Outside the Lines

Beyond
U
beliefs
Students, staff collaborate to spread awareness, represent religious diversity
Jonah Cooper, Jennifer Huang, Camden Wright, Lillian Zhou, Vivian Zhu
Like the steel and concrete of a
building’s foundation, diverse beliefs
are the basis on which society
relies for structure and support. The
rituals, ceremonies, prayers and customs
of world religions may differ but
they serve as opportunities for students
to learn more about each other and
build relationships with their peers.
For Zoya Rizvi ’24, these connections
are the building blocks to achieving
an inclusive school environment.
As a Muslim student, Rizvi balances
religious practices with homework and
extracurriculars, including leading the
Muslim Student Association (MSA)
after school as an executive board
member. The Pew Research Center
reports that roughly 4 percent of US
adolescents ages 13 to 17 identify with
non-Christian religions such as Islam,
Judaism and Hinduism. Rizvi believes
that Stevenson’s student population
promotes a greater degree of diversity
and inclusion while allowing students
of all backgrounds to feel represented.
“At Stevenson, there are a lot of
backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures
to learn about and spread awareness
on,” Rizvi said. “As a minority, being
Muslim and all, it’s important to share
those experiences and to show that people
can practice their religion openly.”
14 features • november 2022
Rizvi aims to support and represent
Muslim students through religious
teambuilding and service activities
during MSA. For example, Rizvi led
MSA’s booth on calligraphy during
World’s Fair and also helped create opportunities
where students made traditional
foods during food lab meetings.
However, she acknowledges that students
and staff could be more aware of
diverse religious practices.
“For example, we have this thing
called Ramadan where we fast and
get up really early. We don’t really eat
throughout the entire school day,” Rizvi
said. “People either don’t know much
about certain religions or they don’t feel
like they have a certain outlet to connect
to their religions outside of their
homes so some people might try to conceal
who they are.”
Rizvi believes that a lack of understanding
can cause students to feel
reluctant to share their unique backgrounds
and experiences. For example,
while Peter Pynadath ’23 does not
experience direct conflict between his
religious practices and academic expectations,
he feels that his religion is
largely overlooked by his peers and underrepresented
in affinity groups like
the Indian Student Association (ISA).
“For the most part, my traditions
and beliefs are accommodated for, but
they’re not really thought of,” Pynadath
said.
Pynadath and his family originate
from Kerala, a state in southern India
where Catholicism is more prominent
as a result of religious migration during
Biblical times. This differs from northern
India, where Hinduism is more
common. Pynadath and his family celebrate
holidays like Onam that are not
represented in ISA, though he acknowledges
the difficulty of encompassing all
traditions in a single club.
“There’s so many different religions,
beliefs and cultures that sometimes it
seems unfeasible to represent everyone,”
Pynadath said. “But if we want
change to happen, we need to push for
it and actively vocalize our beliefs.”
Pynadath emphasizes that open dialogue
is the first step toward achieving
inclusivity. To advocate for students
like Pynadath, World Religions
teacher Melissa Fainman suggests that
viewing inclusivity through a nuanced
lens can help faculty members advance
Stevenson’s equity, diversity and inclusion
(EDI) efforts.