On Thursday, Feb. 17, Amador students from organizations all around campus came together for an hour during access to discuss the first in-person Donversity the school has seen in two years. 

“[To the sophomores and freshmen] I would say to get excited because it is one of Amador’s best events and most looked forward to, and they should hope that they learn a lot and experience a lot,” said the Leadership Representative Sarah Nicolson (‘22).

After Amador went from a student population that was 80 percent white to 50 percent white, Nicole Zhang and Nimarta Grewal came up with the idea for Donversity in 2016 to bring together the student body. Donversity is a way for students to celebrate the many cultures, perspectives, and organizations on campus. The first Donversity theme, Windows and Mirrors, spread a culture of inclusivity throughout campus. 

“Especially with the last two years with COVID and the Black Lives Matter Movement and all this racial disparity, I think it is really important in value to commemorate all the differences we have, and help people understand and showcase light on some of the problems we are having,” said Vaneesha Dave (‘22).

Donversity is being held this year from April 19 to April 22, and with classroom and lunch activities, a club festival, and a rally to plan, the committee members have a busy two months ahead of them. They will be working closely with Mrs. Kirksey, the Drama teacher, and Mrs. Connelly, the Video Production and Journalism teacher.

“I think it will be a lot of work but because everything is split up into subcommittees, it is less on the individual person, but Donversity does take a lot of work from the rallies to the spirit week, to the classroom activities, there is so much that goes into it,” said Nicolson.

To start off the meeting, the members needed to come up with a theme. Sarah Nicolson and Vaneesha Dave told the people who came to each pitch an idea, and in the end they voted on five potential themes that they are going to send to the digital arts class to start designing with. They will make a decision based on what design looks most appealing to the eye.

“Today’s meeting is actually really important because first we are putting everything into motion for the Donversity rally and it is one of the biggest rallies of the year,” said Dave.

From members of the Black Student Union, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, Local Leaders, and Korean Club, this meeting was packed with individuals with different perspectives and fresh ideas. They will eventually be placed in subcommittees to plan different activities for Donversity from the rally, the classroom and lunch activities, to the art gallery in the library.

“I think the turnout [for this meeting] was great. I think we had a lot of people come, we had a lot of different clubs sign up and fill out the form, and the meeting was really interactive. We were all discussing and participating, so I think it is a great start, so I am excited for the future of the rally,” said Dave.

As for the budget, right now Leadership has budgeted 1005 dollars towards this event. This money will be used to schedule artists for the concert during lunch, set up decorations, and potentially even get a llama for the quad on Wednesday for wellness day for the students to pet.

“We can get money by donations or other accounts. Normally it depends what specifically we use the money on but we try to budget to spend it wisely,” said Nicolson.

The students this year are determined to make Donversity a big hit this year, and promote connections between the students that may have been lost over the COVID-19 year. And this year they will be going away from technology, and making it a fully in person experience.