Issue link: https://trevordayschool.uberflip.com/i/1295455
A Quarter Century of MIOW A Quarter Century of MIOW (Multiple Identities, OneWorld) (Multiple Identities, OneWorld) Students Teaching Students to Become Activists for a Better World Through Social Justice and Equity Origins Origins is year, MIOW, the student diversity leadership club, celebrates 25 years of helping Trevor students identify, understand, and discuss issues of social justice and equity. MIOW stands for Multiple Identities, One World. Josie Holford, Trevor's first director of the high school division, created the name when she asked two high school teachers to start a club to raise awareness about and to support diversity and multiculturalism at Trevor. MIOW's goal was to create a much-needed space, where students could learn more about current events, discuss their experiences at school, and address issues of fairness and bias in the Trevor community. From the start, students were MIOW's guiding force. With the help of the first two faculty advisors, Blanca Llaurado and Joseph Ulitto, students brought topics to the table for discussion. Besides such discussions, some of the first MIOW initiatives for the high school were sponsoring Ally Week and Day of Silence (both national events supporting LGBTQ+ students), and organizing assemblies dealing with issues such as race and class. As more students joined MIOW, leaders were chosen from among the junior and senior members. Student leaders set agendas for meetings, facilitated activities that fostered team building, raised awareness of issues, and planned events for the high school. For the first time, in the 2020–2021 academic year, leaders from grades 9 and 10 will be added. Additional faculty members became involved with MIOW in subsequent years—among them, Dawn Anderson, Karen Cole-Onaifo, Laura Spalding, Jeff Tam, and Rene Villicana. Each has played a valuable role in supporting the students' vision over the course of this club's history. MIOW Day, initially called Awareness Day, was a part of the plan early on. MIOW students wanted a way to move discussions outside of club time and bring them to their classmates and teachers. Student- and teacher-led workshops were always a part of the day. Other elements of MIOW Day have changed. For many years, MIOW Day was organized around a theme; there were days dedicated to race, class, homophobia, activism, ableism—when all workshops dealt with that particular theme. A few years ago, it was decided to make each MIOW Day a time for raising awareness on a variety of topics connected to racial, social, economic, political, and environmental justice. It has been that way ever since. is page: Image from MIOW Day in 2004. Students (back row, from left to right) are Christy Aponte '05, Scott Rodriguez '04, Melba Beltre '07, and Javon Phillips '05. For this MIOW Day, students wrote original skits; this one is based on microaggressions they experienced at Trevor. Opposite page, top: Students writing the MIOW mission statement, guided by Blanca Llaurado, Grades 9–12 Spanish Teacher; Opposite page, bottom: Boasting a healthy membership, the MIOW Club posed for their 2004 Yearbook picture. Ms. Llaurado is in the first row, far right. 4 4 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 – 2 0 2 0