ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES W HY DO WE N EED ALLIE S? Our school values emphasise humility, empathy, and inclusion. We are continually growing and developing as an organisation, spurred by students, alumni, members of our community, and beyond. To gain their perspective, we reached out to some alumni with a few questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, inclusion, and allyship. Here are some of their responses:
WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS
REFLECTING ON YOUR MULGRAVE
WHY IS ALLYSHIP SO IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT FOR A PRESCHOOL
EXPERIENCE, WHAT COULD HAVE
IN A SCHOOL COMMUNITY?
TO G12 SCHOOL TO HAVE
BEEN DONE TO MAKE THE SCHOOL
AN INCLUSIVE AND OPEN
MORE INCLUSIVE OF SEXUAL
ENVIRONMENT, IN PARTICULAR,
ORIENTATION AND GENDER
RELATING TO SEXUAL
IDENTITY DIVERSITY?
ORIENTATION AND GENDER I wish for Mulgrave to consider ways
IDENTITY? I believe everyone has the right to be their truest self and that it’s important starting at a young age to teach this and acceptance. ALUMNA (she/her) | 2011
School should be a place where you
LGBTQ+ education can start at a very early age, such as with an inclusive classroom library. MAC (she/he/they) | 2019
deserves to feel like they can go and talk to someone, feel safe and heard. ALUMNA (she/her) | 2011
that these conversations can become normalised within the school so that no student ever asks “Do I belong here?”. Even something as simple as adding pronouns to the nameplates outside of classroom doors* tells visitors what’s important in our community. AVA THOMPSON (she/her) | 2018
feel safe. It is much harder to focus and learn when you feel unsafe.
Allyship is important as everyone
*We are sharing our pronouns much
What we practice in school shapes a lot of our thinking after we leave. Allyship is so important in a school community because the energy we put into that space is what we will take out of it, too, and being an ally means growing in a space where everyone knows they are welcome. AVA THOMPSON (she/her) | 2018
more deliberately now and have begun with inclusion in our email signatures. Door signs and name badges are being updated, too.
Allyship isn’t just sticking a rainbow flag on the door, it’s listening to the members of that community, educating yourself, standing up for what is right.
Providing information is only one step, but integration needs to follow and that can require more creativity. It was difficult to provide exposure opportunities for students to practice genuine acceptance and inclusion when there were a limited number of ‘out’ queer people within the Mulgrave
Learn the correct terminology, learn what pronouns are, learn the basics of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Avoid making stereotypical jokes or assumptions. By doing this, you are showing active allyship and support. MAC (she/he/they) | 2019
student community. MAC (she/he/they) | 2019
16
