On Wednesday, May 17, Edina High School hosted its first ever Unity Walk, organized by the EHS Mosaic. Mosaic is a club that was started this year in response to the dissemination of harmful messages and images throughout the student body during the presidential election. “We were divided and we need[ed] to come together if there was anything to be accomplished [to bring unity]…This is why and how Mosaic was created,” said senior Abdi Ali, a Mosaic founder. “We founded Mosaic using all types of groups from the Black Student Union to Student Council to simply people who wanted change in our school,” he said. The walk was Mosaic’s way to get the school together and make their existence known. “What better way than to have a walk, united with a broad student body coming together for one hour to do something good?” said Ali.

The walk has caused some controversy at EHS due to the fact that the organizers decided to make the walk non-political. “We feel that coming together has nothing to do with politics. Politics isn’t the reason why our school is divided and why so much hate and tension is occurring in our school.” said Ali. Eemanna Rivers, another senior at EHS, disagrees. “I’d prefer our schooling system to educate students to be politically aware and critical so that we can address issues in our community in a wholesome way. Leaving politics to be taught at home only perpetuates a closed mind,” said Rivers. Although some wish the walk was more political, the Unity Walk marks an important step towards peace at EHS.

Another point of contention is that the walk may not be doing enough to bring change to Edina. “[The walk] won’t make any strong impact because of the lack of education on what unity even looks like. Marginalized and mainstream groups have coexisted in our school; however, safety for all students has yet to be achieved because there is no direct education in our school and unity calls for understanding one another,” said Rivers. Nonetheless, many feel the Unity Walk was a step in the right direction  towards peace at EHS. “Mosaic is full of great people who have great interests in their minds who wish to do nothing but good in this community we share,” said Ali.

Mosaic put in a lot of work in order to make the walk possible. “We struggled with getting permits and getting a date scheduled and getting approved by the school,” said Ali. The walk spanned 10 blocks in a loop around EHS and took about an hour. Although organizers were faced with the dilemma of cancelling the walk due to bad weather, they decided go through with it with the goal of unifying the school. Ali remains hopeful about the impact of Mosaic. “Give it a chance,” he said.”If there is anything good to happen for the future we must be united as a front.”