Latinos Unidos members pose for a photo after a meeting. (Submitted by Larson)

The Latinos Unidos Affinity group is for those who identify as Latinx. According to leader Agustin Catoggio ‘25, some of their main goals are to bring awareness to Latino Culture throughout the school and have a welcoming space for all. “The main goal…is to foster a fun and safe environment to be with others that identify as Latinx. Bake sales and other similar activities have helped bring awareness to Latino culture and we have often indulged in Latino snacks during our meetings.” 

These events that Latinos Unidos has held aim to ensure that students feel welcome and safe during the school year. It offers a place for students to talk with classmates they can relate to personally through shared experiences. 

A topic to be extremely aware of is cultural appropriation. Catoggio and Latinos Unidos have addressed this throughout the school year. “Latinos Unidos…has carefully avoided hosting events or other things of that nature which could give space for cultural appropriation.” Ensuring that cultural appropriation is not in our community is important, and Latinos Unidos makes sure to try their best to not have it present. 

Making sure that Latin X people are recognized is important to not just people who identify as Latin X, but to the Blake community as a whole. Catoggio said “People who identify as Latinx at Blake are very few so just holding these meetings to be able to enjoy time with others who identify similarly is key in representing the Latinx body.” There are no upcoming events for the remainder of the school year but Latinos Unidos does plan on hosting a bake sale next year. Students can contact Catoggio, Cris Larson, Health teacher and Tony Andrade, Admissions, for more information. 

Shades students at their potluck. (Michelle Elliott)

The African American Affinity Group, also known as Shades, has had a great year. According to leader Rania Abdullahi ‘25, “[Our main goal is] to create a fun and safe space for all the students who identify as black or African American and also bring us all together. 

A key component to affinity groups is to provide students and faculty a safe space to share their thoughts. Shades achieves this every meeting, according to Abdullahi. “Every meeting, either one of the leaders or [Lester] Batiste will have a prompt or a question and just ask people how they’re feeling about the week about school or just about being Black in general at Blake,” Abdullahi said.  

These times during Shades meetings are extremely beneficial to participating students as it offers a time where students can talk about their personal selves while at school. Jay Ali ‘26 added on, saying, “when you walk in there, there’s people that understand how you feel.” Being able to connect with students on a personal level has many added benefits, and it’s great to see Shades accomplishing that. In order to raise awareness surrounding African American history and culture, Abdullahi said she has “[working] on educational forums that we might present to the school.” Similar to other affinity groups, Shades had a potluck to bring members together through food and enjoy the moment. 

“Different students brought different foods from their backgrounds…and it was just like a safe space for us to eat and just have fun,” Abdullahi said. To close out the school year, Shades plans on having one more fun meeting for all those who identify. A faculty member that students can ask questions about more information on Shades is Batiste. 

JSU members with Mishloach Manot for faculty. (Submitted by Chester)

The Jewish Student Union (JSU) is a group for students who are Jewish to rejoice and connect with peers about their experiences. It aims to have a safe place for Jewish students to organize and converse in meaningful conversations. “It provides a safe place for Jews to come together and discuss like personal issues that kind of reflect the collective in a safer space that there’s also guidance where there’s a Jewish Counselor (Jill Rabinovitz) here at Blake that helps us deal with our struggles and our identity,” Zac Carter ‘26 said. 

Not only does this affinity group provide a safe space for students, but it also provides closure to parents that their children are safe and represented at school. “It’s beneficial to the families of Jewish students at Blake that are comfortable now with sending their kids to school knowing that they’re supported,” Carter said. 

Saul Templeton ‘26 added, “We’ve been talking about the recent current events and how it relates to us as students at Blake but also more broadly.” In addition to discussing current events, JSU has spread awareness around Jewish holidays, such as creating Mishloach Manot (Purim gift baskets) for faculty and staff.

JSU has been a great space for students to come together and talk about how they are feeling with what’s happening in the world as seen here. JSU is currently wrapping up this year but they plan on having more events and learning workshops next year. Students can contact Rabinovitz, Sophie Chester ‘26, and Zavdi Fisher ‘26 for more information.

AAPI Members at their potluck. (AAPI Instagram)

Asian American Pacific Islander Affinity Group (AAPI) has many students involved at the Upper School as well as the Middle School. Though AAPI has been at the Middle School for many years, this is AAPI’s first year at the Upper School. Shoumili Tarafder ‘26 is one of the founding members of AAPI and she feels that this affinity group helps students in different ways. “It also helps them just connect and have fun and learn more about each other through a shared belief that they have,” Tarafder said.

By starting AAPI at the Upper School, Tarafder has been able to bring the enjoyment she experienced at the Middle School to the Upper School. The main goal for AAPI is to bring the diverse community together. Tarafder said “This year, our main goal was community and kind of just getting the ball rolling on implementing AAPI at the highschool so getting people to show up, getting people to get excited to talk about their heritage, talk about what it means to be Asian and how that’s important to your identity,.” 

A big event that AAPI held this year was a potluck where many students and teachers brought foods that they felt best represented them. “It was a really great way to connect with and learn more about each other. With affinity groups, students have the ability to have their ethnicity and heritage represented school wide…we’re trying to create some more school wide awareness where people can listen to more Asian authors, read more Asian literature, listen to more Asian centered music, and kind of other ways to normalize Asians in this western perspective.”