Lauren Stebbins, Junior Boarder from Middletown, Connecticut
Two weeks ago our freshly renamed LGBT alliance club, Spectrum, organized a potluck with similar clubs from New Milford, Danbury, and Newtown High Schools. Our club has not organized an event like this in the past so everyone was a little nervous, but very excited about how the event would go. So on a Friday night, we filled a small bus with fourteen of our club members and arrived around six o’clock at Newtown High School. Walking in, we were immediately surprised by the number of students that chose to come. Although we all flocked to the table of food for the first ten minutes of the event and snacked for another five minutes to acclimate to the environment, we all dispersed and met other students and were able to build new friendships quickly through our mutual interests and ideas for our clubs. We laughed over plates of Doritos and shared stories all night. It seemed that we never ran out of things to talk about and were always ready to share our opinions and experiences confidently and comfortably. There was an amazing variety of political topics and pop culture themes that students were excited to talk about and I think our club realized that Spectrum is already a unique club, but the people in it are what make it really special. The experience of walking into a room of strangers and only a few hours later walking out with an entirely new group of friends was incredible and we plan on attending another group event next term!
Westover introduces a theme every academic year for its faculty, students, and staff to reflect on. Teachers are also encouraged to integrate the theme in ways that make sense within their curriculum. An introductory coverage of Human Rights led to a more in-depth investigation of our interfacing with others, when, in 2013-2014, we focused on the theme of The Face of the Other. Similarly, first we must be mindful of who we are and a patient, slowing down of our lives can lead us to the point where it is then necessary to look outward once again to reflect on our interactions with those around us. This shift towards a recognition of our interconnectedness with those around us brings with it a responsibility to one another and to our surroundings. We must not only be aware of this responsibility but also act on it. Justice offers a meaningful framework for how we can responsibly interact with the world around us. In 2015-2016, this will be done by an exploration of responsible action through the lens of the four Rasin Center programs: Community Service, Diversity, Environmental Sustainability, and Global Programs. We will deeply investigate the terms “global” and “justice” and delve into what it means to be a neighbor and to whom. Faculty and students will reflect on the theme year through this blog.
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