by Karry Kim ’25
What’s your first thought when you think of affinity groups at St. Mark’s? The ASEA and their performances in Umoja? The BLU and their dances? Perhaps Los Leones? Even though students at St. Mark’s typically associate affinity groups with ethnicity or race and their cultures, we should acknowledge the importance of affinity groups that celebrate identities connecting people beyond race or ethnicity. I was able to interview several leaders of non-ethnicity-based affinity groups at St. Mark’s.
GSA, or the Gender Sexuality Alliance, is led by Ava Springsteel '24, Emma Lu ’24, and Brendan Kelly ’24. I interviewed Emma and Brendan about their roles as leaders of this group. The GSA provides a safe space for all queer students at St. Mark’s, whether they are out or not. While the GSA aspires to have safe and comfortable discussions on what it is like to be queer at St. Mark’s, the affinity group also provides a space where students with this shared identity can connect and provide support to each other. During meetings, Emma and Brendan always make sure to let everyone feel included in their community, as the term LGBTQ+ is an umbrella term that includes so many different identities, spanning all kinds of races and ethnicities. They have been having a pretty smooth year, having regular meetings and events. They are preparing for a joint meeting with CFG to discuss the controversies regarding Christianity and the different types of gender and sexuality. However, one thing they have struggled with regarding being a non-ethnicity affinity group is C&E day. Although C&E day stands for community and equity, many of the events are largely focused on the cultures of different ethnicities. This made it hard for the GSA leaders to plan appropriate performances or activities in the Umoja or the cultural fair. Therefore, the GSA did not perform or set up a table during C&E day. However, the leaders expressed regret in this decision. Emma explained that the GSA is looking forward to reciting a poem or verse about the LGBTQ+ community next year, contributing more to the equity part of community and equity day.
The next non-ethnicity affinity group I interviewed was J-team, led by Rachel Goldberg ’25 and Eli Zahavi ’24. Although being Jewish is an ethnicity, J-team currently focuses more on the religious celebrations and holidays of Judaism, which is why I included the J-team in this category. Like the GSA, J-team is planning on hosting a Pathway pizza event with CFG, and a traditional Jewish food drive for the upcoming holiday, Purim, in March. Rachel explained that due to the lower number of Jewish students who actively celebrate Jewish traditions, the affinity group currently focuses more on introducing Jewish traditions and holidays to non-Jewish students, instead of hosting closed meetings for Jewish students.
Students in J-team meeting, enjoying apples and honey during Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah
The last non-ethnicity affinity group I interviewed was Openly Secular, led by Yejee Hwang ’25 and Jamie Li ’25. I was able to interview Yejee. Yejee explained that it is important to acknowledge that not believing in a religion is a choice too, and the Openly Secular group provides a space to discuss these choices. She explained that personally, coming from a completely secular background, it felt a little daunting to attend an Episcopal school, which comes with duties like attending chapel, which she had never done before coming to St. Mark’s. Yejee and Jamie aspire to create a fun space for students with similar backgrounds as them and further contribute to the religious diversity of St. Mark’s by recognizing that secularism is an individual’s choice, just like other religions. Openly Secular looks forward to having more regular and joint meetings with other religious groups, such as CFG or J-team.
Just like the GSA, J-team, and Openly Secular, there are many other non-ethnicity-based affinity groups at St. Mark’s like Men are Not Born; They are Made, which provides a space to discuss what it means to be male at St. Mark’s, Christian Fellowship Group(CFG), celebrating Christianity, or Southborough Society, where female students discuss topics related to their female identities. These affinity groups play a crucial part in bringing our community together, bringing people of different ethnicities together through shared identities.