High school students take a stance against hate

 

It was not quite the March on Washington, D.C., or the Million Man March, but Santa Ynez Valley Union High School students nonetheless made their anti-hate message heard, loud and clear, in their “No Room for Hate” peace walk, March 5.

Their message: there’s no room for hate anywhere; their mission: to encourage stronger anti-bullying policies and anti-bias educational school programs, their inspiration: the Feb. 12 shooting of Oxnard student Lawrence “Larry” King, 15, who was shot in the head by a classmate for being gay.

 

What began as a brain storming idea at an Anti-Defamation League meeting resulted in a two-hour, 1.5-mile march to spread awareness about hate and bias.

“We care for a minute and then the next moment we forget it,” said Perla Navarro, an ADL peer leader and the main organizer of the peace walk.

The march came after students participated in an ADL training workshop, a component of the A World of Difference Institute, which was created to empower teens to become activists against bigotry.

Students armed with signs that read “Stop Hate Now” and fluorescent glow stick necklaces symbolizing gay pride, along with about 20 teachers, parents and community members, trekked from the high school’s football field to Solvang Park.

Along the way chants of “hay, hay, ho, ho, all the hate must go,” could be heard a block away as Sheriff deputies escorted the group.

 

Morgan Garcia, a Junior at SYVUHS, said she participated in the march because she supported people having the freedom to choose without violent repercussions

“I think what happened was really, really mean,” Garcia said. “People should have the right to choose what they want to be.”

The killing of King has led many students to ask if such a tragedy could occur in the valley.

“The valley might seem like an idealistic place to live, but statistics would show otherwise,” said Margie Hunt, facilitator of the ADL Peer Leadership program at the high school.

According to the 2006 California Healthy Kids Survey, a voluntary and anonymous state-mandated survey that evaluates drug use and other health risk behaviors among seventh, ninth, and 11-graders, a significant percentage of SYVUHS students don’t feel safe at school.

Thirty-five percent of ninth-graders and 25 percent of juniors reported experiencing harassment at school; 15 percent of ninth-graders and 16 percent of 11-graders reported carrying weapons, such as knives, to school, and five percent of ninth-graders and four percent of 11th graders reported carrying a gun to school, according to the report.

 

The night’s message of peace included four speeches from high school students and short statements of appreciation from community members.

“Something needs to be done,” said Tori Burnside Clapp, a high school student and peace walk participant. “It’s not just adults acting like this, it’s kids. I don’t understand it and I don’t think anyone here can.”

Adrian Lopez, another high school student, called for a moment of silence in the memory of King before giving a short speech.

“I’ve judged people,” he said. “But I’d like to change that.”

The peace march was just one of many events and projects that the ADL at the high school will be presenting.

Navarro called the march a “small stepping stone,” and said the league is working on a documentary about what the school and valley communities think about biases.

 

For more information about the ADL, visit www.adl.org.

To download a copy of the 2006 California Healthy Kids Survey about SYVUHS, visit www.wested.org/cs/we/view/pj/245.