Beeson challenges students to connect with those different from themselves

Senior French instructor Anastasia Beeson ’94 SS’93 told Culver Academies students about how she fell in love with Yale University while in high school when attended a student debate.

“Smart, passionate, and informed students, not much older than me, eloquently defended their positions on a host of subjects,” Beeson said. “I remember the electricity in the air, the curiosity and intellectual energy, and the civility and poise that I had never experienced before. Wow, they were impressive!”

But what Beeson remembered most prominently was what happened after the intense debate.

“After battling it out with passion and energy,” she said, “these students who had just been on opposite sides on just about everything, busted out a few massive pizzas and spent the next hour hanging out together, telling jokes, talking about classes, and gossiping about their dorms. They were friends!”

Beeson said that experience was revolutionary for her. Having grown up in Haiti under a dictatorship, she was surprised to hear students with opposite ideologies defend their position, fiercely argue, but also be friends with each other.

She told students and faculty at the opening convocation Sunday in Eppley Auditorium that respecting each other’s ideas is the way it should be here at a boarding school in Indiana. It’s the foundation for Culver’s theme this school year: “E Pluribus Unum,” a Latin expression that means “Out of Many, One.”

Beeson began by telling students and faculty about her diverse background. Beeson was born to a black Haitian father and a white American mother, at a time when interracial marriage had only just become legal in the United States.

“Diversity is so deeply woven into my own personal history,” she said. “My family is the product of two very different people forming one, unique family.”

As an undergraduate at Yale, Beeson’s close circle of friends reflected the diversity she grew up with.

“Tina is Buddhist, Gabrielle was a Messianic Jew, Kohar is agnostic, and I am devout Catholic Christian. Emma is Haitian like me, Jalle grew up in Sudan, and Brittany was an Army brat who lived all around the world,” Beeson said.

Beeson encouraged Culver students to branch out and seek new friendships beyond their zone of familiarity. She advised students to listen to those with a different culture, political affiliation, spiritual persuasion or nationality. She told the students that “E Pluribus Unum” was more than a motto. She said it is a call to action.

“Imagine how much more we could learn by stepping outside of our comfort zone more often? I’d like to challenge you to make it a goal this year to surround yourself, or at least make a few deep connections, with people who are very different from you – because they have a gift to give you. And you have a gift to give them,” she said.

Beeson then talked about the burgeoning cultural changes sweeping through America, and urged students not to subscribe to “the kind of cancel culture that wants to vilify and shout down ideas, or people, they don’t agree with.”

“Sometimes I am tempted to self-censor or simply just keep my personal opinions to myself to avoid conflict or judgment. I know many of us – regardless of our beliefs – sometimes worry about how our views may be received,” she said.

But Beeson challenged students to be open and understanding of one another.

“It’s true, it can be intimidating to truly reveal yourself, but my experience has taught me that the benefit often outweighs the risk,” she said. “To know and to be known is the first step to achieving authentic unity.”

Her words echo the origin and modern usage of “E Pluribus Unum.” The ancient Roman statesman, lawyer, and philosopher Cicero paraphrased the great mathematician Pythagoras (of triangular fame), as part of his discussion of fundamental social bonds: “When each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many.” In the modern day, E Pluribus Unum is engraved on the Great Seal of the United States, representing the unity of the original Thirteen Colonies, joining in solidarity.

Beeson concluded her speech by giving several sage pieces of advice.

“Ask questions – lots of them! Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions, even if they are in the minority. Listen actively and give the benefit of the doubt; and then, most importantly, go out for pizza and tell jokes after. Enjoy each other! That’s where you’ll be reminded that there really is more that unites us than divides us.”

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