May 20, 2016 at 2:55 p.m.
What is the Diversity Club?
What is the Diversity Club?
By Susan Laufenberg and Mary Rudis-
Diversity Club students have attended the Youth Partners in Civic Leadership Conference (YPCL), The Teen Summit, The Mental Health Summit and the Festival of Nations. The students continue to conduct anti-bullying activities at RHS and JWMS and each year add new activities to teach more about acceptance of differences. The Diversity Club's mission is to spread awareness and develop acceptance for all, creating a safe and non-judgemental climate that breaks down barriers to respectful rights for all. During the 2015-16 school year, the Diversity Club began service activities with monthly support groups. Each month a new theme (AODA awareness, mental health awareness, suicide prevention, teen dating violence awareness, and identity issues) gives students the opportunity to meet and show support in a confidential manner. The Diversity Club has teamed with the community agency NAMI to provide information about suicide awareness and raise money for a drop in center for mental health issues in Rhinelander.
Two Diversity Club seniors, Leah Schindeldecker and Anavay White, were asked to share experiences regarding Diversity Club. Leah believes Diversity Club has helped her to "be more outgoing" and "has pushed (her) to be more open-minded, (and) break out of her shell." Leah commented that there has been a lot of "opportunities for growth." Anavay said, there is an "ever growing need for a support group" to assist students in dealing with bullying and harassment. Anavay feels this is a time where more groups like Diversity Club need to become active as we are at a critical point of making things "better or worse for the next generation." Anavay also stated that she feels Diversity Club is about "social acceptance and not about specific groups needing acceptance. Diversity Club is more of a support group than a club." Leah echoed some of the same feelings when she was reflecting about Diversity Club. "It is important to get to know people, (and let people) be aware of what (Diversity Club) does. (Diversity Club) is there for people who need it."
When asked about their favorite memory from Diversity Club both Leah and Anavay both chose the experiences at YPCL. Leah explained that during a talent show at the YPCL, a performer was struggling to remember the words to her chosen song. The whole audience just started singing the words to support her through her performance. "It is about picking people up, focusing on how we treat other people and how we treat each other. That is the feeling we wanted to bring back to Rhinelander High School," she said. Anavay focused on the whole experience of YPCL and making "connections with people" who were like-minded and focused on "healthy relationships."
The overarching purpose of Diversity Club can be summed up in Anavay's final statement: "It is about making a connection with one person. Smiling or saying hello to one person you don't know can make a change." One person at a time, Diversity Club is creating a place where everyone is and feels welcome with the focus on lifting each other up!
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