The Paw Print

PAW celebrated in February


by Rachel C.

Prejudice Awareness Week (PAW) was celebrated the first week of February. The leadership classes taught by Mrs. Maxwell joined in a pact to fight prejudice and make students aware of the history in the 19th and 20th century that stirred so much of the prejudice in America.

The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., helped bring equality to all regardless of race, religion or color. Yes, things have improved since the Civil Rights movement. But prejudice is not gone—it still exists. Some turn the other cheek and others don’t realize that it exists. People of all races are still discriminated against whether we want to believe it or not.

America is a melting pot because we are a free nation and people want to live and work here. They want to raise their families in a place where jobs are plentiful and education can become a reality. We have come a long way since the 1960s Civil Rights movement, but you still hear racial slurs. Sometimes middle school students intend for racial comments to be funny, but they are sarcastic, rude and cause harm.

Classes discussed prejudice during advisory periods and listened to the song, One Tribe, by the Black Eyed Peas. Moe Evans (8) wrote a chant that was played on the school news during the PAW campaign along with commercials that were written and performed by 8th and 9th period leadership classes.

We're one boy
We're one girl
We're one race
One World
We're Cedar Valley
We're Jaguars
When we walk through the doors
we're all stars.
-Moe Evans (8)

"I think this song is so awesome—it is saying we are all one tribe and our different races don't separate us," Rebecca Stewart-Kennedy (8) said. Outcasting someone because of race or religion is never acceptable in any part of our world.