By Cionnie ’22
Harvard-Westlake strives to be an inclusive community that listens, processes, and values all student voices. It is incredibly important to us that students of color in our community are especially paid attention to because these voices can be easily looked over at a predominantly white institution (PWI). In our fight to raise attention to our students of color, Harvard-Westlake provides spaces for affinity groups, a space for the Student Leaders for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity committee (SLIDE), and the opportunity to attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). These are ways in which opportunities for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work are offered for students who have a passion for social justice and creating a better community at our school.
One of the opportunities that I had participated in this year was the SDLC conference. Regarded highly by students at our school, SDLC was as informing and life-changing as classmates had described it. The conference was online, but it was executed in such a way that I felt as it was in person. By the end of the conference, I had found a new network of students who shared commonalities to my life. All students at SDLC are private school students from all across the country, so from the start, you have one part of your life connecting to hundreds of students attending. Through their affinity groups, I was able to connect with other students who identify as I do. This allowed me to brainstorm ideas for DEI work at my school and confide in other students who attend PWIs. However, my favorite part from the experience is that since attending, I’ve been able to speak to faculty and teachers about how to raise the voices of students of color at HW. SDLC was more than just attending a conference; it was a start to my mission to leave an impact at Harvard-Westlake. It is an opportunity that I was happy I took advantage of and made me feel as though my voice at HW was valued. While we still have a lot of work to do, our Harvard-Westlake community is taking great strides forward in raising the voices of students of color.
