Westlake High School on Tāmaki Makaurau’s North Shore found a new way to embrace Samoan and Pasifika culture after students campaigned for it.
In February, prefect and student leader Jarlon Lesatele submitted a proposal to principal David Ferguson asking if the school could adopt the lavalava into its uniform. Ferguson accepted and many Westlake students now wear the traditional piece of clothing.
“You'll see it just walking around,” the school’s Pasifika dean Che Muller told Stuff. “There's so many of the boys wearing it and we’re even getting people from outside our culture asking if they can wear it as well, so that's pretty cool.”
Lesatele talked to his fellow students and realised heaps of people wanted to show off their heritage while at school. They had been wearing Lavalava during formal events, such as after first XV rugby games, so he thought it should belong in the day-to-day uniform.
“In the proposal, I said it should be a part of the expression of diversity within the school and it's good for our school to take this step in enhancing our Pasifika culture,” Lesatele said.
“I spoke to some of the other boys as well, and they said the same, that they want to express their culture at school.”
“When it got approved, I was pretty thankful. It feels great walking around the school and having students and teachers saying I look nice. That's always a good feeling.”
Besides the cultural importance, Lesatele added that it’s “just more comfortable than wearing shorts and sandals, especially on hot days. It’s also a lot more cool and freeing.”
The school is working on an official lavalava, so students are allowed to wear their own plain black or grey coloured ones in the meantime.
This is such an awesome story and good on Lesatele for pioneering the change and to the school for embracing it.
