Innocent or guilty? Peddie students and teachers alike pondered this question during the second Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Day of the year. DEI Day, held on Tuesday, January 11, 2025, focused on race and ethnicity by discussing “Defamation,” a play by Canamac Productions about a defamation trial.
After students went to their first two classes, they met by grade to start the day. Head of School Peter Quinn and Director of DEI LaVern Burton first made a few remarks about DEI Day’s importance to the Peddie experience. Then, a moderator from Canamac Productions showed Peddie the first stage of the interactive immersion: the case. The case involves Regina Wade, the owner of Eagle Graphics, a legal graphics design company. She sues Arthur Golden, a business director of Edgeworks Theatre Company, for defamation.
Ms. Wade starts with how Siegel and Karmin, one of Eagle Graphics’ biggest clients, referred Ms. Wade to Mr. Golden for a potential business project. Ms. Wade and Mr. Golden met at Mr. Golden’s home to discuss the deal, but after Ms. Wade left, Mr. Golden called her, accusing her of stealing his family heirloom watch. He later called Ms. Jordan, an attorney at Siegel and Karmin, accusing Ms. Wade of stealing the watch. Shortly after, Siegel and Karmin ended their partnership with Eagle Graphics, and Eagle Graphics failed. Consequently, Ms. Wade lost her job and needed to move back in with her mother.
In the end, everyone was given the role of juror and tasked with coming to a conclusion: did Mr. Golden make a false accusation against Ms. Wade, and did he damage her financially as a result? After a lunch break, students and faculty gathered into advisory groups to discuss the case. Students discussed how some differences between Ms. Wade and Mr. Golden could influence the decision, such as their different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
After much deliberation, the Peddie community finally came to a decision. Mr. Golden was found to be innocent. Reasons for siding with Ms. Wade included how “there was something off about the story that made me think that she was right,” while reasons for siding with Mr. Golden included “legally [Ms. Wade] didn’t really have a case that I think was strong enough.”
Then, the community had a final discussion about race and ethnicity, including bias in trials, assumptions about the characters, and empathy. After this, DEI Day ended in chapel, with Assistant Head of School Catherine Rodrigue giving a few closing remarks and announcing a Heads Holiday the next day.
Overall, DEI Day was an important time for students to reflect on how race and ethnicity affect modern society and legal discussions.