Juniors MacKenzie Conn, Michelle Tang, Dylan Quintal, Amber Datta, Tanisha Ghosh, and Mariam Akbar gave up a school holiday to become better educated about intolerance. These six students, representing Stratford’s ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Club, along with three faculty members traveled to Atlanta on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to participate in the No Place for Hate Leadership Summit held at the Woodruff Arts Center.

“The purpose was to create a central location for students from many different Georgia schools to meet together, break into groups, and discuss the goal of respectful inclusion,” Mrs. Jaqui Wilson, upper school counselor and club advisor, said.

Before breaking into small groups in the afternoon, the 75 students attended ice breaking sessions in the morning.

“It really was a good time, and we learned how to handle race issues, and other issues that we might encounter at Stratford, if any,” Conn said.

The summit was designed for students and faculty to become current on issues in schools regarding bullying, in any form, and how to approach these problems.

“The Cards You’re Dealt With” was one of the activities in which both students and teachers participated. The intent was to help individuals recognize their biases, acknowledge the origin of them, and to understand reactions or actions resulting from the biases.

“As far as I could tell, everyone seemed to have a very meaningful and fun time, Mr. Caleb Bloodworth, Spanish teacher and ADL supporter, said in an email. “I felt I gained a much deeper understanding of just how widespread ADL’s advocacy and education efforts are in our country. Most any social justice issue of our time is being addressed in part by ADL. I also learned more about teachers’ part in helping construct a “no hate” school community.”

It was important for Stratford students and faculty to take place in the workshop in order for Stratford to be designated a No Place for Hate location, which was awarded to the school on February 6.