Name tags were slapped into place as the multiracial students began to mingle in the cafeteria after school. They were in a place that was designed specifically for them, to give them a place to come together to learn tolerance and respect for all people. Twenty-four students attended the first ever Diversity Club meeting on Oct. 3, with meetings continuing the first Wednesday of every month throughout the school year.

The idea for a Diversity Club began with Dr. Nate Quinn, who took over the position of Coordinator of Cultural Diversity. Through the SPS Office of Cultural Diversity, each high school is required to begin a Diversity Club as a way to bring students together, according to Quinn. Invitations to the first meeting were sent to the minorities of the school, although all races and cultures are allowed.

“The world is changing and the city is becoming more diverse,” Quinn said. “The students need an appreciation for other cultures.”

Springfield is gradually becoming more diverse, with citizens who are beginning to show tolerance for one another, although it’s taken a while to get to this point. Newspapers from the early 1900s claim the reason for Springfield’s lack of diversity is the lynching of 1906. Three innocent black men, Fred Croker, Horace Duncan and Will Allen, were hauled off from the jail by a mob in the middle of the night. The men were taken to the square and hung from Gottifried Tower, which was lit up with lights, a “Welcome” sign and bedecked with a replica of the Statue of Liberty. After the lynching, the mob burned their bodies in a bonfire and left the ashes at sunrise, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

“The issue of diversity is getting larger,” Quinn said. “All people [could use] better understanding. Developing relationships helps. It gives [students] the ability to work with others.”