Student leadership helps our school be the well oiled machine that it is. Because students are critical of their school and issues in the world, we are not a group that can be silenced or taken advantage of. We work hard to achieve outcomes that help us succeed, no matter who doubts what we can do. Crocs to Prom came and went, and South High got a few minutes of fame in the meantime.

Of course we knew Crocs to Prom was an advertising strategy, but it’s so rare that we have something fun like this happen to South High School. A Refinery29 article blasted the story, interpreting that South’s prom was being used as a marketing ploy for Crocs, Inc. We don’t need this kind of judgment directed at us, because South students are not known for accepting something without questioning it. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Roger that! Lesson learned: If someone offers you something for free, you should probably just take it because it costs zero dollars and makes an interesting story, even if the non-financial costs to your ability to be a rational independent citizen trying to maintain your humanity in a consumerist world are arguably worth much more.”

In the midst of so much publicity, a story gets constrained. In a world where journalism means stitching together quotes and facts from previous articles, our point of view gets misunderstood. We don’t get to advocate for ourselves and what we believe in.

Don’t let adults, journalists from across the country, staff members, or parents doubt that you have a critical mind of your own. In the end, although we may need guidance from time to time, South kids are independent and know what’s best for them.

A day that faced a huge amount of doubt finally got the seal of approval by administration. On Monday, May 23rd, South will hold its first Racial Justice day. SUSOSH (Stand Up Speak Out South High) has spent countless hours planning for this event and attending staff leadership meetings to get their voice heard.. The purpose of the day is to engage the entire school building in a day of workshops and conversations about race and identity.

SUSOSH students thoroughly planned out and scheduled 40 workshops, which comes with a huge amount of work. Because SUSOSH leaders knew the school needed this day, they fought to make it happen. The initiative and pursuit that these leaders have is admirable, especially when people higher above them underestimated what they could do.

As editors of the school newspaper, we recommend that the administration needs to work on validating and encouraging important student work that goes on inside our walls. There was a lot of doubt about how Racial Justice day would work and if students were ready to take on teaching about race. But we are ready. We are able to speak out on issues we care about, as we’ve seen countless times in the past. The leadership of students relies on the fact that teachers and staff are willing to trust our ability to get stuff done.

Underestimating the judgment and reasoning that teenagers have is a dangerous thing, if it’s talking about racial issues or talking about the problematic issues surrounding a Crocs-sponsored prom.