Overview: Race and Gender Dynamics at My School

I attend the Cambridge School of Weston- CSW, a small school with a progressive mission and a clear set of goals. One of the four main goals of CSW is social justice, so why haven't we dealt with ongoing issues relating to diversity, race issues and gender? With such a focus, why don't we live in a diverse utopia free of judgment and care?

In my wanderings I observed noticeable separations between racial and gender groups in social networks and in student elected positions. These social and political dynamics have shown me that even at such a forward thinking place institutional marginalization of minorities and women effect the decisions of students and the environment as a whole.

At CSW this year we have 7 male members and 1 female member on our student government. Worse representation than the United States. At school we acknowledge sexism and racism in the outside and a little within, but do not have a full understanding of the way our community is affected.

Although our demographics and the fact that we talk about race issues at all is a great start compared to a lot of schools, when I observed our dining hall I saw patterns of self segregation. There were three tables that consisted of predominately white students, one table with mostly international students and one table of mostly students of color. At some of these tables there were students who did not fit the overall racial/background of that given table, there were also some smaller tables with less noticeable trends and some tables with mostly faculty.

In the future posts I will dive into this issue and how it relates to me, my experiences, the outside world and whatever else is interesting.

Enjoy-