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03/10/2021 07:30 AMThe Morgan School students have formed a new club where students can talk about how national and international issues of bias and inequity affect their local community.
The club launched last month under the guidance of The Morgan School English teacher Leslie Chausse. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group meets virtually every Wednesday. The club only started meeting in the beginning of February and thus far has about 14 students who regularly attend.
“I was surprised at the interest. We have a group of really sweet and dedicated students,” Chausse told the Harbor News.
Chausse described the club’s purpose as a forum to talk about and “bring education and awareness” to issues the kids witness such as racism, sexism, or any other kinds of intolerance that the group sees around them.
“Right now, the students are very interested at anti-Asian bias, especially as it relates to the pandemic,” Chausse said.
The club is also interested in voter registration efforts and seeking out fellow students to hear their stories about discrimination they’ve experienced.
As the nation as a whole continues to grapple with the systemic issues that the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police in May 2020 renewed in mainstream consciousness, various Clinton institutions have joined in to have those discussion on a local level. While discussions about racism and discrimination are not new concepts, the prevalence of such conservations has increased in Clinton over the last year.
Following Floyd’s death, members of the Clinton community held a well-attended rally protesting police brutality and racism and this month the Henry Carter Hull Library and PTA jointly held a discussion on implicit biases to educate attendees how those affect people. More similar events are also planned for the future.
“The kids really are speaking up and speaking out so far,” Chausse said.
The majority of the attendees and speakers at the Clinton rally last summer were young Clinton residents so it is not a surprise that a club at the high school sprung up afterward. Chausse said that the high school was interested in introducing new clubs and activities for the students to join, and this was topic that she thought might get some interest from students.
“It’s a topic I’m very interested in learning more about,” Chausse said.
Chausse also teaches a journalism class; she sees journalism as a field that relates to examining and spreading awareness about the kinds of societal problems the club discusses.
The pandemic may make holding future events difficult, but Chausse said the club in interested in hearing more from members of the community in Clinton and what those members have to say about intolerance they’ve seen. Chausse said that future meetings may feature guest speakers from the community at large coming in and addressing the group.
“If anyone in the community have specific causes that may be relevant, we’d love to be in touch,” Chausse said.
Community members who are interested in working with the club and students who wish to attend the club can reach Chausse at lchausse@clintonpublic.net.