After the violence on February 14, South group s.t.a.r.t. (students together as allies for racial trust) has stepped up their efforts to encourage understanding among South students. So far two “Mix-it-up Mondays” have been held during each lunch.
The idea behind mix-it-up Mondays is to encourage students to “[Make] an effort just to sit with somebody new or different from you,” according to s.t.a.r.t. co-chair Saida Mahamud.
There was one Mix-it-Up day earlier this year, in the fall. “It went okay,” said Mahamud, “A bunch of people were a bit hesitant.”
Especially after the Valentine’s Day incident, Mahamud hopes “just for [Mix-it-Up] days to become a habit…a good habit.”
South students interested in adjusting our community’s attitude about race can make Mix-it-Up-Mondays part of their weekly lunch routines. Mahamud pointed out that in one successful Mix-it-Up situation, students went as pairs. “Bring a friend along makes you a bit more comfortable.”
“It’s not a horrible experience, it’s not scary,” Mahamud reminded. “We just have to remember that we’re all humans.”
![A power outage on Friday May 12 before the start of the school day led many students to leave the building and miss parts of first, second and third hour. “[Staff at the front door] said the power might be on at 11, so [we should] come back to school at 11,” recalled freshman Riley Olson. “A lot of people went back home.” However, Principal Afolabi Runsewe claimed and maintains that students were told to stay in the commons and were never given the option to leave school.](https://www.shsoutherner.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/power-outage.png)
