SILC to host local SDLC with hopes of making change ‘interconnected’

Lani Ngonethong, RubicOnline • December 7, 2023

GATEWAYS TO FREEDOM. A group of SPA students and faculty traveled to St. Louis, MO, for the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. The conference lasted two days, from Nov. 29-Dec. 2. Every year, the conference has a different theme. This year’s theme was Bending the Arc Toward Justice: Optimism, Transformational Joy, Resilience, and Brilliance. (Submitted Photo: Naomi Taylor)

Every year, a select amount of students attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). The conference brings together schools from all over the world. This year, it was held in St. Louis, MO. The conference aims for students to self-reflect, form allyships, and build community. This year’s theme was Bending the Arc Toward Justice: Radical Optimism, Transformational Joy, Resilience, and Brilliance.

Students can apply in the spring, and the Student Intercultural Life Committee (SILC) faculty advisors will select the students. The conference happens in the fall of the following school year. Many students applied this year, which means more students didn’t get to go. To make sure all students who applied get to experience the conference, SILC decided to host their own.

“We saw a lot of students wanting to join, and so we thought it would be a good idea to create one in Minnesota,” SILC member Delaney Devine said.

SILC is a selected student group that aims to promote and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within the school community.

FROM ALL OVER AND CONNECTED. Adoptees from transracial families bond through group activities at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. (Submitted Photo: Nora Shaughnessy)

While SDLC is an international conference, SILC wants their conference to center on the Minnesota community. Some familiar schools that will be joining are Blake, Breck and Minnehaha Academy.

“It’s not that change can’t be made worldwide, but maybe [this conference] can be a little bit more intimate and interconnected,” said SILC member Julia Taylor.

While SILC is still figuring out the topics, Taylor shared that the structure and agenda of the conference will mirror SDLC’s. Students will be separated from their school groups and mixed with others in breakout sessions. There will be a series of topics for discussion surrounding identity and belonging.

“We’re definitely going to split up from the people we know and make sure to mix all the schools together to get… ideas that are different than the ones we already have,” Taylor said.

“The goal is to learn from other people’s experiences and also learn skills that you can bring back to school. And be able to handle difficult conversations and be okay in those uncomfortable topics while making sure to include everyone and share everyone’s opinion,” Devine said.

SILC hopes to see around 40 students from each school, with about 150 students in total.

The conference will be held on Friday, Feb. 16 at the Wilder Foundation.

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