Brionne Smith

EIA president Maryan Abdi invites listeners to participate in a quick introduction.

Equity in Action (EIA) is an organization at South that enables students to share their ideas and bring them to life in school, according to counselor Carly Roach.

EIA meetings take place monthly in ac lab, bringing students together to share ideas.

“We try to map out our short-term goals and put those into action, and then we talk about our long-term goals. For example, ‘What are we going to do for Black History Month this year?’ And in the long term, it’s more like, ‘How can we make people who come to this school feel welcome?’” Junior Maslah Abdi said. Abdi is a recruiter for the organization. 

While planning events, students also use the meetings to make people feel welcome and build a community, according to President Maryan Abdi.

“We just had our first meeting last week, but we mostly organize how to build the South community and build diversity at South. It is a very welcoming space,” Abdi said.

EIA students also receive guidance from teachers and staff members to help them bring their ideas to school

“The district empowers EIA to make sure that students have both a welcoming place at school, connections, and seek change at South High,” Roach said.

The EIA study lounge, created by EIA students, has been going on for about 3 years.

“Students who want a combination of mentoring and continued check-ins are in EIA study lounge” Barrett Taylor says.

Meetings also follow a regular schedule so that students know when they can drop in.

“Student leadership activity can increase meetings, but our goal is to meet at least once a month, and anyone can attend,” Roach said.

Students attend EIA to feel welcome at South High.

“I’m looking for a community to be part of, and it is a very welcoming one. EIA encompasses a large number of people, and that’s what I love about it. It is definitely a place you would want to be in,” freshman Skye Glover said.

 Members say they’re excited for what’s ahead, especially the ideas students are going to bring forward.

“I think that EIA is a community that everyone would want to be a part of, and if you passed it up, you would be passing up a very good community. It’s not only a place, it’s a family, and I do really think they make an impact,” Glover said.