On Thursday, May 10, leaders from the Mosaic group hosted the Edina High School student forum in the north gym. Attendees munched on cookies while giving feedback about the environment at EHS. Mosaic is attempting to find a way to bring people together and shape the future of EHS. The group consists of students who want to create a more diverse, inclusive school culture.

The forum was in a world cafe format meaning that individuals were assigned to a group that included at least one Mosaic leader. There were approximately ten groups with a minimum of four people in each group. Groups discussed one question at a time and wrote their answers down on a sheet of paper. Participants switched tables after every question and waited until the end to share their answers.

The first question posed was an icebreaker: is a hot dog a sandwich? Many groups went back and forth, however, the majority of tables concluded that a hot dog is not a sandwich. “A hot dog is not a sandwich because a sandwich is between two slices of bread, not a bun,” sophomore Eddy Rosenthal said.

The second question was a little more personal: what interactions have positively or negatively contributed to your high school experience? “Political polarization has really had a negative impact on my high school experience,” junior Clara Bils said.

The third question was thought-provoking: How can EHS better support equity for marginalized groups? “People need to be more accepting to make this community a place that everyone wants to be a part of,” Bils said. Sophomore Mosaic leader Monte Mahlum added, “EHS can better the equity for marginalized groups by creating a more welcoming environment and by figuring out ways to keep everyone involved in social justice throughout the school.”

The fourth and final question was: what are the most crucial things for EHS to work on next year concerning inclusion and safety? Sophomore Mosaic leader Ari Mashad responded that “To make everyone feel welcomed and safe is a tricky task to achieve. However, the first step should be to have an open and honest dialogue about challenges students may encounter in the process of feeling at home throughout their time at EHS.”

After the group discussions came to an end, attendees shared their opinions pertaining to the questions in front of the whole group. Sophomore Lindsey McKhann might have summed it up best: “I think we need more events to celebrate each other such as the unity walk and the multicultural show. These events should not be afterthoughts, but something we should all take part in.”