News at Buckley

Student-Led DEI Symposia a Success!

The Buckley School’s DEI Symposia kicked off this week -- a series of sessions designed to create spaces for deepening and broadening our community's understanding of the experiences of underrepresented groups. 
Our goal is that students, faculty, and staff come away having gained a deeper knowledge of themselves and others. Each symposium conversation intentionally integrates one or more of our Portrait of Graduate themes, including “creative thinker,” “inclusive leader,” “dynamic storyteller,” and “resilient explorer.”
 
Day one sessions addressed topics that range from mental health to empathy and inclusion:
  • Opening Remarks and Poetry Keynote. Slam poet and inspirational speaker Andre Bradford delivered the keynote, speaking powerfully about empathy and being welcoming of the diversity of identity. He did this by sharing his own experiences with racism and mental health issues.
  • Best Buddies: Bridging People and Creating Friendships. Students shared their personal experiences with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and alum Samantha Garrick ’12, a director of the Best Buddies program, introduced Buckley Upper School students who became involved in the program since its presentation at last year’s symposia.
  • Between Two Worlds: Nostalgia and the Immigrant Experience. Presenters explored the intersections of bicultural identity including the concepts of nostalgia, colonialism, immigration, and our shared history. They clarified common misconceptions about migrants and refugees and highlighted the recent Haitian refugee crisis.
  • AAPI Personal Narratives & Culture At Buckley. AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) faculty, staff, and student presenters told personal stories of discrimination and racism and celebrated aspects of their identity they feel proud of.
Day two sessions addressed topics ranging from racial injustice to activists in the Latino community:
  • Teenline Conversation. Two seniors who volunteer with the peer-to-peer counseling hotline gave opening remarks.
  • The Intersection of Racial Injustice and the Climate Crisis. Student presenters discussed how 17th-century European philosophers shaped the modern world, and how non-Western philosophies and values might help us solve the ecological crisis.
  • Latino Activists: Their Lives and Their Visions. This discussion considered remarkable Latino activists who are not always included in mainstream curricula and how they deserve to be known and recognized for their impact in the U.S. and beyond.
The two-day event ended with a Q & A session with all the presenters from both days. 

Middle School students participated in a one-day DEI Symposium on Thursday, October 7. 
 
Thank you to Interim Director of DEI Chuck Neddermeyer and  Interim Assistant Director of DEI Sabine Abadou for their leadership. 
 
Kudos to our AAPI affinity group for their courage to share their insight and experience. Finally, thank you to our presenters including: 
  • Students Archer B., Avery B., Barbara N., Carlos J., Carys L., Chloe W., Cyrus A., Dakota G., Damaris C., Daniel G., Elika S., Eva A., James S., Liam T., Madison P., Mimi K., Nicole N., Rachel B., Sara A., Sophia J., Vivian C., Yasmin A., Zoha P.
  • Faculty members Ms. Capretta, Mr. Kohn, Ms. Palaskas, Ms. Abadou, Mr. Wong, Mr. Dalle, Sra. Salazar, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Neddermeyer 
  • Keynote speaker and slam poet Andre Bradford
  • Guest speakers Samantha Garrick, Lucy Meyer, and Amir Geva
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