April 14, 2023 -- Senior students at Walnut Ridge High School are working to make all their classmates feel included with the introduction of the school’s first-ever Cultural Diversity Day.
The day featured students from different countries dressed in outfits native to their countries, food from across the world, and learning-based tasks for students to complete. Senior Daviana Lynch said the idea came to her after learning many students at her school didn’t feel included.
“We did a Panorama survey with our students and it showed only more than 30% of students felt like they belong at our school,” Lynch began. “So I came up with this idea and based it off of our Hispanic Heritage celebration; of course, we wanted this celebration to recognize everyone because everyone comes from somewhere.”
Lynch talked with her advisors at Walnut Ridge to help bring her idea to life. She said while her advisors were on board, getting her peers to understand her vision was the challenge.
“At first, my friends and peers were confused. But I asked them to make some posters and creative tri-folds of different countries. Once they started doing that, they started getting on board with the celebration.”
On a Friday in March, Lynch and other students from Walnut Ridge set up poster boards in their school band room. Students who participated dressed in attire native to their countries and helped other students understand different aspects of their culture.
Participants received a passport when they walked into the band room that required them to visit and write down facts about the different countries. Once students visited all areas of the world, they received stickers that allowed them to eat foods from countries represented.
Before the end of the school day, Lynch and others gathered in the school gymnasium for a cultural fashion show. Outfits from Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Cameroon were among roughly a dozen represented in the fashion show.
“I feel like it turned out exactly how I wanted it to be. I want this to carry on, and I won’t be here next year, so I want everyone to continue to share about themselves. My hope is there will be more school spirit and students will want to be more involved at school. Doing events like this can help with learning, too, because we’re all learning about each other,” Lynch said.
