Latin School of Chicago

34 L AT I N M A G A Z I N E DANIEL – Asia is such a big continent. Someone from the Philippines probably has a very different story to tell than someone from India or China. It is cool to share our experiences. It broadens horizons and makes us stronger as a group. ALEXIS – Being part of an affinity group is especially helpful to students coming to Latin in ninth grade. It can be a real culture shock, or at least it was for me coming from a predominantly Hispanic school. My transition was made so much easier because of LASO. PATRICK– It kind of gives you a break, and some relief, from everything that you have going on at school or from interactions with certain people who may not understand where you are coming from. People who are in the majority don't have to change anything about themselves or their mindset to fit in at Latin. As a student who is part of a minority group at school, you are forced to leave your comfort zone and open your mind every day to have a positive experience. You can't do that without also being connected to who you are and where you originally came from. Affinity groups give you that. It helps to be able to communicate your feelings to someone who is really able to understand your experience and not keep those feelings bottled up. I didn't have that when I came here in middle school, and it was really hard. JENNA – In the broader world, depending on where you come from in Asia, you might be facing very different issues. But if we are just talking about our experiences here at Latin, as Asian Americans, there is a lot that we have in common. Why is it important to have affinity groups at Latin? JENNA – I came from a predominantly white school and grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood. Coming to Latin, I didn't immediately join an affinity group because I never really thought about exploring my identity. In the beginning, joining an affinity group kind of made things harder because I opened myself up to issues that I had never thought about. Now, I feel like being part of an affinity group has made me stronger. It has given me a safe space to explore my own identity. ERICH – e CAUSE and the Gender & Sexual Minority affinity group are different from some of the other groups. e CAUSE is open to everyone. It is like a traditional Gay Straight Alliance in that it is about education and awareness and finding ways to support our community. e GSM affinity group is much more of a safe and confidential space for individual students to discuss their identity. For a lot of people, the first affinity group meeting is the hardest to come to because in essence you are coming out. You are saying: "Hey I am not straight. Otherwise I wouldn't be here." But once they overcome that hurdle, they never regret it. ey learn that they don't have to be ashamed and that this is something they can live with. ere are students at Latin who may be out to a few friends but not on a large scale, and they don't have anyone to talk to. So we want to make people feel as safe as possible. "There is no one remedy to make these conversations easier. They are going to be uncomfortable. But you have to start somewhere, and I think we are doing that here at Latin." Q A A

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