Horizon Community students work together to combat racism

Students at Horizon Community Middle School are taking a lead role in combating racism within their school.

Last December, seventh and eighth grade students attended a workshop to learn tools to effectively hold discussions about racism that are centered around empathy.

“It became very apparent early on that our kids want to talk about serious topics such as racism,” said Horizon Community principal, Dr. Brad Weinhold. “We really value student voice at our school, and we create different ways for students to tell us their experiences and we try to authentically listen to them.”

Eighth grader Alaina Hurley, said, “It's hard in middle school, or in general, to speak how you feel, so when you're in a room with students talking about the same thing and we all agree on the same thing, it's much easier to be a part of the change of the school. It makes it easier to feel like you have a voice and people are actually gonna listen to you.”

The group kicked off this year by hanging a large banner in the halls that reads “END RACISM,” as a reminder to all students and staff of the daily work that is required to achieve equity.

“I think it needs to be more than our group, it needs to be the whole school learning about how we can change it[racism],” student Samaya Herrera said.

The Student Equity group serves as a leadership group within the school by modeling the behaviors they hope to see in their peers. Throughout this year, the group is working to continue building the skills they need to step-in when witnessing racist jokes among friends.

“Most of the hateful things we say are jokes, but I wouldn't do that at all because you don't know if the person will take offense to that or if it will hurt them,” student Blaze Lee said. “If you’re going to school just to hurt people, it's not a good way to represent Horizon and it shows hatefulness in our school that we don't want.”

“These are people saying it doesn't matter how hard it is, we can do this, and it starts with us at a younger age,” said Weinhold. “I see the influence that our students have on their peers by interrupting acts of racism or conversations. I see this forward thinking of ‘now we want to do this’, or ‘what will this turn into down the road’—a visionary mentality. That's total leadership.”

Last May, the students held a presentation for teachers to learn about their important work and ways they can support these efforts. This year, students have continued to engage with staff in school-wide equity work. Students are working with teachers to incorporate more cultural projects to ensure all cultures are being taught and celebrated throughout the year, rather than during a specific heritage month.