PHS to display its cultural diversity at the Day of Dialogue

March, 2024
Emil KapurAvantika Palayekar


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Established in 2022, the annual PHS Day of Dialogue aims to promote representation, education, and celebration. The next Day of Dialogue will occur on April 5 during students’ gym periods. Then, multiple clubs representing different identities and cultures, such as Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and Latino Unidos, will realize the values of the Day of Dialogue using mediums of cultural outreach; clubs will set up their tables with culturally relevant artifacts, snacks, and small performances representing their respective communities.

This year, the Day of Dialogue plans to further emphasize cultural education. To achieve this goal, the group dedicated to creating a more DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) space within PHS, the PHS Diversity Council, has planned for each club to perform activities such as fashion shows or dances at a scheduled time during the event. The organizers hope that this grander presentation of different cultures will allow students attending to gain more knowledge of these different heritages.

For the clubs themselves, many plan to utilize this day to educate students about overlooked aspects of their cultures and challenge potential stereotypes.

“We are going to make a slideshow [that] presents some stereotypes about India, because I feel like people just think [that once they have] seen the Taj Mahal, [they have] seen India,” said Siyona Lathar ’25, leader of the Culture & Heritage of Authentic India club. “But there’s … so much more to see and know [about India].”

In order for the clubs to have enough money to get the materials for the event, the council hosted fundraisers through the PTO and partnered with Unified Spectrum, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create more career opportunities for neurodiverse individuals.

“We’re also going to be selling shirts with [the] Unified Spectrum logo to [support it and] fundraise for Day of Dialogue and [the] diversity council,” said Raya Kondakindi ’26, a facilitator of the council who manages and aids the clubs in planning for the day.

After acquiring the necessary amount of money, the council plans to physically put together the event by gathering attendance sheets and necessary school materials like tables, as well as advertising for the day.

The Diversity Council hopes that the Day of Dialogue will not only showcase PHS’s cultural diversity but also allow for culture clubs to voice how they want their individual communities to be represented by educating the Princeton community beyond societal stereotypes.


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