Making Space for Student Voices

By Sullivan DeLargy ’27, for The Hallmark Chronicles

As the leaves have begun to wilt, and Autumn begins to wane into winter, conversations at MHS are shifting, too.

Sara ’26 and Idia ’26 have led IMPACT club over the past two years. IMPACT is a student-run space devoted to social justice and affirming diversity, equity, and inclusion. Sara has helped shape this fall’s IMPACT meetings into open conversations where students’ voices are heard. Throughout the past months, IMPACT discussions have centered on representation and identity.

As club co-leader, Sara doesn’t lecture or control meetings but frames each meeting with a question, believing that “by beginning the conversation and then stepping back, it opens the floor and allows voices to be heard.” Sara reflects on why she uses a specific layout for each meeting: “That’s my favorite thing about IMPACT, the dialogue between us. We are all such different people with a wide array of experiences, and I think we can all learn from each other.” That's one of the reasons Sara helped found the club in the first place. To create a safe space for dialogue on social justice matters.

Continuing the theme of integrating inclusion in campus life, last year IMPACT ran a JEDII (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Identity) workshop for students on navigating the growing influence that social media has on our generation. Students examined how online content shapes their own beliefs and can amplify biases. The workshop combined a debate, reflection, and small-group conversations, encouraging students to reflect on how they evaluate the information they see online.

Now, as winter approaches, IMPACT is preparing to engage with people at home over break, navigating family dynamics specifically over politics, values, and identity that come up at the dinner table. Members will ask questions using official Harvard-style interview questions and actively listen, even on difficult topics. After fall break, IMPACT plans to host a conversation on what they found, what surprised them, and how these experiences, as well as discussions about politics and values at home, informed their understanding of dialogue and respect.

As the seasons shift once more, Sara’s work with IMPACT reminds our community that growth doesn't happen overnight; like the changing leaves, it evolves slowly, conversation by conversation, until it can no longer be ignored.