SOAR switched things up for January’s SOARing Discussion with a special guest. The group collaborated with Stand Together Against Racism (STAR), an organization based in Pennsylvania, USA to hold a global discussion on racism in different countries on Jan. 24. 

SOAR came in contact with STAR when Leanne Yoon, vice president of the high school division, reached out to Kemi Ojikutu, student ambassador of the STAR Initiative, and suggested a collaboration. The initiative aims to unite students across multiple schools to volunteer at community events and raise anti-racism awareness through movie discussions and conversations on the topic. 

In the discussion with SOAR, participants raised various points on discrimination in Korea, the USA, and other countries. “One teacher at [DIS] talked about the culture shock of racism in America versus the racism in Korea. That was a very impactful thing for most of us to hear,” said Ojikutu. In addition, students brought up that they lacked knowledge of the universality of microaggressions and the nuances of segregation across countries.  

Overall, the discussion provided a nuanced understanding of racism for students on a global level. In April, the two groups will join forces once more to celebrate the month of diversity in a campaign titled #SOARing_STARs.