, and privilege.
“It was really interesting because we went out and asked questions about race, equality, and blackness and all these things were really new for my brother and I,” says Amina. “It’s just not something that people talk about so easily.”

However, the experience has been rewarding as Amina describes with gratitude.
“Normally people have to go through things to gain a new perspective. I’ve gained these perspectives without going through these experiences. For me, that’s been so enlightening and powerful and something that I really cherish,” says Amina.
A lot of their technique is inspired by Humans of New York founder, Brandon Stanton, whom they describe as an incredible person. They refer to his video on how to approach and interview people. There they learned techniques such as crouching to be less intimidating if you’re taller that the interviewee. Their compact Sony camera with interchangeable lens also works in their favour.
“It’s really good to shoot with because it’s less intimidating. It’s smaller, so people aren’t overwhelmed when you have that bulky thing in your face,” says Mohammed.
HOYU isn’t the only one of its kind at York. Other HONY-inspired pages abound, representing faculties and colleges, including Humans of LA&PS, Bethune, Calumet, Glendon, and its main contender, Humans of York University. However, the Khans did not see these as a hindrance to having their page. They found a distinct voice, particularly through their photo quality and content. While Amina was not aware of the other pages at the time of their launch, Mohammed credits them for being 50 per cent of the motivation to launch HOYU.
“I was looking at the quality of the photos and thought, this is not doing our university justice,” says Mohammed confidently.

However, some were concerned about the new page’s presence.
“I remember the day we launched the page and made it public. Someone asked me, ‘Did you ask these other pages if you could do that?’” says Amina reflectively. “We still respected those groups and wanted them to be able to share their content, but we didn’t want any of that to stop us from doing what we’re doing.”
HOYU is also finding ways to stand out from other HONY spin-offs that represent Ontario universities such as Western and McMaster through interviewing professors, TAs, and York community members. One post shares a photo of a child named Jaejin, captioned, “I caught him having a light snack by Vari Hall, probably to energize for a three hour lecture.”
Amina and Mohammed have taken a more anonymous role, hoping that their content will speak and inspire. “Our biggest thing is for people to enjoy the content, enjoy the stories, enjoy the faces that they see around York,” adds Amina. “Spark conversation with the people that you see in the hallways or the classrooms. Talk to them, because there’s so much you can learn from them, and surely things they can learn from you too.”
HOYU has brought a “human-like” element to the campus, as it gives voice to narratives not often spoken.