By Diana Oh & Vanessa Leung
What is inclusivity? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, being inclusive is the act of including everyone, where no one is excluded. One could say that St. Mark’s is a diverse, inclusive school: After all, its student body does come from a variety of lush backgrounds and variegated cultures. However, could we actually claim that our school community is in fact inclusive when students of different races are sitting at different tables, segregating themselves from students of different backgrounds?
Walking into the dining hall, it is normal for one to see students sitting with their peers and friends. However, upon closer investigation of these groups sitting together, you could clearly see that there isn’t much diversity in the group of students. Students tend to sit together with people of similar race while eating. But this is not just for the dining hall. There are many friend groups in St Mark’s School, and it seems like race plays the most significant role in determining the formation of these cliques. Most students only make friends with people of their same race and culture.
This isn’t because students aren’t willing to interact with students of different races. Instead, it is more of a societal tendency that people have towards being together with people that are similar to them. St. Marks has a diverse community, which means the student body will be composed of people with different cultural backgrounds. While that means that there would be more cultures and thus more diversity, there is a disadvantage to this. Some cultures may view some things as normal, while others may disapprove of them, and small differences in beliefs and habits like this create differences amongst people. People tend to be around people of the same culture or origin because they share similar beliefs and have similar mindsets. They share the same interests, and are more reluctant to the same topics, so it is easy for them to get along and be around each other. However, if two people share completely different views and beliefs, it is only natural for them to not get along as well.
Perhaps one solution that is the most plausible is to force the intermingling of different races by assigning students of different races as roommates. This way, students of different backgrounds will have to inevitably communicate with each other, which may lead to more comfort in terms of knowing each other's cultures.
Another feasible solution is to create an alternate version of seated lunch back in pre-covid times, where students will be seated next to people they usually don’t sit with. That way students have more chances of socializing with students of different backgrounds and races. While the beginning of these interactions may be filled with awkwardness and silence, it is hoped that students will develop better relationships with the people sitting around them, and notice the diverse community that they are in.
There is clearly nothing wrong with alike people socializing with alike peers. However, is this really inclusivity? If our school is an advocate for social diversity, and social inclusivity, students should feel like they belong, and that they are actually ‘included’. There is a huge difference between being a part of a community, and belonging to a community. And currently, many students feel a tangible racial barrier between them and the ‘intentionally small school’ community, when students should really feel at home. If there is no belonging, the full 500 students and faculty members in our school are not part of the community. If there is no belonging, there is no diversity. Thus, we should collectively work to break down this barrier, and defeat the exclusivity.
