STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY
Latinas Unidas: SDC faculty advisors Sarah Briuer Boland and Cassandra Gonzales are ever-present in these meetings, but they are also extremely mindful of the shared leadership approach favored by the council’s members. Ms. Briuer Boland and Ms. Gonzales make themselves available as resources—sounding boards for ideas and planning and liaisons for outreach to staff and faculty. It’s clear they are pleased with the organic growth of the council this year, and the way the leadership has matured. “They’re amazing,” says Ms. Gonzales. “They are so motivated, all of the students in the council, and it’s also a really, really large number.” It seems everyone comes to the SDC for a slightly different reason. Madison Rojas ’23 says, “As a Latina, I have sometimes experienced what it feels like to be excluded, and I wanted to make sure that other BIPOC students at Mayfield didn’t feel that way. Equity and inclusion is something I value very deeply, and it is so important to teach high school students about inclusion so that the future generations become more accepting.” Avalon says, “I feel strongly about the need for inclusion, equity and justice within the Mayfield community. I have a passion and a real desire to make the communities I am a part of better places.” The work of the SDC isn’t contained to just their conversations with each other—their “Actions Not Words” mandate inspires the group to address issues of equity on a broader scale. This can mean things like holding schoolwide conversations on Native American Heritage Month and Eurocentric beauty standards, and attending the NAIS People of Color (POCC) and Student Diversity Leadership (SDLC) conferences. Madison specifically mentions how her participation in this year’s SDLC conference gave her new tools to address old problems. “We all have the ability to change the world,” she says. “This conference gave me hope that my generation can change how we think about JDEI.” And, in spite of the sheer magnitude of work to be done for justice and equity across every sector of our society, Piper shares a similar sense of hope, saying, “There is a world of systemic injustices that we have to cover, and I am empowered to tackle them all.”
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Celebrating the diversity of the Latinx experience T
he first thing you should know about Latinas Unidas is that it’s a group effort. Unusually, there are five club co-heads—Ale Casillas ’21, Adrianna Greenup ’21, Natalia Rodriguez ’21, Stephanie Rodriguez ’21 and Mariana Trujillo ’21. Their 30-member club represents a broad mix of the Latinx community with connections to Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Columbia, Spain and Mexico. But like the name “Unidas” suggests, this group is all about being unified, showing solidarity even while celebrating differences. Ale describes her fellow group members this way: “All of us have beautiful traditions to contribute, truly reflecting the diversity of the Latinx community.” Co-head Stephanie concurs: “I believe that being able to all collaborate together and bring different ideas to the table makes the club stronger and more diverse.” In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, the Student Diversity Leadership Council hosted a virtual all-school assembly in conjunction with Latinas Unidas. Viewers of their digital presentation could click from section to section, introduced by students, with curated video and text content that covered AfroLatinx culture, Latinx artists and Latinx holidays. It even explored the important distinction between terms
like “Hispanic” and “Latinx.” This joyous, energetic approach was not only educational, but also incredibly welcoming and inclusive. “The importance of the presentation was for others to learn about the culture, promote diversity, and have a bigger appreciation for it,” says Mariana. “I definitely feel like we accomplished that.”
“All of us have beautiful traditions to contribute, truly reflecting the diversity of the Latinx community.” — ALE CASILLAS ’21 The five co-heads see an important role they can play for freshmen in particular. They feel driven to make sure this club offers a nurturing environment in which younger members can tap into a sense of empowerment and embrace their leadership skills. “Since we are remote it is challenging to feel a sense of community, especially for the freshmen since they have never been to campus,” says Mariana. “We want these girls to learn about the heritage and culture of Latinx as well as being able to express who they are.”
Interview with
TERESA ROMERO
On César Chávez Day this year, we shared an interview that Latinas Unidas Co-Head Natalia Rodriguez ’21 did with Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers Union—the organization co-founded by Chávez and Dolores Huerta in 1962. Romero described her own immigrant journey and her special passion for advocating for the rights of female agricultural workers, who, she says, still struggle with gender discrimination. “They can pretty much tell you no, I’m not going to hire because you’re a woman,” explains Romero. “[So] when we can have a woman being hired because she’s competent...it is a step forward because not only we are showing people that women can do the work, we’re showing women who are empowering women to fight for themselves.”
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