On Thursday, February 29th, the Student Diversity Committee hosted its annual Peace Vigil. The theme this year was Microcosm, meaning each person in our Cooper community has individual passions, skills, and backgrounds, leading to the community being unique and holding a strong sense of culture. SDC members and other clubs such as Interact, NAHS, Eco, Active Minds, and Thespian hosted activities related to the DEI identifiers, raising awareness about causes as well as celebrating the Upper School’s diversity and accomplishments in various manners. There are 8 DEI identifiers, and SDC discusses these 8 in-depth throughout the year: Ability, Age, Ethnicity, Gender, Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Socioeconomic Status.
The event kicked off with a fifty-minute activity period where students and teachers could participate in activities. Activities during the first shift included creating terrariums (sponsored by Eco Club), bracelet making (related to sexual orientation identifier), and a presentation by Aarav Panjwani about recognizing stigmatizing language (related to ability identifier). “I did a presentation on Stigmatizing Language because I wanted to provide better words to use instead of negative words that could bring down someone”, Aarav Panjwani said. “This topic is important because it creates awareness on our reactions and the words we use, so we can foster an environment for positivity ultimately using better language.” Then everyone gathered to watch a performance of Nishika Prasad and Chelsy Fortes singing “Bésame Mucho”, a popular song that holds a lot of value to the history of Latin music. After everyone went outside and participated in the NAHS activity, where people spray painted on watercolor paper which identifiers mattered to them the most, as each color represented a different identifier. The next 45 minutes were the second shift of activities, and these activities included an Active Minds activity that educated participants about the disparities between support for mental health between races, trivia about religion, and a family structure activity. The last 10 minutes was the Vigil, where everyone took a candle and formed a circle outside the Upper School building. During the Vigil, people were invited to debrief about the past two hours and talk about the importance of celebrating one another.
Some activities during Peace Vigil involve crafts that were a visual representation of the Upper School’s care for the community. In Dr. Goveia’s classroom, there is a chain of strips of different colored paper hung on the wall, and on each paper, a participant wrote a service activity they have done, from performing a show for senior citizens to volunteering at church. This activity was sponsored by Interact, and students are welcome to read the service activities and observe the length of the chain, as it shows many people are giving back to their community at Cooper.
Peace Vigil is a fun experience for all, as club members advocate for the importance of a well-rounded student body and raise awareness about important issues in the community in various, fun manners. It can be said that Peace Vigil should be marked off everyone’s bucket list before graduation.
