On their application, each Student Equity Ambassador answered the following questions: 

Why do you want to be a Student Equity Ambassador? Why do you want to participate in creating an anti-racism policy?

Their responses are listed below. 

"I want to be a student equity ambassador because I believe that everyone in the MCCSC should be treated with respect as we all do our part to change the world regardless of your gender, race, or ethnicity. I want to help on making this anti-racism policy as this can change student behavior on all schools in the MCCSC."
-BHSN Grade 9 

"I want to be a student Equity ambassador because I want to cause change in the school. I am a black student who takes primarily AP and honors classes. Unfortunately, many of these classes are filled almost exclusively with white students and taught by primarily white teachers. This leads to me having to endure microaggressions on the daily, mainly by unaware teachers. Though they tend not to be directed towards me, but more general statements, they make me uncomfortable and make me believe that the classroom is not a safe place to share my opinions or beliefs. I know many of the other POC students feel the same way and we shouldn't have to. I want to be able to share my opinions and experiences to better the school and be part of the change."
-BHSN Grade 11

"I want to be an equity ambassador because I believe that there has not been enough done to prevent this issue. As a student, I've noticed a lot of unacceptable behavior that is often ignored. Having students who care about anti-racism participate in creating an anti-racism policy will be beneficial because we are aware of problems around us and the possible solutions. I also believe that a corporation-wide policy is very important, especially for elementary school kids. Creating an educational environment that is actively anti-racist will lead to the younger kids having the awareness of this issue, which they will carry with them for their whole lives."
-BHSN Grade 12

"I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador because I want to be a part of the force that addresses the racism in our schools. Our schools do have racism or unfair treatment, despite what many say, and I would like to directly help fix that. As an Asian American, I mostly receive indirect racism or stereotyping. However, I know there is an abundance of (very) direct racism towards some others. In short, I have experienced racism myself and am very aware of the racial struggles others go through. Considering what is going on in our school and the world regarding racism, I think right now is a great time to improve MCCSC with this anti-racism policy, and I would love to be a part of the process!" 
-BHSS Grade 11

"I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador because I have experienced first-hand moments of bias from teachers skipping my name to not pronounce it to being called a slur by a classmate. MCCSC has provided awesome opportunities for my peers and myself to grow as people. I have met wonderful individuals, but other times, I met people who could be more aware of their actions. By just Week 3 of this school year, I have already encountered microaggressions. Also, in a slightly different vein, achieving upward mobility through academics is something I value deeply for my family. However, my experience in Bloomington has been exceptionally lacking in access to higher opportunities especially coming from an immigrant family without strong ties to the community. Most foremost is having to navigate MCCSC by myself as the oldest sibling in my non-English family. Other times, I have been the only person from my school or even all of Bloomington to participate in an activity that I had spent searching for hours every day on the Internet to find because my local community could not provide it...These barriers have taken an incredible amount of my time and effort to overcome, yet I see some of my peers easily get experience, advice, or a safer school climate. Such inequity motivates me to participate in anti-racism policy, so that I can make the community better for myself, my family, and my other peers." 
-BHSS Grade 11

"For years, I’ve gone through school and never felt like I saw the same people. On the outside I look white, but on the inside I’ve always felt Latino. So as I got older I started to question why it was that my Latino culture was never talked about in school. In fact, I didn’t know Hispanic Latino Heritage Month was in September until last year. I feel like this should change so that all people, not just Latinos, see their culture in their everyday school life." 
-BHSS Grade 12

"I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador because I believe that every student should feel like their school is a safe, respecting, and understanding place. In the current day, we face so many factors that go against these ideals. I think that I can provide an open-minded and passionate perspective to discussions. I desire to make change in this world and I feel it is so important to teach students about discrimination and how to display behavior that is empathetic and educated. As a female, I can bring the point of view of being a societal minority, however, I do want to be honest that as a middle-class Caucasian I am in a place of immense privilege. I would love to be a part of this group because I believe it would help me learn how other students are treated and it would help me understand how I can be a better person." 
-BHSS Grade 9

"I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador because I believe that all students deserve the same opportunities for success. Students should be able to make meaningful connections inside and outside of class, express themselves creatively, and explore their identities as members of true respective communities." 
-ASE Grade 11

"I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador because I believe that everyone should be equally supported and treated in education. I want to make a difference in my community and give my ideas so it can become a better place. The most important things in education is being supported and encouraged to be your best. If victims to racism are not encouraged like their peers, they can start self deprecating themselves and think that they are not good enough. Since a person's early life affects everything after it, it is imperative to be involved in and think about racism critically. I want myself to be involved with an anti-racism policy and take this opportunity because I think it is not enough to NOT be racist. People need to not only not be racist, but actively try to stop racism wherever we can. To feel bad about your race is not the same as other traits, such as ethnicity and sexuality. You can't hide your race: it is something a stranger can see and immediately judge you on. I want to participate in an anti-racism policy because no one should feel like they have less advantages because of something they cannot control. I also would like to know more ABOUT the subject so I can make sure I am not doing anything discriminatory, I can recognize and report any biased behavior, and help support marginalized members of our community by removing surviving stereotypes in our schools' curriculum, regulating what sources schools can use for teaching, and making sure that all students are informed about racism from an early age. It is necessary to prevent and stop any racist behaviors and biases so there will not BE any victims in the future." 
-University Grade 6

"I want to be a part of it to help make a change for the better. I would also like to share mine and others stories about racism and discrimination." 
-Tri-North Grade 7

"I believe that all races have a right to everything and that racism should be extinguished. Why do people hate other races? Because they look different. Because they talk different. Because they do things differently. If one race doesn't deserve to exist why should any other. We should not treat each other horribly just because they are different. Other cultures are an opportunity to learn and make friends. Racism is wrong in all it's ways. Other races should have an opportunity to all rights." 
-Binford Grade 6

"I want to participate in the creation of an anti-racism policy for much the same reason I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador at all: I walk in circles occupied primarily by the maligned (myself included) and I know well that they have things to say that have not and will not be said unless their perspective is shared and shared forcefully. I believe I have the vocation, skills, and perspective that would be of use to this cause."
-Tri-North Grade 8

"I would like to be a Student Equity Ambassador because discussing matters of people of color is important to me and my life. I feel that I have unique perspectives on certain issues because I have dealt with different situations in my life being a person of color. Sometimes I am the only black/hispanic person in a class or the only person with big poofy hair in a room. Whatever the case may be there are things that are unacceptable and one of those things is racism. That is why I would like to be a Student Equity Ambassador."
-Tri-North Grade 8

"The reason I want to be a Student Equity Ambassador is because equality is such an important thing, especially in our generation. I see kids in my school who are left out of games just because of their skin color or where their from or what their accent is and it hurts to see that happen to anyone. Participating in creating an anti-racism policy would give me the chance to help for a better place for kids my age and younger as we continue to grow. There are kids in my grade who get bullied and left out of games and sit alone each day because of what they look like and it makes me feel awful and furious because no one deserves that. People around the world are treated awfully and will be unless we do something about it. I believe we could make a difference with the anti-racism policy and I hope this is the first step to making our world, our community a better place for everyone."
-Binford Grade 6