Senior Bethania B. is a member of the Upper School Community Ethics and Culture Council (CECC). The eight elected members focus on the culture of the school and how to promote UPrep’s values of respect, responsibility, and integrity. Initiatives CECC has contributed to over the years include revising the dress code; helping to draft the school’s bullying, sexual assault, and harassment policies; consulting on academic honesty policies; and providing guidelines for Halloween costumes.

You’ve been involved in CECC for four years. Why did you decide to get involved?
I was drawn to CECC because it is focused on supporting the community and I felt like I could use my personal experiences to help others. CECC helps people belong in places where they might feel like they don’t belong.

Based on your experience, what is an example of something that could make people feel like they don’t belong?
A microaggression, a small, subtle act of discrimination against marginalized groups of people, could make people feel like they don’t belong to our UPrep community.

What CECC project are you most proud of?
For the past three years, we have worked on developing a bias-reporting system for the Upper School. We plan to launch it later this year. If a student sees or experiences a microaggression, they can fill out a form that is sent to Ms. A-J [Anderson-Johnston], assistant director of the Upper School, and Taylor Kanemori, director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. It’s a way to recognize what’s happening in the community and how events or comments can impact people in different ways than we might realize.

Taylor and Ms. A-J will follow up with the person reporting the microaggression to learn more about the incident and discuss possible next steps, which could include a conversation between the reporter and the aggressor about the incident.

What advice would you give to someone to help them be more mindful of their actions?
I encourage people to think before they speak. Ask questions for background and for better understanding. Don’t assume things, because that’s where people mess up.

What advice would you give to someone who has been hurt by a classmate’s actions?
I would encourage them to take an educational approach to the person who hurt them and explain how what they did was wrong or hurtful. Maybe it was unintentional, and they didn’t realize the impact. Everyone feels things differently.

Something I’ve learned through CECC is that even the smallest thing can make people feel uncomfortable or like they don’t belong. We all need to be thoughtful about what we say and do.