To view the Snapshot with photos and images click here.
On Sunday, January 18, several Stoneleigh-Burnham students attended the Deerfield Student Diversity Leadership Workshop Series. Workshops were led by student representatives of the Asian Students Association, the Deerfield Black Students Coalition, the Deerfield Gay Straight Alliance, the International Club, the Jewish Student Coalition, and the Latin American Society.
An SBS junior from Rwanda, Violet Uwera, shares, "I was excited to know about different religious issues and stereotypes, and to listen to how people feel about these issues." Ornella Umubyeyi '09, also from Rwanda, shared a similar sentiment, "I was happy to find people with whom I could share my experiences and learn from them too. In the Faith/Religion workshop, it was interesting to learn about the differences between faiths, and to examine how my religion affects who I am. It was just a great experience and hopefully there will be more."
Professor Riché J. Daniel Barnes, Visiting Professor of Anthropology in the Department of African American Studies at Smith College, brought the audience to a common understanding of the complexities of difference in her talk, "Growing Up Addie: Conversations on the Quest for Difference." Professor Barnes explored the American Girl Doll™ named Addie-the only African American doll in the catalog who happens to represent the American era of slavery- as an example of why we as people and as institutions must examine the packaged and commercialized forms of diversity.
Professor Barnes invited everyone to engage in challenging conversations with one another about the "murky and precarious" place we term "Diversity," in order to find some common understanding of what the term truly means. "It really made me more aware and conscientious about how diversity is still a major issue today," said Emily Miller '10.
Elisheba Odei, an SBS junior, is already thinking about how to give back to Stoneleigh-Burnham School, "I loved how it was actually a diversity workshop; there were students and adults who represented a diverse spectrum of nationalities, cultures, and identities. I learned so much about how to help others make good choices and how I can be a leader. I look forward to using what I learned at the Diversity Summit to make the SBS community a more culturally aware and accepting place."