Club celebrates cultural diversity

June 20, 2018

op, Aria Lara, left, and Haylee Aide spoke during the dinner of their experiences with racism and how it impacted them. / SARAH SOBANSKI Staff

By Sarah Sobanski

North Hastings High School students have come together for a night of cooking and inclusion.

The high school’s Indigenous studies club, Wolf Pack, planned an anti-racism and cultural inclusion night last week. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm knocked out power at the school and they had to reschedule.

Bottom, from left, Daytanyon Wood, Noah Lorusso and Tallon Hoover enjoy an assortment of 15 dishes representing cultures from all over the world. / SARAH SOBANSKI Staff

The club cooked more than 15 dishes from all of the world and served them the following night, June 14. Parents and friends came together in indulge in everything from pizza to, of course, poutine.

During dinner two students presented speeches on what they thought of racism and how it had affected their lives.

Haylee Aide said she believed racism stemmed from xenophobia. She first learned of racism in Grade 5 when her lessons touched on slavery.

Aria Lara spoke of how racism impacted her every day. She said in Toronto she went to a school with mostly Filipino students, but they acted differently towards her because she was half-Filipino.

When she first moved to Bancroft she attended Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School. She said she wasn’t invited to birthday parties or similar events. She said people also discriminated against her due to her small size in high school.

Club leader and NHHS teacher Heather Taylor said it was important for students to have “cultural awareness” and to get parents involved in students education.

“Students take pride in their work when it’s showcased,” she said noting the event was the first of its kind at North Hastings High School.