Last week, Green Hope hosted Culture Week in the auxiliary gym during lunch. The GH Falcon caught up with student equity team president C Wiseman (‘25) to discuss their role in setting up Culture Week and describe what Culture Week had to offer. Regarding the organization of Culture Week, Wiseman said, “Culture Week is organized by a different continent being represented each day (minus Antarctica) all with a different club representing them, with the week going Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas and Oceania.” Throughout the week, the equity team aimed to represent a broad range of cultures and inform students about the unique components of each culture, and they were able to accomplish just that.
It’s no false statement that Green Hope is an incredibly diverse school. Much like other schools in Cary, Green Hope has a majority-minority population featuring a demographic breakdown of: 35.9% Asian, 6.3% Hispanic, 5.9% Black, and a cumulative 3% of other cultural backgrounds. Knowing this, Wiseman shared that “Student Equity made culture week happen because we wanted to highlight all our different cultures at GH and share them with everyone.”
A quick Google search would tell you that “equity” is defined as the quality of being fair and impartial, but to Wiseman and the equity team, “Equity to the club, means making sure everyone gets the resources and opportunities they need to succeed, not just giving everyone the same things, but aiding students who need more, get to the level they need.”
Keeping their definition of equality in mind, Wiseman also shared that “Culture Week helps with inclusion and equity by making students at Green Hope who might have not had any representation know that there are people who are like them or can at least relate to them, proving a positive and safe space.” Providing this safe space is essential for our school community as it fosters a place for people of many different backgrounds to come together and share their experiences and feel comfortable in doing so. Even those who may not necessarily come from a diverse background still benefit from opportunities like Culture Week, as understanding the experiences of peers is critical in creating an inclusive school environment and making every student feel like they belong.
