Ethics

UNMASKING OUR VOICES!

What could go wrong in 2021 to stall Diocesan’s annual Soapbox Competition? That was the question on the lips of the Ethics Council. We had already experienced two short lockdowns in the first term and feared that we would once again have to organise an online competition without audience participation, as we had in 2020.

And so, we came up with the slogan ‘Unmask Your Voice!’ to launch the 2021 Soapbox Competition. The competition provides us with the wonderful opportunity to express our opinions and speak frankly and freely about issues close to our hearts. Our freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. By voicing our opinions and speaking about what truly matters to us, we can work to bring about positive change in society.

The idea behind Soapbox is to create a safe space in which everyone is free to express their opinions. At the Soapbox assembly, Arielle Friedlander, Deputy Prefect of the Ethics Council, said: “Soapbox offers what is a true safe space, a space of freedom, respect and earnest interest, even with disagreement. By having a range of speakers on varied issues present to a student audience across the first term, and then the finalists in front of the entire school, we have started discussions. These allow our students to feel safe by grappling with their own ideas, knowing that they will have the respect – even though they might disagree – of their peers and teachers.”

During the Soapbox assembly, our MC, James Easteal, moved the final along at a cracking pace and entertained the audience with his amusing jokes. While the judges were deliberating, he rounded up some teachers to present their opinions – something everyone enjoyed.

Ethics Council Prefect Shania Kumar described Soapbox as a pivotal experience when students are encouraged to start talking about issues they want to challenge and progress.

Over Shania’s years at school, Soapbox has provided her with the opportunity to speak on ethical issues such as gender inequality, racial injustice, gene editing, child marriage, body image and stereotypes. It provides a platform to change injustices present in society.

Shania urged the students on, saying: “Our freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. By voicing our opinions and speaking on what truly matters to us, we move forward in bringing about positive change in society. In our current world, it is often difficult to catalyse change and see yourself making a difference. I encourage you to start talking about issues you want to change and progress from there. As Gandhi once said, ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’.”

Congratulations to the 200 girls who shared their opinions with us in heats,

Ethics committee 2021

Senior Soapbox winner Ella Riley.

semi-finals, and in the finals. We heard some amazing speeches on topics ranging from the environment and social media to abortion, animal cruelty and gender inequality. Thank you for your contributions and for sharing your ideas.

Bonnie Liu, a Deputy Prefect of the Ethics Council, spent many lunchtimes judging contestants.

“To hear these amazing young girls unmasking their voices has been so inspiring,” she wrote. “They raised sometimes contentious, yet crucial, questions on various topics such as feminism, social media and wearing makeup. What makes these speeches so empowering is that they related these elements to the way in which we as Dio students are consciously, or even subconsciously, affected. Raising issues, the way these students have done, drives the change towards improvement for society – it does not matter that they are standing outside a cafeteria on a box; voices mean everything, and as a judge, I have come to appreciate this.”

Choosing the finalists was particularly challenging, as all the speakers raised key issues with a great level of engagement. They highlighted the complexity of these issues and the thought they had given them. However, it was the rethinking of orthodox or traditional views, that really made the finalists’ words stand out.

The finalists of the Junior High Soapbox Competition were: Alice Lott (7RO), Amelia Avery (8 RO), Siobhan Murphy (9 SE), and Eloise Voss (8MI). The Senior School finalists were Ella Riley (12NE), Pascale Vincent (11NE), Shania Kumar (13 ED), Alex Wackrow (11CO) and Lizzie Peters (11 CO). They all spoke eloquently and with passion and held the audience’s attention, making the judges’ job a difficult one. But in the end, the winners were Alice Lott who spoke about the uniqueness of Te Reo and Māoritanga and its importance to all New Zealanders, and Ella Riley who spoke about sexual harassment and women’s safety. Congratulations to both of these superb orators.

The Ethics Council is a particularly active group, wonderfully led by Shania Kumar, Bonnie Liu and Arielle Friedlander. This term we are organising EatMyLunch on Diocesan’s birthday, volunteering at the EatMyLunch headquarters, inviting some lunchtime speakers on different ethical issues, and setting up an ethics student newspaper. We will also be organising an ethics evening on 9 September (details to follow).

Junior High Soapbox winner Alice Lott

EXCELLENCE IN ETHICAL THINKING

One of the most important attributes of a well-rounded education is to understand ethical issues. These are the issues that have no right answers, that are complex and deeply challenging in that they are influenced by our cultural and social perceptions as well as our own hegemonies. Standing in the shoes of others to understand issues is so important, and our girls demonstrated the very real success of our Ethics Centre at the North Island Ethics Olympiad hosted by Diocesan in May.

Director Nina Blumenfeld has ensured that through the range of activities at Diocesan, our girls learn how to think beyond their own experience of life to prepare them for worldwide challenges.

At the Olympiad, they took out the gold and bronze medals with their teams. It was thrilling to see the girls represent Diocesan and succeed in this very comprehensive competition. Congratulations to the girls and to Nina for ensuring that the Ethics Centre at Diocesan continues to make a difference for young women.

Gold medal winners: Pascale Vincent, Alex Wackrow, Bharathi Manikandan, Eleanor Christiansen, Maisie Cavanagh, Maia Hunter and Sarah-Rose Crofskey.

Bronze medal winners: Lauren Chee, MacKenzie Marlo, Erika Sessatid, Grace Field, Amelie Thomas, Shania Kumar and Christiana Ballard.