Documenting the Present, Planning the Future

Last week, Lawrenceville concluded an unprecedented year with what Head Master Steve Murray called “emotional and powerful’ all-School meeting. Led by School President Soleil Saint-Cyr ’20, students reflected on experiences and take ways gained from their work on the Lawrenceville Community Project: Bearing Witness to Spring 2020, created in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and calls for greater social justice in America.

Lawrentians spent the last two days of class working on the Project, a School-wide initiative, which asked students to create personal “artifacts” that represent their personal experiences this spring. Each artifact will be one piece in the community’s collective experience and memory of this moment in time. The works will be both a time capsule for the School Archives and a guide to frame next steps for the School community in the year ahead.

Artifacts included artworks, essays, poems, letters, photographs, prayers, lesson plans, self-education plans, slides, songs, embroidery, infographics, videos, and more.

“This week, we have been invested in the how and the active measures that we can take as individuals, and as a community, to better the diverse spaces which we inhabit. How is not simple. How is not finite,” said Saint-Cyr. “This [Project] was the most amazing of first steps, but what we have to continue to consider . . . is how we can do better, and I know that we can find a way. I want to assure all members of Lawrenceville that this is only the beginning. [It is] the first step in a series of steps that will be taken to ensure that Lawrentians understand what it means to live out the Harkness education.”

Murray concluded the meeting, focusing on the School’s current and forthcoming efforts in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and social justice for all. He thanked students for their leadership in this area and expressed his hope and optimism for Lawrenceville, tempered by the knowledge that hard work still must be done to foster an environment that is truly diverse and equitable.

The Head Master concluded, “We have lived through quite a spring together, and in spite of it all, I believe we have revealed ourselves strong community, intent of getting even stronger.”

Watch Steve Murray’s remarks in their entirety on Lawrenceville’s YouTube channel.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.