North celebrates Diversity Month 2019

Maggie Walker, Staff Reporter|March 15, 2019

“Pen and Paper Literary Magazine promotes diversity by providing a platform for every student to have a voice. There are so many different ways to participate – through poetry, storytelling, editing – that students from all backgrounds and with diverse interests can find a way to belong. We encourage honesty, vulnerability, and open minds,” said Literary Magazine sponsor Stephanie Church. Photo by Nadia Hernandez
Photo courtesy of Dustin Zubert
“Debate embodies diversity by having the team diverse in age, race, gender, and ethnicity. We also focus on issues of world importance that address foreign and domestic affairs. These issues involve poverty, prison, and LGBT+, and the team will research and provide a speech,” said Debate sponsor Dustin Zubert.
“Voices is a club where all students are welcomed. We embrace diversity,” said Voices sponsor Courtney Plaza.
Photo courtesy of Cynthia Karabush
“We promote diversity by discussing issues around being Latino. Our club created the video for diversity month. We had originally created it for Latinx Heritage Month (mid-September to mid-October), but somehow that didn’t get coordinated, so it will be shown in April for the Knights’ Way, I believe. Our club is open to all students at GNHS of any ethnicity, but the club does center around celebrating Latino culture,” said Latinos Stand Up sponsor Cynthia Karabush.

The month of April is known for its showers of rain, but as of 2004, it’s now known for being Diversity Month. It was started in order to honor anyone of any culture, sexuality or skin color. Grayslake North is celebrating this month in their own way.
“We did two movie nights. Last week we showed ‘The Hate You Give’ in the library after school, and this week we are showing ‘Black Panther.’ In April, we’ll be doing ‘GNHS Celebrates Diversity Month’ again. What we will be doing is every week we’ll be featuring a different kind of diversity in Grayslake North and celebrating,” said Jenny Andersen, student assistant coordinator
The Knights’ Way Club is in charge of how the school celebrates months such as Diversity Month, Black History Month and more. They will make videos that will be played on the last Wednesday of every month that have to do with events like the school’s Winter Gala or months that have to do with the student body of the school. They will also have ‘Movie Nights,’ where they will play movies in the library that have to do with important month or days.
“I think our club [Latinos Stand Up] gives Latinos a place to go. For me personally when I was a freshman, when I saw Latinos Stand Up, I thought maybe this a place where I’ll fit in,” said group president Sergio Ayala
Latinos Stand Up worked with the Knights’ Way Club to make a video that will showcase the Latino culture. The students of the club got to sit down, and they were filmed as they all spoke about the culture, their club and why celebrating all cultures is important. The Latinos Stand Up club is among many groups North holds that helps give people a place to go and a place that they can feel accepted.
Along with Latinos Stand Up, there is also Sign Language Club, VOICES, SAGA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, French Club, German Club, Spanish Club, and Junior International Association of the Deaf.
“SAGA is a club focused on activism and a support group for LGTBQ+ and allies,” group president Cypress Folk said.
SAGA is a club that lets anyone of the LGTBQ+ community or anyone a safe place to go after school. Andersen thinks what makes North special is how everyone is different.

“SAGA is based around diversity in its nature because we are all about inclusion. We have students of every age and orientation; no matter how they identify, they are welcome every week,” said SAGA sponsor Robyn Steinmetz.

“Diversity is important to all people. Diversity helps everyone. There are studies that show that if you are planning a science curriculum and you have a group of students working together, students perform better when they are in diverse groups because you have an opportunity to work with people that think about things differently then you, who have been raised in cultures that value different things. So celebrating diversity helps everyone, and that’s why every school should do it,” Andersen said.
Grayslake North’s community works to make Diversity Month for everyone, no matter what.