Over the month of February, Student Leaders for Inclusion Diversity and Equity (SLIDE) have hosted Town Halls. Town Halls serve as an opportunity for students to hold discussions about issues and developments pertaining to specific affinity groups.
SLIDE Advisor Reb Limerick said Town Halls are essential to cultivating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the school.
“Town Halls are an opportunity for students of marginalized identities at the schoolto have their voices centered,” Limerick said. “Importantly, the anonymized notes from these town halls are brought to the SLIDE directed study, and then the students in the class compile those notes, highlight what they think is most pertinent and pressing for this year and then prepare a formal presentation to upper administrators. We’ve had a lot of concrete ideas that have come from the town halls and they have been addressed by administration.”
Olivia Davidov ’28, who attended the MESA x SASA town hall, said town halls provide a crucial space for otherwise potentially uncomfortable conversations.
“As a sophomore, it was my first town hall, and I honestly thought it was really interesting,” Davidov said. “I liked hearing everyone’s different perspectives, especially from student leaders and how they handle different situations regarding identity. Everyone seemed comfortable speaking, which was really important, and the conversation felt honest. I think more meetings like this would be beneficial to the school.”
SLIDE Co-Chair Ivy Wang ’26 said Town Halls have undergone changes this year.
“Because the clubs have to meet during lunch now, there’s more crossover in terms of group collaboration,” Wang said. “Our discussions have also become more specific. For example, this year in our town halls we have a section on community response, which pertains to any complaints over how the school has reacted to certain events recently.”
Michaella Armour ’27, who attended the BLACC x Jewish Club Town Hall, said she enjoyed the collaboration aspect of town hall specifically.
“It is incredible that there is a space on campus for students to be able to share and voice their opinions on what’s happening in our community,” Armour said. “Not just that, but town halls are an opportunity to discuss what students would like to do in order to create change and provide an environment to share their experiences in general. It’s great that SLIDE brings together two minorities and two perspectives to see our differences and similarities.”
SLIDE Co-Chair Nikhil Sarvaiya ’26 said a goal of SLIDE is to ensure Town Halls switch affinity group pairings each year.
“As a group, we try to mix up from year to year which groups collaborate for these discussions,” Sarvaiya said. “In doing so we can ensure students in attendance are able to get different perspectives.”
Matteo Rabizadeh ’28, who attended the MESA x SASA town hall, said he appreciates the environments provided by the upper school’s meetings and Town Halls.
“This year’s town hall felt like a very open space to share things that we care about,” Rabizadeh said. “I felt well heard and represented. It’s important to have designated times to openly share our thoughts and ideas.”
Wang said further collaboration between affinity groups has led to stronger turnout.
“Because the clubs have to meet during lunch, there’s more overlap between collaborations, so a lot of our town halls have been three clubs, not two,” Wang said. “That causes more people to attend. While attendance has been good, it can always be better.”
Slide Co-Chair Dhara Jobrani ’27 said the town halls help to identify recurring issues that can be brought directly to the school.
“One thing that was mentioned in our Town Hall was holding teachers accountable,” Jobrani said. “I feel like we have a great system for holding other students accountable for causing harm in our community, but we’ve had some difficulties with certain teachers about insulting comments. In some cases it’s been the same teachers and yet there doesn’t seem to be much change.”
