Seniors extend hand to frosh
DARRINGTON, Wash. – They read the Dalai Lama’s speeches and studied the tumultuous background of his native Tibet.
They explored the African philosophy of Ubuntu and learned how Archbishop Desmond Tutu crusaded against apartheid in South Africa.
Then in a grand finale of sorts, a dozen Darrington High School seniors ventured to Seattle last month to hear the Dalai Lama talk about peace and love and compassion.
Inspired, they wanted to change.
They considered picking trash off the streets around their school but were discouraged thinking about how quickly new trash would pile up. They talked about meeting with teenage drug addicts but didn’t think they’d have much of an impact.
They finally agreed to help the most needy, insecure fledglings they could think of: high school freshmen.
“We saw how the seniors were jerks to us,” said senior Skye Schillhammer. “We wanted to change it.”
So Schillhammer and the others in Linne Haywood’s academic bowl class developed a plan to mentor freshmen. They selected a freshman career class that meets at the same time as their Hi-Q class. The seniors planned kickball games, teamwork exercises and art projects to make the freshmen feel more connected.
On the first day, Schillhammer, captain of the Logger baseball team, stood in front of the group and told stories of how, when he was a freshman, senior baseball players made fun of freshmen and forced them to carry equipment.
Other seniors stepped forward too, hoping to bridge the divide between those who rule the school and those who merely occupy it.
When the underclassmen shuffled into Haywood’s classroom last week, they stood quietly in clumps. After a senior-led scavenger hunt and teamwork exercises, the freshmen were louder and seemed more relaxed. A few even struck up conversations with seniors.
“I’m thinking, ‘Wow. Our seniors want to give back to us. They want to do something basically for us,’ ” said freshman Danny Schafer, standing in the sun after the scavenger hunt. “It makes me want to do something nice for the freshmen when I’m a senior. If I could leave my footprint like that, I think it’d be really cool.”
To Kyle Regelbrugge, the opportunity to hang out with seniors was a shocking surprise. He grew up in San Diego, hearing stories about freshmen getting beat up and bullied. The only way to prevent attacks from seniors, he said, was to “get strong.”
The Dalai Lama may not have freshmen in mind when he preaches compassion, but Regelbrugge believes his message, channeled through the seniors, will have a lasting effect on the freshmen of Darrington High School.
That, seniors said, is exactly the point.
“We’re kind of taking an example from him in that compassion should be an everyday thing, not just a once-in-a-while thing,” said senior Maggie Wicken. “Even a small start helps.”