Maddy Turner, Chloe Stiffle, & Casey Boykins

LAW is the first in a series of affinity groups that The Forum will be covering this year.

Walking into Latin on the first day of school is always a little daunting, no matter how long we’ve gone here. Whether it’s our first ‘First Day’ or our last, climbing the stairs up to our lockers and classmates creates an unavoidable sense of apprehension; we’re unsure of who we’ll eat lunch with, sit next to in class, or ask for homework help after school. Reaching out to students in other grades can be intimidating, and it seems like study partners and friend groups are subject to change at a moment’s notice. Our school inspires us to pursue our passions and interests, but far too often we ignore this and try to hide who we really are out of fear of judgment.

We’ve all been there. And we believe LAW can help you break out of this mindset that holds you back from doing truly incredible things.

“I would describe Latin’s Alliance for Women (LAW) as a support system for girls; the club attempts to empower women in our community by teaching them how to appreciate one another and ultimately themselves. LAW teaches us how powerful believing in ourselves can be, and shows the changes we can make in our community when we feel supported and heard. LAW is a way to break down the stereotypes of ‘girl-world’–to take a step back and learn about one another.” – Casey Boykins, Clubs Meeting Coordinator

This year, LAW has some big events to introduce to the school. We will continue to have our breakfasts, bringing in special speakers and focusing on topics we feel are important to bring to our community’s attention. Also, we want to partner with many other affinity groups to make LAW as inclusive as possible and receives opinions from other people with different points of view.

One of LAW’s big goals this year is integrating with the middle school. We really want to utilize the activities and progress LAW has made as a club to help middle school girls deal with the troubles of the “middle school girl-world.” With the help of our outreach coordinators and support from the middle school administration, we plan on creating a supportive environment for a younger group of girls.

The seniors in LAW hope to leave Latin’s community even better than they found it, leaving a legacy of support and leadership in addition to the ability to create change with even the smallest activities and discussions. To go along with this legacy, the club hopes to host the first Latin Alliance for Women self-esteem sleepover. This unconventional idea was a result of the club leaders’ views on how self-esteem and understanding of oneself is one of the most important tools we can help provide to girls in our community. Open to all upper school girls, this sleepover (hosted at Latin) would allow the club leaders to plan a night full of self-esteem workshops, inspirational speeches, and the like in the hope that girls would leave feeling a greater sense of support from their Latin girl community.

The LAW experience at Latin is meant to encourage, expand, and push girls’ understanding of one another and themselves to a new level. Creating a mutual respect of each other within the community will allow girls to feel respected and comfortable at school. We look forward to an outstanding, involved group of students coming to LAW this year, and we encourage everyone to stop in during clubs block and our early morning breakfasts.

“For me, Latin’s Alliance for Women means so many things. A safe space where I can try and become the kind of woman I want to be. A place where I’ve made such amazing, long lasting relationships and seen others do the same. And more than anything, this year I see LAW being a force of change inside Latin. We’re ready to shake things up. LAW is a place where we are figuring out what it means to be a feminist, and what it means to be a woman.” – Caroline Kaplan

“LAW means inspiring young women to do better and be better for themselves and the people they love.” – Bridget Hennessy

“Since my first club meeting freshman year LAW has always been a place where I felt that my voice and what I had to say was important. It has allowed me to have a greater understanding of myself and the girls in our community, through club activities, breakfasts and affinity group partnerships.” – Casey Boykins

“[LAW is] an opportunity for me to hear what women of this school are feeling.” – Randall Carpenter