Groton’s Cultural Alliance, which was initially established as an affinity group for Black students in the seventies, has evolved over the past few decades to become a more diverse student initiative for inclusion and belonging. Their goal is to make a difference within the Groton community through community gatherings and discussions focused on acceptance and belonging. By attending conferences with other independent schools, this year’s Cultural Alliance heads are looking to consider racial and societal issues both at Groton and around the world.
The Cultural Alliance, led by Ms. Carolyn Chica, Riya Varkey ’23, Tyler Santana ’23, Larry Li ’23, and Olivia Fayemi ’23, discusses a variety of topics centered around social justice issues. It is a community-focused group that educates its members on issues such as cultural appropriation versus appreciation and provides a space for students to connect with one another and share experiences. “It’s a more intimate environment, and we are direct with what we are trying to accomplish,” said Riya, “We’re not trying to tackle every issue at once. Rather we’re focused on issues concerning identity and on having inclusive conversations to talk to everyone.”
This past December, the Cultural Alliance traveled to San Antonio, TX, to attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Students from various independent schools gathered to share their opinions and perspectives on issues concerning race, gender, identity, and more. “It was similar to a community gathering at Groton but for two days straight,” said Larry. “Through affinity groups,” Tyler said, “I was able to speak openly to people I had only known for a few hours. Everyone was comfortable talking about vulnerable topics and being honest even though for the most part it was a gathering of strangers.” Larry added, “There was comfort in the anonymity in the conversations. I felt like there was no obligation to be perfect, and you could be vulnerable without judgment.”
One of their main takeaways from the conference was that although Groton has made a lot of progress in the past few years, there is still a long way to go. Groton has gaps it needs to fill, and the Cultural Alliance hopes to mend this by implementing what they learned at the SDLC on campus. “I found the gender spectrum interesting because I was able to hear from people who don’t identify with the binary, which I had never really experienced before the conference,” said Riya. “There are lots of other identifiers that we don’t really go into depth with at Groton such as ability, family dynamic, and gender. I think it would be great to talk more about these topics at Groton.”
The Cultural Alliance is looking forward to sharing what they learned at the SDLC with the community through discussions and community gatherings. In the future, they hope to bring in more speakers to educate and spread empowering messages to the community.
