‘We felt like we weren’t being heard.’ State High students share, celebrate cultures

State College Area High School students showcased the talents, voices and experiences of minority students on Friday during the “Lift Every Voice” cultural celebration event.

Students Siehra Mansaray and Zaniyah Acevedo organized the 15 student performances, which included speeches, songs, poems and dance numbers. Both are part of the school’s new Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues (SPIRIT) council, a group of 12 students working alongside the administration.

“I feel like this is a great chance for people to understand and be educated about how to treat a human being,” Mansaray said.

Mansaray and Acevedo said they hoped viewers would understand the experiences of minority students and how discrimination or racism affects their daily lives. Acevedo said that although incidents of discrimination are often handled privately by the administration, there needs to be a public understanding of what minority students experience.

“We wanted to have a voice and we felt like we weren’t being heard,” Mansaray said.

Rija Sebeeh, a senior who read a poem about her experiences as a Pakistani-American, said the event helped connect her with other students of color at the school and reflect on the ways she shares her own culture, including speaking in Urdu during her poem.

“For me, it’s about increasing visibility and acknowledging cultures and recognizing how little we know about other cultures,” Sebeeh said.

Although these events are important, Sebeeh said the school needs structural change in curriculum and attitudes toward microaggressions, which are statements or actions of indirect, subtle or unintentional discrimination.

“After every event like this I always wonder what’s next and what action can we take after this to keep the momentum growing,” Sebeeh said.

Elaina Lang, a senior and student vice-president, and Isabella Caceras, a junior and member of student government, encouraged students to take on leadership roles to help create more supportive spaces.

“This is the first time in several years that any outspokenness from people of color and minority students has been heard or even encouraged by the administration,” Caceras said.

Acevedo said the event will continue next year and she hopes to expand it to other schools in the district and county.

The idea of the showcase started in February but planning started in March with rehearsals starting earlier in the week, Acevedo said. Sam Corza, an equity student success initiative liaison for the office of equity and inclusion, served as a faculty advisor for the program.

The event allowed students to express their skills and passions that may not fit into existing school programs, he said.

“Often we have a lot of academic showcases, like NHS or Quizbowl,” Corza said. “But we don’t have a lot for our dancers or singers who don’t want to be in chorus or band or thespians because they’re interpreting music in their own way with their own dance expression.”

Although students coordinated the event and led the performances, it was a schoolwide effort. The administration, faculty and staff helped students with the event, with security officer Melvin “Rockwell” Thomas serving as the event’s emcee.

“We have to work together and not be silent when it comes to the issues going on in our school, especially as it impacts many of our marginalized communities, those who are economically disadvantaged, students of color, student with disabilities,” State High Principal Laura Tobias said.

This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.