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Students Championing Diversity

Earlier this year, DA students Luisa Walker (‘17) and Gabi Salinas (‘16) attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Tampa, Florida. Having both been nominated to attend by DA faculty, the students made the trip in the company of High School science teacher Bradie Zaletel and Lower School theater teacher Katie Bradford, who attended the concurrent NAIS People of Color Conference. The conference proved to be an eye-opening and inspiring experience for Luisa and Gabi. It also provided them with an array of useful skills and ideas for engaging in community dialogue on the issue of diversity.

“I went to this conference because I was hoping to hear what other students from around the country had to say about this topic, and to bring back what I learned from them to DA and make it an even better school,” Gabi said of the conference, which hosted over 1,600 students from independent schools around the country.  
“Diversity goes beyond just race,” Luisa added. “I found it very interesting that there were all kinds of diversity represented at the conference, from racial diversity to learning and religious diversity.”

Students participating in the conference were divided into groups based on their region of the country and their racial identity. They then spent the days participating in workshops and seminars designed for their groups. Activities included fishbowl discussions, opinion polling, lectures, and open-mic-style sessions in which students could discuss their experiences as minority students and receive feedback from their peers.  

“I think the groups provided a safe space for people to speak about difficult things. I got a lot out of my multicultural group because a lot of people shared the same struggles and stories, which was cool; you forget that multicultural doesn’t mean black versus white. I’m half Mexican and half Jewish, and it was cool to meet other people like me, and to meet so many different kinds of people,” Luisa said.  

Having attended this conference, Gabi and Luisa are now more inspired than ever to affect positive change, and are poised to become important voices in their communities as they grow into independent adults. Here at DA, they are planning a project with sixth grade girls that focuses stereotypes and the role assumption-loaded adjectives play in creating stereotypes.  

“It’s the age when girls start noticing that everyone’s not the same,” the girls said. “But we want to show them that the adjectives they use come with all kinds of assumptions when in reality, they’re just words. For this activity, we give them a list of words and ask them to free associate about those words, then unpack their assumptions/associations in a group discussion. The idea is to remove stigmas from words.”  

DA believes it is imperative to participate in discussions surrounding cultural issues such as diversity and social justice in education. These discussions not only open dialogue, but help students think critically and investigate dichotomies in their own world. We look forward to the additional opportunities provided by conferences and speakers to further the worldview of DA students, faculty, and the larger community.
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