Communication Office

“What is the reach of who ‘we the people’ are in the United States Constitution?” Civil rights leader Robert P. Moses asked Milton students. “What does it mean to be among ‘we the people?’ What does it mean to be a citizen of this country?”

The meaning of that phrase in the constitution’s preamble has shifted over the years, beginning with white, male property owners at the founding of the U.S., eventually expanding to include women and minorities, and constricting with immigration restrictions, Dr. Moses said.

Sharing visceral works filled with loss, longing, fear and love, Bingham Visiting Writer Tina Chang read her poetry to students and explained how she uses writing to grapple with existential questions about society and motherhood.

The award-winning poet and teacher read a poem from Hybrida, her forthcoming book, that weaves the voice of her son from the womb with news reports about the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and with observations about the idea of police protection being conflated with hunting prey.

“Are justice and victory the same laurels?” the poem asks. “For all that we say about death and its peace and its privacy, it’s better to live.”

“You get nothing out of being cruel to yourself, and you gain everything by being kind,” Ginny Barrett (II) says. “It’s a really hard lesson to learn, but once you’re there, it can be transformative. It starts as simply as looking in the mirror and saying, ‘I look good today.’”

This is the message that Ginny and Laura Bailey (I) hope members take away from the student club, Body+, which they cofounded this year: Self-confidence comes from accepting and loving the person you are today. The girls are not just close friends; they’re cousins, and from this lifelong bond they’ve guided each other through the various insecurities that arise in adolescence.