by Daisia Smith ’22

Sherwood has many students with unique cultures and ethnicities whose opinions are vital to showing the diversity of the student body. As seniors of color prepare to cross the graduation stage next week, some shared their experiences from the past four years.

For students to succeed at school, they must feel a sense of comfort and security, regardless of their race. Senior Jeffrey Acheampong shared that there had been times students made comments about his hair or made insensitive jokes about the color of his skin. However, there also were times when he felt connected to students who were different from him. “I had multiple experiences at Sherwood where I felt like I was accepted even when among white people. Playing sports or even doing Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival,” said Acheampong. Extracurriculars served as a safe space for some students where they felt comfortable with those around them and felt valued for their attributes, whether academically, athletically, or musically.

Student unions and clubs such as Warriors For Change, Black Student Union, Minority Scholars Program, Asian American Pacific Islander Student Union, and others left an impact on the majority of the seniors of color who shared their perspectives. “[These] different student unions [have] done a cool job promoting less-represented cultures and presenting them in a way that fosters learning and respect,” explained senior Wendy Tu.

Senior Irene Ghosh began to realize a change was possible in her own hands. She explained what a positive impact Warriors for Change had on her Sherwood experience and as a club officer she had been honored to “produce newsletters and work closely with other officers to push out meaningful and educational lessons for Sherwood’s students.” She has no doubt that clubs like these will help improve the Sherwood community and advocate for the unheard.

Not only did these clubs provide students with an environment where they could speak among others who shared similar qualities, but plenty of these club sponsors and officers prided themselves on welcoming other students who may not have been a part of the specific culture just to listen and learn from different opinions. “It’s been a safe space for many people of color and other students to interact with people who accept them … Many clubs and teacher sponsors make students feel heard, accepted, and loved, especially when they listen and don’t try to undermine your experience,” noted senior Abby Abaku. She added how important these clubs were for students who constantly felt like the minority to finally feel appreciated.

While some students believe school activities promoted the importance of community, others said that they still had to make adjustments to fit in. “I felt like I had to change who I was in terms of my political beliefs and my demeanor in order to be accepted by my teammates,” remarked senior Arjun Sethi, who added that he would be called inappropriate names and taunted solely based on his race. Because of the normalization of these jokes, he was hesitant to speak up when he was an underclassman. “I personally felt that I couldn’t be genuine with what I believed in socially, because I was worried that I would be judged and ridiculed,” he added.

Senior Kathleen Mendez agreed that there often is a normalization of cultural erasure in order to fit in. “I feel a person of color has to work a lot harder to ‘belong’ in Sherwood’s community and one has to make a name for themselves before they can fit in,” she said. Mendez felt as though she “had to change some behavior around white people so they wouldn’t call me ‘ghetto’ or a ‘fiesty Latina.’”

Despite the negative experiences for some students, others believe that Sherwood is overall inclusive. “Everyone has an equal chance and opportunity to feel like they are a part of Sherwood,” said senior Alexander Oum. “There were a lot of different people who made an impact here, and I seriously doubted that color played a part in it considering all it takes is putting yourself out there.” Oum made it clear that he was not blind to some racial slurs people say about others, but he never was personally affected by it. Senior Mukhtar Idris also shared how although he was never personally affected by racism or discrimination when it came to fitting in at Sherwood, he too was aware that some white students would view those of color as ‘weird’ or ‘ghetto’ based on their different demeanors.

Peers do have a prevalent impact on the experiences of students, but teachers and staff do as well. Although seniors had a number of teachers who valued them as students and people, negative experiences unfortunately often lingered with students. Abaku recalled that a lot of teachers had mistaken her for the next black girl, even when they had nothing similar other than their skin colors. Abaku also explained her disappointment with Sherwood’s administration when teachers who had made inappropriate comments in classrooms did not face repercussions.

Senior Maggie Nguyen explained that many teachers expected her to be a good student because of her race instead of actually getting to know her. “I feel like lots of teachers do their best to respect different cultures, but … some often misspeak when addressing cultures other than their own,” said Nguyen. Some students shared how tired they were of pushing their emotions to the side and refraining from reacting to microaggressions as they were usually based on ignorance.

Senior Christian Maffei shared that although he had heard teachers make racially insensitive statements, “People of color have a hard time getting mad because we realize it is not entirely their fault; some staff don’t entirely know what they are saying, but sadly we people of color just have to deal with it and move on.”

While some students were not so happy about their experiences with the staff at Sherwood, Mendez explained how music teacher Alex Silverbook was “supportive … when I was able to sing a Spanish song in Rock ‘n’ Roll 50.” Senior Fernando Johnson shared how inclusion is a top priority for the music department, and that the teachers are very adamant about treating all students fairly no matter what race, culture, or gender identity.

Many of the seniors interviewed collectively agreed that Sherwood’s diversity is something that should be valued. As advocacy groups and clubs continue to provide a safe and educational environment for all students and staff, Sherwood’s pillars of Access, Accountability, Achievement, Civility, Engagement, Unity, and Integrity are being achieved step by step.