On Thursday, November 21, the LWHS Student Activism Working Group (SAWG) forwarded a letter to the Senior Administration and the Board of Trustees. They posed the question, “Are we an apolitical institution or a school with a fundamental commitment to social justice?”
Previously, on November 6, the day following the election, Co-Vice Presidents Giada Mercer ’25 and Jack Mireles ’25 held a debriefing space for students to express their conflicting emotions regarding the election results. They also watched Vice President Kamala Harris’s concession speech.
Subsequently, the Student Activism Working Group (SAWG) was formed, comprised of 22 LWHS juniors and seniors and led by Mercer, Mireles, and Olivia Richardson Feldman ’25. SAWG is grounded in addressing LWHS’ values moving forward, especially with the inauguration of former President Donald Trump this coming January 20, 2025. “The two main goals that we came to were … [first] to support the communities that are going to be most impacted by the election, and second… to [address] LWHS’ issues of shying away from committing to social justice, inclusion and equity,” Mercer said.
As the political climate evolves, there is growing recognition that the values captured by LWHS’ mission of head, heart, and hands may need to be reaffirmed.
“We operate in what I call the double bubble of San Francisco and Lick-Wilmerding,” the Head of School Raj Mundra said, “It’s hard when there is an overwhelming majority that believes in one sort of view. I actually believe that it’s much healthier for everybody if there are different perspectives that are brought forward. Some perspectives are not welcome and those include comments that undermine anyone’s identity or dignity. Attacks on trans folx and attacks on female-identifying people are scary now, and school needs to be in a place where they and all students and adults feel safe.”
photo courtesy of SAWG
On November 22nd, a day after receiving the letter, Mr. Mundra responded via email to SAWG. In his message, he acknowledged the current polarized times and expressed his commitment to engage in dialogue with students. “I apologize if you have not felt seen or heard in these past few weeks, and I am eager to engage in open dialogue around the issues you have shared… I may not have answers to all of your questions, but I would like to listen,” Mundra said. He also arranged a meeting on Monday, December 2 with the members of the senior administration team to discuss the concerns with the working group. The members of the senior administration in attendance included the Head of School, Raj Mundra, Dean of Students, Raquel Olivia-Gomez, Dean of Faculty, Alegria Barclay, Dean of Teaching & Learning, Kate Wiley, Dean of Adult Equity and Inclusion, Dee Johnson, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement Christine Godinez, Director of Communications, Monica Alatorre and Interim Director of Admissions, Michelle de Leon.
“[The letter] is an indicator that this is something that’s being felt beyond 22 kids. It is one of the greatest representations of a good education, because we’ve taught kids to question,” Ms. Wiley said.
photo courtesy of SAWG
On Sunday, December 1st, the working group met on zoom to discuss their upcoming meeting with senior administration. They planned for numerous potential responses from Mundra to their question about LWHS’ commitment to social justice.
During the meeting on December 2nd, the working group resurfaced the question, “Are we an apolitical institution or a school with a fundamental commitment to social justice?” Students requested to hear explicitly from Mundra. They expressed their desire for Mundra to: clarify LWHS’s commitment to social justice, consider more conversations and education related to current events, reassess the PPP program to align with the school’s mission, and for LWHS to be more explicit about the connection between civil discourse and social justice.
“We don’t always get it right. Sometimes we get it horribly wrong and sometimes we’re really messy in it, but I’d rather work at a school that is willing to be messy and try than a school that sanitizes everything and doesn’t want to try. And so for me, that is not even just public purpose, but the language of purpose, the language of access and equity, the language of contribution,” Ms. Wiley said.
The following day, on December 3rd, Mr. Mundra sent a follow-up email expressing his gratitude for the working group’s honesty, vulnerability and openness to dialogue during their meeting on December 2nd. He also scheduled an opportunity to continue the discussion on Friday, December 6th.
During the meeting, Mundra gave a response to SAWG’s question. “As a school, we are grounded and committed to social justice,” said Mundra. “Lick should be a leader in advocacy for justice. It has been in the past, and we will be in the future.”
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