Lakeside School

Multicultural Initiators eXperiencing and Encouraging Diversity (MIXED) is a Lakeside affinity group of students who identify as multiracial, multiethnic, or multicultural. The goal of MIXED is to facilitate valuable conversations to navigate our identities, connect students across different cultures and backgrounds, and share our diverse perspectives with the Lakeside community. During meetings, we have discussions about the influence of our identities on our experiences and on our lives. Students in MIXED find a shared community of students with similar experiences and are also opened up to the diverse perspectives of our peers. So that our members can share what this group means to them in their own words, we have asked them to respond to some questions about their time in MIXED.

Why did you choose to join MIXED?

• I chose to join MIXED because before coming to Lakeside, I never had the opportunity to talk about my multiracial identity. As a mixed person, it is really easy to feel like you don’t belong anywhere, even in your own family. You don’t feel 100% connected to any part of your identity. Having a mixed affinity group helped me to feel like I belonged to a group. The MIXED affinity group helps me to realize I’m not so alone in my experiences.
• I chose to join MIXED to have fun with people who have shared some of the experiences I've had growing up. Everyone is so nice and welcoming!
• I chose to join MIXED because it’s a really great place to meet people with similar identities to share joint experiences and build community.
• I chose to join because I wanted to find more people who were mixed like me and there weren't many in my last school.
• Because I thought it was interesting and I have heard a lot of good stuff about it.
• Because I wanted to join a community of people like me.
• I wanted to be in a space where I shared a common racial identity with other students.

What is your favorite MIXED club memory?

• In 7th Grade at Lakeside, I had my first experience with MIXED, and I remember walking into the classroom and being the last one to arrive. No seats were left and there was not much room left anywhere. It was my first year at Lakeside and I didn't feel like I knew many people or had many friends. That was when I had multiple people call my name saying there was room next to them for me to sit. For me, that was one of my first times feeling welcomed into not just this new community but any community at Lakeside.
• Last year during a mixed club meeting we watched "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" and in another meeting, we just played Would You Rather. Those experiences were both very fun.
• Eating Trader Joe’s snacks last year and playing games.

What do you wish other people knew or understood about your identity?

• It can be fun to be mixed, too, because you get exposure to multiple cultures.