Vice Captain ' s Report
Legacy of the Class of 2017: inclusivity and acceptance
It is difficult to know whether or not the Class of 2017’ s push to make Scotch a more inclusive and accepting space will be remembered in isolation, or rather as a part of a wider and more lasting cultural shift within our community. Our intention this year as leaders has aimed at creating the latter. For both Michel and me, thoughts of the legacy which the Class of 2017 would ultimately leave were major motivations, as we planned not only to work with the boys of our own year level, but across the whole student body.
While we realised early on that it is incredibly difficult to effect long-term change within the confines of a single year, we believed it was crucial to try to open channels through which our successors would perhaps be able to continue similar work.
Our vision into the future of Scotch is embodied in our own year level, the Class of 2017. As we move on to become Old Boys of the school, we realise we have a significant role to play within this very community. Some boys from our year level will undoubtedly go on to serve as members of the School Council, the Scotch Foundation and OSCA; and just as importantly, as parents of boys at the school. We will thus maintain an active role in the workings of the school and the values which it espouses.
The power of Old Boys, both in these specific roles and simply as informed and experienced members of the Scotch community, has the capacity to guide debate and to effect large-scale change. It is our hope that the Class of 2017 will go on to represent the experiences and views of our generation at Scotch, adapting the school’ s culture to a constantly evolving and increasingly diverse modern society. Through our student-led discussion forums this year, the boys have shown the beginnings of what we hope will be lasting discussions, as they continue to interact with the school, and with each other, for many years to come.
Our engagement with the younger boys in the school this year has been stimulating, and we look towards future student initiatives with great hope. The sometimes confronting and challenging responses of Year 8 boys to issues of feminism, racism and homophobia this year have highlighted the need to recognise, and thereby eliminate, insensitive and offensive language that has the capacity to create real harm. All school leaders will need to ensure that boys reach maturity with an understanding of the inherent value of each individual at the school.
As a student body, we can be certain that Mr Batty will face many more engaged discussions and outlandish ideas pitched to him from boys at early morning meetings in his office. This open
ABOVE: WILLIAM SUTHERLAND AND YEAR 12 PEERS forum for conversation between boys and Principal is testimony that our school is genuinely aware of, and is concerned with, what its students desire. This year there have been student-run Assemblies, weeks dedicated to change, independent charity drives and engaging speakers.
We are confident that future students will have the same opportunities to be exposed to a range of diverse and challenging perspectives. Moreover, with the continuation of our fledgling Acceptance and Diversity Committee in 2018, we know we leave the school with a group of passionate boys dedicated to making positive change.
It is a bitter-sweet feeling to pass on the mantle after a year of leadership at Scotch, but we do so with overwhelming optimism in the positive guiding principles of the school.
WILLIAM SUTHERLAND – SCHOOL VICE CAPTAIN
www. scotch. vic. edu. au Great Scot 23