Grant aims to quell high school violence
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An activism initiative run by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Study Circles Resource Center, Mix it Up is a national program which supports teachers and students who are willing to explore ways to identify and bridge the boundaries that separate people in their daily lives.
The ASPIRE team, made up of students in grades nine through 12 from different races and socio-economic backgrounds, was formed three years ago with the goal of improving the school’s climate with regard to violence and drugs.
Serving on this year’s team are Mary Jo Curtis, Luis Chavez, Tony Delapaz, Lidnis Emerson, Alexis Grant, Courtney Martin, Ashley Moore, Krista Payne, Matt Ramsey, Ashley Tubbs and Jorge Vazquez.
In November, the ASPIRE team sponsored the first local Mix It Up at Lunch Day, when local students joined 200,000 of their peers across the nation who swapped seats in school cafeterias to break bread with someone new.
“Despite the gains of the last 50 years, many unspoken rules continue to divide people — by appearance, color, religion, class, ability and other factors,” said Mix It Up coordinator Kelvin Datcher. “This is the kind of program we hope to see young people implementing across the country.”
In awarding the grant to the local team, Datcher said it is his organization’s hope the team will use the money to further the goals of Mix It Up, particularly in regard to conflict mediation.
ASPIRE team co-sponsor Lynn Seals said her group will use the money to fund a number violence prevention programs at several county elementary schools.
“We decided that we want to address the violence problem before these students get to the high school,” she said, adding if nothing else the programs will serve to raise awareness of the violence problem, an awareness which in itself could serve to discourage tacit acceptance of violence.