Student Allies for Equity Holds Their First Meeting

by Hazel Taintor

On Thursday, May 13, Student Allies for Equity (S.A.F.E.) held their first meeting in room 602 during lunch, attended by 12 students of Minarets High School. The club, created by junior Jazmyn Evans, was established with the purpose of “fighting racism through education and activism,” according to their Instagram bio.

Regular club meetings will be held on Fridays at 11:45 a.m. in room 602 going forward. For students who are not on campus during this time, a virtual meeting link will be emailed out so they will be able to join as well. In the future, the club would like the meeting to be a “lunch and learn” format, where students can enjoy lunch and snacks while learning about important topics.

Minarets students attend the first meeting of S.A.F.E.

One of the first things discussed at the meeting was the club’s name, particularly “equity.” In using this instead of “equality,” the club hoped to educate people on the difference between the two. Equity recognizes that everyone is different and has different needs, whereas equality gives everyone the same exact thing, despite every person being different.

The club officers were excited about the meeting turnout, which included junior Bella Velazquez who shared her hopes for the club, saying, “I hope to see this club go far. A safe place for students is very important and to be up to date on issues in today's world/our own school and try to fix them to make school a better place!” This is indeed one of the main goals of the club: to create allies among the Minarets school community as well as create a safe space for students of color. They aspire to help the school and world understand and stand up for people of color. Velasquez went on to say that she liked the club’s message of keeping students and staff informed on important social issues.

Club president, junior Jazmyn Evans, speaks to attendees

In the next school year, the club will be bringing in guest speakers to talk about various topics relating to race and racism. They hope to bring in outside speakers as well as alumni of the high school.

Based on the success of the first meeting of Student Allies for Equity, big things can be expected to come from the club.