At Deerfield Academy, there are countless alliances where students of similar backgrounds connect, and support diverse identities. Alliances are formed off of numerous characteristics such as, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, religion, and beliefs.
On Saturday, September 23, 2023, Deerfield hosted the annual Alliance Block Party, which allowed students across the community to engage with different communities on campus and sign up for alliances, either as an ally or an affinity member. Additionally, each alliance offered culturally significant food at their booth, filling the Hess with scents of plantains, latkes, cupcakes, and mangos.
The majority of alliances at Deerfield Academy hold regular meetings, weekly or monthly, and each meeting is either alliance, open to any interested students, or affinity, limited to those who align with the group’s identity markers. Ella Waag ’26, member of the International Student Alliance (ISA) said, “Affinity means you associate an aspect of yourself with the alliance, or it’s integrated into your lifestyle…Whereas alliance is showing your support for those who connect with the [identity] on a more personal level.”
Most meetings at Deerfield are alliance, making them open to all. Waag estimates that 60 percent of the ISA’s meetings are alliance. Ju lian Abreu ’25, Scroll staff writer and board member of the Mixed Student Alliance (MSA), said that 80 percent of their meetings are alliance and Alice Wu ’25, Scroll staff writer and communications representative for the Foreign American Alliance (FAA) believes over 50 percent of the FAA’s meetings are alliance.
Alliance group members believe alliance and affinity meetings differ primarily in the topic and tone of conversation. According to Wu, affinity meetings tend to be “more serious” because “there’s [a smaller crowd] and more people that are comfortable around each other since [most] share similar backgrounds” and therefore “feel more comfortable talking to each other on deeper levels.”
Regarding differences in conversation, Abreu said, “In affinity meetings, they are usually more serious and personal,” where participants discuss “negative and positive experiences mixed students have had at Deerfield.”
Examples of affinity topics of discussion for the ISA include: “How have you adjusted to the time change?” and for the MSA: “What have been your positive and negative experiences as a mixed student at Deerfield?”
Alliance meetings are bigger and tend to be more lighthearted. Waag noted that alliance meetings have more ice breakers and get to know you activities.
Wu describes the contrast in one simple example taken from FAA meetings, saying that, “We talked about the experience of being a Deerfield student from Asian descent, whereas in an alliance meeting, we introduced what the FAA was and brought Chinese food.”
While alliance members seem to appreciate affinity meetings for what Abreu noted as their “realness” and vulnerability, many appreciate alliance meetings as well.
Abreu explained that “At a school like Deerfield, where there isn’t that much diversity, it’s important to show kids that do have mixed backgrounds, that they aren’t alone, and they can be that part of themselves here.”
Many believe alliance meetings give Deerfield students the ability to show their support and curiosity for diverse groups represented in the community. Wu said that she appreciates alliance meetings due to sentiments of curiosity and openness among other students.
From personal affinity meetings to more lighthearted alliance events, these meetings provide the Deerfield community with the opportunity, regardless of their identity, to listen and learn, according to Abreu. “You don’t have to be different here than you are back home,” he said.