National conference in New Orleans inspires new diversity club

Four Poly students and three faculty members particpated in the conference which aimed to encourage understanding and foster diversity. A new Diversity Club has been inspired by the trip.

By JUSTIN WORLAND
News editor

The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) hosted its 15th annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference last December in New Orleans. A group of four Upper School students and three faculty members participated in the conference, which, according to its program, aims to help students “develop effective cross-cultural communication skills, better understand the nature and development of effective strategies for social justice, practice expression through arts and learn networking principles and strategies.”
Chris Welch of the Black Student Union, Zoe Muñoz of Latinos Unidos, Javier Cienfuegos of the Gay-Straight Alliance and Mary D’Onofrio of the newly founded Diversity Club represented Poly. Upper school history teacher Jose Melgoza, middle school history teacher Robert Farrar and Jenn Foley, Middle School Director, served as chaperones while also attending a separate conference for school faculty members.
During the conference, the 1300 student participants separated into affinity groups based upon how they identified themselves with regard to ethnicity or sexual orientation. Students who felt that that they fit in more than one affinity group chose which one they wanted to join.
Students also separated into family groups, which mixed all the different identifications together. During family group meetings, participants discussed social issues that plague society as a whole. Affinity group meetings focused on issues that were particularly pertinent to that specific group. The affinity group for people of European descent, which D’Onofrio joined, discussed how to be a “white ally” that would aid other groups with the problems minorities face.
The conference also featured a number of speakers including Sir Sidney Poitier and a slam poet named Mayda de Valle. With a smile, Muñoz recounted Poitier’s speech about growing up in the Bahamas where he could not often afford shoes and his eventually moving to the United States, where he became a groundbreaking star. She is still “amazed at how elegant and poised he was.” While also impressed with Poitier’s oratory, D’Onofrio thought Valle’s poetry was the most effective at encouraging diversity. The Diversity Club is currently trying to arrange a time when Valle, who lives in the Los Angles area, can perform at Poly.
Aside from the discussions and the speakers, the students also got the opportunity to enjoy themselves at a talent show where they had the opportunity to display the diversity of their abilities. Outside of the conference, Poly’s group explored the excitement of the newly revitalized post-Katrina New Orleans with Melgoza.
The students discussed how other schools foster diversity; they are looking forward to implementing that knowledge in their own clubs. Muñoz, who attended the conference for the second time this school year, said, “My first time I spent a lot of time talking and being a really active member of the discussions. This year I decided to listen more so that I could absorb more of other people’s ideas.”
The conference was especially exciting for D’Onofrio, who decided to start the Diversity Club after attending. She hopes that the club will help students better understand one another despite differences; looking towards the future, she plans to work to make the student body and the faculty more diverse. The problem, she says, is that students need a broader diversity of perspectives. As an example, D’Onofrio notes that all of her language teachers have been women and that she believes male teachers offer a dramatically different perspective on a language. D’Onofrio also hopes that the school will create a diversity committee composed of parents, faculty members and students to look at other ways the school can encourage diversification.
Another goal of the Diversity Club is to help students see how diverse the community is already. Prior to conference, D’Onofrio “always felt like part of the majority and, therefore, thought that [she] didn’t really have a place.” However, the discussions during the conference allowed her to realize how everyone has a unique heritage even if they look similar. D’Onofrio pointed to her own Italian heritage which she would like to share. A cultural appreciation week where students and parents share traditions and culture would help that understanding. Among her other ideas, D’Onofrio plans on working with the Admissions Department to pair up incoming freshmen with seniors who would identify themselves as part of the same affinity group.
Passionate and ambitious with regard to her new club, D’Onofrio understands that her hopes may be difficult to achieve but she states that “at the very least, I want people to have a better insight and a little bit of exposure to diversity.”