On the Friday before the school recessed for Spring Break, the Performing Arts Center was bustling with students and faculty exploring the first-ever Blue Cluster Cultural and Identity Fair. The fair itself was inspired by members of our faculty-led student affinity groups (Students of Color affinity group, Jewish affinity group and LGBTQ+ affinity group) who wanted to share aspects of their identities with the wider Gaynor community.
The fair was open to not only those in one of the student affinity groups, but any Blue Cluster students who wanted to participate, and was a chance to showcase the different cultures and identities of our students and foster a greater sense of appreciation and belonging.
On the day of the event, the PAC was filled with tables showcasing a variety of cultures and identities, many of which contained not only informative displays but also tasty treats to entice visitors to learn more.
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Stella Mulatu was thrilled to see the final event come to fruition, saying, “Today’s Blue Cluster Cultural and Identity Fair is an excellent example of the DEI work being done at Gaynor and the importance of coming together as a community to celebrate each other’s differences. Each student chose an aspect of their identity that they wanted to teach the community about. We had a wide variety of identifiers and presentations including Hispanic, Italian, Vietnamese, Teenager, Feminist, Texan, and LGBTQ+. Each student proudly represented their identity and I am so grateful to the students for showing vulnerability, expressing themselves confidently, and educating the school about what makes them unique.”
Christine Karamanoglou, Director of the Upper Division, agreed with Ms. Mulatu. She said, “I’m so impressed by the students. They just were so thoughtful with what they presented and how they spoke to [those who attended] and how they wanted to show different parts of their culture or identity. It was so well done.”
