Participants from the Diversity Fair felt excluded due to the lack of attention being given from their peers. This was held on Dec. 7 causing the participants to miss class.
“The participation and engagement from staff and students left a little bit to be desired,” Mary Dickson said, English language learners teacher and Diversity Council sponsor. “I wish that there were more people that partook in the diversity fair.”
The participants put in a lot of work for this event to be accomplished but did not receive the reciprocal attention. This made Dickson upset as she and her students put in a lot of work for this celebration to happen.
“I just want my kids to be seen and I want everybody to get the chance to see what I see. I think some of the time I see a different side of my kids than what other teachers or other students see,” Dickson said.
The Diversity Fair had a display of multiple styles of trifolds and presentations which included cultural activities such as games, dances, history of a country and much more. Every participant had the chance to show where they were from and what makes them be who they are.
“I love to see how Hispanics always support each other, even though we might have differences and rivalry we always support each other, we will always have this pride from being Hispanic and I think it’s beautiful,” sophomore Hannah Alonso said. “It’s beautiful to see how different races, faces and cultures come together because of being Hispanic.”
Despite the lack of attendance, Diversity Fair participants came together to support each other. For example, Hispanic participants showed their appreciation to other Hispanic countries by visiting each other’s displays.
“Even though a lot of people didn’t come to see my trifold, it was fun to see a lot of people from different cultures, different ethnicities participate in another culture’s game,” Alonso said.
The Diversity Fair participants had been working on their display for the previous two weeks and had very high expectations about the event.
“The Diversity Fair on the students’ part exceeded my expectations. I was so proud of my kids and the effort that they put in and how proud they were to share about their home countries and cultures,” Dickson said.