It is a tradition at Thomas A Edison High School to annually host the week-long Spirit Week. During this week, students dress each day in a designated theme such as decade day, dress for success day, jersey day, twin day, and last but not least, multi-cultural day. Since Edison consists of a significantly diverse population of students from various parts of the world, multi-cultural day provides a beautiful opportunity for all of us to show pride in our nationalities.
When asked Umadevi Sookhai, a senior at Edison, about how she feels about representing her own native culture at Edison, she sates “Well, my parents are Guyanese and even though I was born in New York, my parents never fail to make me realize where my ancestors are from and how they have grown up with the blessings of our own god, friends, and family. When I see other kids at school wear traditional clothes from their own culture, it motivates me to wear my own traditional Sari with ancestral Indian accessories such as bangles and a bindi.”
Christian Gosine, another senior at Edison, explains his view on the multi-cultural day celebrated at Edison. “I am Puerto Rican. I would say that my culture is full of vibrant colors, food, and music that bring every one together with joy and harmony. At least that’s how I’ve grown up living in a Hispanic family and I am proud to a Hispanic.”
Our school is not only limited to the ethnicities mentioned above. At Edison, we welcome, Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Jamaicans, Africans, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Russians, Germans, and many more. Multi-cultural Day is the day we all should feel encouraged to wear our own traditional clothing to school and introduce students to the cultures that are beyond America.