On Equity and Inclusion
For almost 250 years, Phillips Exeter Academy has educated generations of the social, political, and economic elite, and in recent decades the institution has made strides towards greater diversity in the student body. Regarding underrepresented minorities, nearly 20 percent of the student body identifies as Black and/or Latinx. Furthermore, other types of diversity are also represented throughout the campus, and discussions involving gender, sexuality, religion, class and other important topics are taking place inside and outside of the classroom.
"While our student body is purported to be one of the most diverse in the nation, the Academy has taken insufficient steps to create an inclusive environment."
While our student body is purported to be one of the most diverse in the nation, the Academy has taken insufficient steps to create an inclusive environment and provide the support and resources needed to promote the academic success and well-being of all Exonians. In 2012, the Academy hired a third party to solicit their professional advice in assessing the school’s progress regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, titled the “Equity and Diversity Climate Assessment Report for Phillips Exeter Academy.”
On pages six and seven of this report, the research group found that the racial climate at Exeter was positive, although citing notable differences between the responses received from white students and students of color. The report reads, “Students of color are statistically less likely than white students at Exeter to: feel that faculty advisors respond effectively to racial conflicts in the dormitories, believe that teachers respond effectively to racial tensions in the classroom, feel safe at Exeter, feel that the curriculum reflects the voices and experiences of people from their racial group and feel comfortable being themselves at Exeter. Also, students of color are statistically more likely than white students to: feel that they have been the targets of online forms of harassment, have been bullied at Exeter, believe that racism is a problem at Exeter, feel pressure to change the way they speak, dress, or act in order to “fit in” at Exeter, have heard or been the target of racist jokes or remarks at Exeter, have felt threatened by other students at Exeter and feel stereotyped based on race at Exeter.”
Due to the concerns raised by the students’ responses, the Academy received several recommendations to improve the racial climate of the school, including the provision of “additional opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage in civil dialogue,” “diversify[ing] the curriculum by insisting upon multicultural curricula in all classes,” and “continu[ing] and strengthen[ing] attempts to hire teachers, staff, and administrators of color.” Furthermore, in 2015 the Council of Equity and Social Justice crafted and delivered a similar proposal to the administration of Principal Tom Hassan and the incoming administration of Principal Lisa MacFarlane. The group of students were promised that the propositions would be prioritized in the following year. After five years and two proposals, the experiences of Black and/or Latinx students remain largely unchanged.
The Academy has not only ignored recommendations related to the well-being of Black and Latinx students, but in some cases it appears to have gone directly against them. In the fall of 2016, the Office of Multicultural Affairs was renamed the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA), which presents a vacuum of accountability for the adult community on campus. Additionally stripped of its original role on the Principal’s Staff, the dean of OMSA for seven years has been working under the Dean of Students. This limits the Dean of OMSA’s access to the principal and removes their ability to advocate on behalf of students as an equal part of the Dean cohort. Moreover, the Academy’s inability to retain Black and/or Latinx faculty contributes to a faculty hierarchy in which Black and/or Latinx faculty are permanently in an inferior position because they lack seniority in the PEA community. This leads to a collective feeling of disempowerment among Black and/or Latinx Exonians, adults and students alike.
Ensuring an equitable educational experience for Black and/or Latinx students is essential to the Academy’s definition of knowledge and goodness. Among the improvements we find central to accomplishing these goals are: required biannual diversity and implicit bias training for Academy faculty and staff, the continued focus on hiring and retaining Black and/or Latinx faculty and administrators, changes to the curriculum in all academic subjects to reflect our diverse community and greater support for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the students they serve.
We say these things neither to praise nor attack the Academy. However, since the release of the 2012 study, Black and/or Latinx students have continued to feel invisible, hurt and exhausted by the responsibility of having to repeatedly initiate these conversations. We hope the administration will begin to make the necessary changes to rectify the racial climate of the Academy.