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Commitment to Diversity

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Reflection

Throughout my time at Verde Magazine, I have sought to uplift marginalized voices or discussions that may need more recognition within our local community.

Through my "Trans Identity In Sports" story, I interviewed a trans athlete at my school and raised difficult discussions surrounding the discrimination and emotional hardships suffered by trans athletes while raising important issues of fairness in sport. My deeply nuanced discussion of the subject, aided by experts in the subject who helped us discuss this deeply controversial issue, allows readers to gain a greater understanding of the participation of trans athletes in sports, both nationally and in the Palo Alto community.

In my "Experiencing Roe Reversal" and "Teaching the Holocaust" stories, I have similarly examined controversial and relevant topics, that while national issues, have relevance to my local community. In "Experiencing Roe Reversal" my story partner and I examined how Palo Alto High School students leaving for college will be affected by the overturn of Roe vs. Wade and elaborated on the implications for a wide variety of students. In "Teaching the Holocaust", I explored the alarming rise in anti-semitism in the Bay Area and the importance of teaching history in alleviating this hate at my high school.

As part of my "Mural With a Mission" story about the "Same Moon Same Stars" student organization, I interviewed not only the students involved in creating the mural on our campus but the subject of the mural as well, delegate designee for the House of Representatives Kimberly Teehee. Interviewing Teehee (seen above in the mural) was an enormous honor and provided an opportunity to explore issues facing the Native American community, specifically the Cherokee Nation, nationwide. My experience writing the story also imparted to me the importance of talking to influential sources on difficult subjects beyond just groups in the local community. 

Finally, throughout my role as perspectives editor, I have always sought a diverse array of stories from students, whether about their love for Taiko, their life without social media, or their experience as a cat owner allergic to cats (yes it is true!).

© 2022 by Andy D. Robinson.

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