On January 31 and February 10, Choate held two Community Conversations on male identity and Muslim identity, respectively, in Colony Hall. Students and faculty alike stood up to share personal experiences and educate the community on the unseen and unacknowledged aspects of their identities.
When asked about her thoughts on the Community Conversations, the Dean of Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Rachel Myers, shared,“I think the conversation went really well. I appreciate anyone who is willing to be honest and vulnerable enough to share their thoughts, feelings, or lived experiences for the benefit of shedding ignorance in this diverse community.” Community dialouge starts conversations on experiences and challenges necessary for collective improvement of such struggles. “It was really helpful to learn about the things our male students are struggling with, and proud of, as well as ways we can improve the experience of Muslim community members at Choate,” Dr. Myers added.
While these conversations are a great way for the community to come together and connect as a whole, Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion Ms. Jillian Forgue found many questions challenging to answer. “It was illuminating, in that [some] questions had really robust answers versus the ones that maybe no one wanted to answer,” she commented. “That gives you a lot of information about where the community is at and what conversations might be better suited to an affinity space.”
More broadly, many community members expressed a lack of personal connection to the conversations despite the variety of topics that have been addressed this year. Topics for Community Conversations are submitted through a Google form and questions are generated in the same manner. Since there is a limit on the number of Community Conversations each year, the Google form is a way for members of the community to select what they believe needs to be discussed most. However, some identities are consequently left out of the pick. For example, there have been no conversations on female identity or other religions in the 2022-2023 school year. Nevertheless, as someone who identifies as neither Muslim nor male, Ms. Forgue said, “I feel like there is something to be learned from all of the [community conversations]. There’s this concept of windows and mirrors and windows are insights into other people’s lived experiences that you don’t necessarily connect with because it’s not your experience. And a mirror is someone who reflects your own lived experiences and I found that these have all been windows for me, not mirrors.”
Even though many members of our community have not personally identified with our community conversations so far, there is still meaning to be found in learning about others’ experiences.
