Whittier April 2017

Page 1

The

THEME: SUSTAINABILITY

Whittier Miscellany

Evie Kortanek ’18

SINCE 1884 • WILMINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER • WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

Wilmington Friends School.

Just mercy event inspires reflection at wfs Diversity plays a pivotal role in the Wilmington Friends Community. Students strive for inclusion and representation through the many clubs that focus on promoting and celebrating the differences found among community members at WFS. The Diversity Committee in particular has taken the task of promoting diversity in our community. An anonymous student remarked, “I find it great that our student body chose to create a student group that is not just focused on the African American community but also focuses on other ethnicities.” The Diversity Committee took the next step by inviting the Wilmington Friends community to read and reflect on the book, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The committee encouraged people to bring their thoughts on the book to an organized event with a facilitated discussion of its prevalent themes. In his book, Stevenson, a lawyer, follows multiple cases of people who have been mistreated and misjudged by the US justice system. Stevenson was a young attorney when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, which was a legal practice “devoted to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned, and those without hope.” One of the most striking cases in Just Mercy was that of Walter McMillan, a young man sentenced to die for a murder he did not commit. The case drew

Stevenson into a problem of “race, lies, cover-ups, and corruption, ultimately transforming his understanding of mercy and justice forever.” Students, faculty, and parents came together to speak about the difficult topics discussed in the book,

not otherwise be confronted with in the bubble of our daily lives. Stevenson’s story is heartening both in the enormity of the crisis he reveals, but also in the assurance that if he can do something to begin changing the system, or at least the conversation, then maybe you can too. I think that by having the Diversity Committee host the event gets at the idea that diversity isn’t just about getting along but involves an understanding of what others are going through and learning from experiences that you haven’t had.” At this event students, parents, and faculty could discuss controversial issues in a safe space. An anonymous student explained, “I had an amazing time at the Diversity Committee Just Mercy event. I thought that taking time out of the day to speak about such an important topic was amazing, especially in this political climate.” This sentiment was shared by many of the people in attendance. Following the event, another anonymous attendee commented, “This inspired me...I am amazed Students, parents, and faculty at the Just Mercy Diversity Event. by these students and the such as children in prison, people with mental illness ideas that they churned out. They led this event with in prison, the disproportionate amount of black men confidence and you could truly see that. I enjoyed this in prison, wrongfully committed inmates, and peo- so much and I feel as if I am leaving a different perple on death row. This provided the members of the son and understanding more of the world.” The stucommunity an opportunity to speak about the issues dent-run club intends on holding more of these events prominent in today’s society. Hannah Kushner ’18 that challenge the student body and faculty to think added, “I think it’s important that in these polarizing critically about the role of diversity in the Wilmington times we learn to see other perspectives that we might Friends School community and beyond. Javier Ergueta

Hareena Houston ’18 News writer


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