Student Testimonials

 "A disagreement can start a new idea." 

" I want everyone to feel like they're loved."

"A neutral stance would be harmful if someone is being bullied"

"I know someone at Lab whose parents are not accepting, but at Lab she feels accepted." 

"Stop the racist, anti-trans, anti-neurodiverse things that are happening... no more affinity groups at Labfest....signs are being taken down."   

One of the defining characteristics of my time at Lab was the teachers' commitment to including all students and opening our eyes as a community with so much privilege to oppression. Now as an educator myself, I have seen firsthand the harm done when an educational institution prioritizes one student's freedom to express hurtful ideology over another student's right to feel psychologically safe in a learning community. No educator should ever tolerate a student's identity being directly attacked by another student's free expression. In this political climate, every educator has a duty to welcome students of all identities into the classroom and ensure that while students are free to express different ideas, they must abide by a core value of inclusion. To see Lab seizing this moment to move in the opposite direction is disappointing to say the least. - Lab Lifer and Alum