John Bapst holds ‘Day of Mutual Respect’

BANGOR – Students at John Bapst Memorial High School didn’t carry backpacks on March 13. They didn’t pass in homework; they didn’t take any tests. March 13 was a day when students taught their teachers and each other.

A visitor at the school that Tuesday morning might have described the scene as controlled chaos. A group of students wearing matching white shirts were running about in a frenzy toting poster board, manila folders and bottled water. The remainder of the student body was gathered in the auditorium for an assembly, buzzing excitedly and comparing the contents of their folders.

“We’ve been working on this project for a few months,” said project head and senior Katy Hamilton. The “Day of Mutual Respect” was developed by the school’s Civil Rights Team, a group of roughly 20 students who are committed to maintaining a healthy school environment with special focus on reducing hate language and prejudices by spreading awareness about related topics.

“Our whole team … plus our two advisers have all been working on this project,” Hamilton said. “We want students to understand other cultures.”

Students signed up for workshops in advance, choosing from a range of topics that included Religious Freedom, Living with Physical Disabilities, Indian Culture and a variety of sessions led by members of the Civil Rights Team.

Julianna Alex, a senior at Bapst, said she thought the day “had a positive message.” As for what she gained, Alex responded that she had “learned a lot,” and enthusiastically rattled off a list of workshops that she had attended.

Feedback from teachers was equally positive.

Dr. Lynne Manion, a social studies teacher, said that she was “blown away” by the event. Teachers weren’t asked to prepare anything for the event, but their rooms were used for the workshops. Manion said her room was used by ADA Thomas Harnett, and that the workshop he led on the Civil Rights Law was “magnificent.”

“He was so passionate,” Manion said, that it “brought tears to [her] eyes. I feel like a better person this afternoon than I was this morning.”

Most students agree that the Day of Mutual Respect was a fun experience.

Casey Gallant, a junior, said that he gained “perspective” on what some people go through every day. Of course, the day couldn’t have had the impact that it did without the presenters.

Stesha Rudnicki, a freshman, says that Living with HIV/AIDS was her favorite session of the day because the presenter was so open about her experiences.

Members of the Day of Mutual Respect planning committee lined up presenters by scouring phone books, searching Internet resources and using word-of-mouth information.

Colleen Grover, one of the faculty advisers to the Civil Rights Team and the school’s Dean of Students, said that she’s learned “a lot about organizing” events. She was excited that the team wanted to organize the event because it focused on topics that students “don’t get to hear about in school very often,” such as African culture or transgender individuals, and she was impressed that so many “adults want to do good things for teens.”

The day came to a close with an all-school assembly where students got to listen to Native American drumming.

So what was the main purpose for the day?

Hamilton summed it up: “In a perfect world after this day, all of the students would say ‘hi’ to each other in the halls, never gossip about one another, never pass judgments, and be completely welcoming and respectful to everyone. However, my realistic goal is that the students … will wake up and see that their energies aren’t worth being wasted on hate. If we make one student feel more comfortable or more welcome at our school, then I’ll be happy.”

Beth Kevit, a junior at John Bapst Memorial High School, is a student in Anne O’Reilly’s communications class at University College.