Community. At our school we should not thrive off of cliques and gossip, but celebrate individuality and be welcomed for who we are. The question that has currently surfaced at MHS is, “What do you see when you see me?” Dealing with high school, there are many pressures put upon us by others and if one gives in to those pressures that is the deciding factor of whether they are “cool” or not. Don’t believe in a word such as “cool”, just be yourself and have no need to feel judged. That is what the Human Relations Council strives for: deconstructing stereotypes at our school.
Ms. Gumbs, advisor of the Human Relations Council states, “The rationale for the idea behind the flash mob was to create a unity between members of the school, including students and teachers.” This club, the first of its type in Montgomery High School’s history, was created in response to graffiti written on the side of the school last year.
Montgomery wanted to address this incident and as a result, the Human Relations Council conceptualized the idea to create a flash mob, to kick off their campaign and future events. Montgomery High School went forth with the idea of the flash mob, and the next step was to choose who would be involved. Advisors chose people who would be enthusiastic about the idea and act as role models to other members of the high school
The flash mob took place in the commons at 10:45 a.m. on March 13th. Hearing the reactions from others instilled a feeling of success in the participants. This guaranteed that we made an impression on others. Mrs. Stalowski even said, “Kids actually came up to me after the showcase and wanted to know why I didn’t ask them to be a part of it!” It was clear that the feeling that took place in the Commons when the flash mob was presented has not been felt for a long time in Montgomery. Most agree that it will not happen overnight, but this was a great start to make changes for the better in our school.
Aside from the flash mob, the more important part of the act was the message sent to students. No matter what the circumstances are, it is an inspiration to others when one is comfortable with who they really are, confident in standing up against what is wrong, and not depending on the stereotypes. Most of the time stereotypes and assumptions about people are untrue; don’t stand for being that person people THINK you are.
Signs and t-shirts to show the main idea of the flash mob were made by each of the over 100 participant to convey the overall message of “Be yourself and fight against bullying”. The t-shirts gave some insight on what certain people are stereotyped as and this inspired students of MHS to think about how they view others around them. On the front of the t-shirts was written, “What do you see when you see me?” On the back of the t-shirts had what each person in the flash mob thought their image to others would be.
Overall, the flash mob spread news of what the Human Relations Council is and what they stand for. An upcoming event for the Human Relations Council is on March 28th, which is t-shirt day. After school, members of MHS are invited to make a t-shirt matching those that were shown in the flash mob and the shirts are expected to be worn on Friday March 30th when the first of The Cougar Pride Team meetings will be held. This will give students a chance to bond with their teammates for Cougar Pride Day which will take place on Friday June 1st.