Eleven new students joined Marlborough’s Organized Latinx Exchange and student leaders of the OLÉ are working more than ever to emphasize the groups’ presence at Marlborough.
OLÉ student leader Eva ’22 believes this increase in members is in part due to changes in OLÉ student outreach.
“I think we’ve strengthened our presence on campus and created a stronger community within OLÉ,” Eva said. “For example, hosting Dolores Huerta definitely allowed more students who identified as Latinx to be aware of us.”
Affinity groups were also introduced to incoming students at Violets 101 for the first time this year.
“We’re an integral part of the community and having affinity groups allows for students to meet other students with similar identities,” Eva said.
Violets 101 included an introduction to affinity groups during orientation this year, which OLÉ student leader Kristina ‘23 says helps students establish a foundation for their experience at Marlborough.
“Introducing affinity groups during Violets 101 is a great step,” OLÉ student leader Sofia ‘24 said.“When you first come to Marlborough making friends can be difficult and if on top of that, you’re feeling isolated because of your identity, having a group right off the bat can really help.”
Welcoming so many students to OLÉ in an online format presented its challenges and caused leaders to rethink their approach to welcoming newcomers.
“I think constantly reintroducing ourselves because we can’t see each other in the hallways anymore is important. Minor things like making a Spotify playlist with everyone’s favorite songs and other small things like that bring us together,” Eva said.
OLÉ student leaders are excited to see what new members will bring to OLÉ this year, including Kristina ’23.
“I think especially with lower schoolers, they bring a different perspective and a different mindset on Marlborough,” Kristina said. “It’s special, the relationship between us as upper schoolers with the lower school members.”
The interactions between students across grades with similar cultural backgrounds and experiences is a unique aspect of affinity groups like OLÉ.
“I’ve never met anyone outside of my family in Los Angeles who is from Chile and there’s a new seventh grader whose family is from Chile, but I never would’ve met her without OLÉ,” Eva said.
