Students Demanding Intersectional Education is a group consisting of students from all four grades. SDIE was the group responsible for the protest held on the Quad last spring in response to the Watermelon prank and the lack of diversity in the faculty and curriculum. Not wanting to leave that energy behind, it was decided that SDIE would continue to work alongside the administration to make our education more intersectional in all aspects, not just regarding race. This has led us to work closely with S. Bear Bergman, Fieldston’s educator in residence, focusing on sexual orientation and gender theory. Bear also focuses on finding ways to make our education intersectional, creating a group to change the curriculum that consists of SDIE members, QSA leaders, Women’s and Men’s Leadership leaders, and our FSG Co-Presidents, Beth and Azeez. In addition to working with Bear, SDIE intends to have monthly meetings with Randy Slaughter and Robert Cairo to discuss the work that is being done and the progress being made.
Like you all may know, the original 16 people who were involved in the formation of SDIE are Ciara Cury, Ravyn Hounsell, Kaya West-Uzoigwe, Isabella Pillay, Michaele Freeman, Taiya Sharif, Katrina Meyer, Ariana Baez, Tahlyah Ellis, Leilani Fletcher, Eve Green, Dachelle Washington, Isabella Eidelheit, Malakai Hart, Adia Santos, and I. We all feel that SDIE is necessary at Fieldston because of the power it gives to those whose voices aren’t heard often enough in our community. It lets them know that we are here for them and that there are people on campus who are determined to help get their story heard by more than just a couple of other students or teachers. Just as a refresher, the demands are as follows:
- More Faculty members of Color
- More Students of Color!!!!
- More faculty and administrative education on race
- Stricter punishment on racially based offenses
- An election for people who are in the SAC group
- Curriculum changes in all divisions
- Increased power for diversity coordinator to be able to create more spaces for discussion on current events and other things that affect the community
Our general goal for this year is to accomplish two things: act as a voice for students of color who feel silenced by faculty or other students, and do our best to come up with ideas for new courses to add to our curriculum. We are easy to access through Facebook, Instagram, or email. You can reach us at our email: sdie@ecfs.org if you have any questions about joining SDIE, what we do, or just generally any suggestions you may have. We are all very excited to be working with the Administration, Bear, and the FSG Co-Presidents to make Fieldston’s curriculum as inclusive as possible!
