Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (SLIDE) partnered with Upper School affinity groups to host Town Hall discussions related to the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives Feb. 3-14 in Munger 104. The event provides a forum for students to share experiences, engage in thoughtful discussion and voice concerns regarding DEI at the school.
Visual Arts Teacher and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion coordinator Reb Limerick said the purpose of the events is to create a safe space for students to voice their thoughts.
“The idea is for students to practice intersectional conversations and find overlaps or commonalities between different marginalized groups,” Limerick said. “All the Town Halls begin with acknowledgment of it being a safe space and that students should be open to sharing their honest opinions and that experiences and stories might be shared with administration, but they will remain anonymous. It is a way for students to have their voices heard, be honest and give vital feedback that the student leaders can funnel directly to administration in hopes of seeing positive change in the school.”
SLIDE leaders compile feedback from participants and work with the administration to implement actionable changes to current DEI policies based on common areas of concern.
SLIDE leader Dylan Wuo ’25 said that leaders hope to create a low-stress environment where students feel they can honestly reflect on their experiences.
“Through Town Halls, we hope to provide a place where students don’t feel pressured to respond [in] certain ways and that the feedback we get can be as truthful as possible,” Wuo said. “This is an event where we can connect student responses to the improvement of the school as a whole. Thus, we aim to gather themes across student comments as well as tackle more specific issues that students felt needed to be addressed.”
Asian Students in Action (ASiA) member Isabella Zhang ’27 said being a part of an affinity group has helped her feel more connected to the community.
“It’s nice to be a part of an affinity group because there are people who you can relate to because we are all in a different country,” Zhang said. “We can share struggles that we experience while being in a foreign country, as well as respect and learn more about other people’s cultures while celebrating and learning more [about] our own.”
