According to Andover’s website, “Youth From Every Quarter” is a “core part” of its mission. During my time at Andover, I have definitely recognized that diversity is an important aspect of the school. I’ve met people from so many different backgrounds, and it’s been really interesting to learn about other peoples’ cultures and who they are. However, diversity shouldn’t simply be a fact about a school that’s stated on their websites. Although diversity is present on campus, their efforts to support a diverse school can not stop there; rather, Andover should take steps towards building on the surface-level diversity we have now. Andover has already firmly established a diverse community on campus, with many people coming from all across the globe, and this is not an easy task to accomplish. As a Korean person that comes from the opposite side of the world, it’s respectable that a high school has worked so hard to build a robust community full of different people. In some ways, the school has already fulfilled its mission in diversity, but lacks any urgency to spark intercultural curiosity . We need more opportunities to immerse ourselves in the cultures of those around us. The admirable diversity that the school has accomplished should be appreciated, but now it is time for us to strive towards the next destination: spreading the genuine understanding of this diversity.
Cultures are multifaceted: there are numerous aspects of each culture that many people may not be familiar with. At first glance, it may seem like a culture is simply made up of a certain food or what people like; however, there are also important parts of cultures like social etiquette, traditional beliefs, and more. That is why I believe that the school needs to make changes in celebrating the cultures represented here at Andover. As of now, Andover has EBI sessions for its students, and there are also multiple affinity groups. Yet, these fall short in truly immersing the students into a culture because not enough time is dedicated to a specific culture, and this lack of depth prevents the appreciation of unique cultures campus-wide. For example, events can be organized and hosted that allow people to learn more nuanced, meaningful components of a culture. These events don’t have to be complicated; they can simply have people that volunteer to talk about their cultures or provide cultural foods for other people to try. Little baby steps taken to dive deeper into the cultures of the students here can effectively enforce Andover’s pursuit for diversity. In my dorm, Fuess House, we have started doing flag presentations every dorm meeting on Sundays. Throughout the common room, there are various flags of countries that all the dorm members and house counselors represent. The person presenting shares the flag’s significance and the culture behind it. Throughout these ceremonies, I often find myself breaking common stereotypes, like properly educating myself on the culture to eliminate any wrong ideas I may have had, and indulging myself with the beauty of diverse cultures. Short yet memorable events like these are amazing ways to learn just a bit more about the cultures at Andover, in addition to strengthening the community.
I envision a future at this school where “Youth From Every Quarter” doesn’t just signify a diverse student population. I see the possibility of a community that has thoroughly invoked a sense of curiosity in the cultures that it is representing. The deepening of understanding doesn’t have to be rushed; it will happen naturally once the students and faculty discover that there’s so much to be done with “Youth From Every Quarter”. A natural desire to learn more about cultures will expand all across campus once impactful events of learning take place.
I am not discussing this topic to blame and criticize the school. I am talking about this to improve a community thriving with a bright, student body, that’s already thriving so well, and to utilize the immense cultural potential that Andover has. We don’t need to take any big actions or use a lot of time in order to achieve a deeper understanding of different cultures. We can accomplish the goal by taking it little by little, and these small-scale endeavors will start to add up. All we need to do is recognize that there are actions that should be taken to further support Andover’s value of “Youth From Every Quarter”, and follow through with those actions with an open mind.
