The Sunset Crusader

Volume 41 Issue 1 Miami Sunset Senior High September 2018

Miami Sunset’s Cheer Team Gone; Synergy Dance Team is Rising

By: Emily Miranda
Staff Writer
Last school year was the last
time Miami Sunset’s very own Street
Soul and Cheerleading team were able
to hit the floor.
When the cheer team lost their
sponsor and coach at the end of last
year, many people were shocked to
hear there’d no longer be a cheer team
in the school.
Administration has been in
search for a new sponsor, but so far
there hasn’t been anyone who offered
to help. 2018-2019 Synergy Team on the first day of school.
With no cheer team, many students
are concerned about the school spirit of Sun-
set.
“Sunset lacks major school spirit as it
is, no cheer team means less spirit so I’m just
afraid that we will be become completely
bleak,” Hurma Aziz, a sophomore, remarked.
Even students from SGA are con-
cerned as well. Genesis Torrez, Junior Board
President, expressed her concern: “The cheer
team is meant to pump up students during
games and pep rallies. If there’s no cheer
team, that means the student government
will have to prioritize and promote school
spirit even more, so events and school devel-
opment will be an issue.”
During football games, it’s important
to have spirit on the sidelines, but without
the cheer team, this will be lacking.
Student athlete, senior Bryan Macha-
do, admits that without their cheer team
there will be less motivation. Players need all
the motivation they can get while on the
field, court, whatever the case may be. It’s
important to have this sense of spirit.
Students have also complained
about Street Soul’s disappearance. Al-
legedly, the reason that Street Soul’s
coach had to leave is due to a liability
issue.
Fortunately, Sunset’s dance
teacher, Alexa Silva, has created a new
dance team called “Synergy” which will
be the focus of Sunset’s performance
events this year.
Synergy isn’t just a dance team,
it’s a new spirit team of the sorts. Silva
says, “I wanted to make a team where
the girls could be there for each other
and the school, in a sense of spirit.”
Synergy will be competing and per-
forming at Sunset pep rallies. The team has a
variety of music genres that they plan to in-
corporate into their dance routines and will
have an opportunity to work with different
choreographers.
Synergy’s goal this year is to make
their mark at Miami Sunset and everywhere
that they may perform. Although everyone is
still hoping to have the cheer team back, Sun-
set is very excited to see what Synergy is
ready to bring.

Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Holds Amazing Opportunities

for Graduating High School Seniors
By: Angelina Buenaventura
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
As this school year comes
to an end, many high school sen-
iors are preparing to take the big
step into college. Although it is
very exciting, it is also nerve-
racking for the students who do
not have the sufficient funds for
their education. That is where
the Florida Bright Futures Schol-
arship has served a huge help to
many incoming college freshmen
in providing them with the eco-
nomic aid necessary to complete
their college education.
On January 11, 2018, the
Florida Senate voted to perma-
nently change what the scholar-
ship offers to its candidates. In
the top tier award for the Florida
Bright Futures Scholarship, stu-
dents will be provided with 100%
of their tuition paid along with
applicable fees, and an extra
$300 per semester for books and
additional education purposes.
For the second tier award, stu-
dents are provided with 75% of
the cost of tuition.
This boost in the scholar-
ship is a great opportunity for
incoming students because it
has not always been this gener-
ous. In previous years, students
were only receiving $75-$100
per credit.
Students should won’t
have to worry about their
Bright Futures Scholarship ben-
efits decreasing anytime soon
because the bill proposed by
Sen. Bill Galvano has made the
upgrade permanent from now
on.
The requirements for
the top tier Florida Academic
Scholars (FAS) award are as fol-
lows: You must be a graduate
from a Florida high school,
completed all high school re-
quirements, minimum 3.5
weighted GPA, a score of 29
on the ACT and 1290 on the
PSAT, and a total of 100 com-
munity service hours.
The requirements for
the second tier Florida Medal-
lion Scholars (FMS) award are
the same as the (FAS) but call
for a 3.0 weighted GPA, a
score of 26 on the ACT and
1170 on the PSAT, and a total
of 75 community service
hours.
Students who are in-
terested should complete and
submit their Florida Financial Aid
Application (FFAA) no later than
August 31 after high school grad-
uation. They must also submit
their high school transcripts, and
test scores.
The Florida Bright Futures
Scholarship is something that eve-
ry high school senior should be
aiming to receive. The opportuni-
ty to have 100% of your college
education paid for is something
that not many kids get and is an
amazing chance for students who
are serious about their education
to not have to worry about taking
out loans or overworking them-
selves at a job.
When it comes to higher
education here in America, the
first word that comes to mind
isn’t “affordable,” but luckily stu-
dents in Florida are presented
with a way that can help them
afford to go to college and not get
into serious debt.
 THE SUNSET CRUSADER SPORTS AND CLUBS SEPTEMBER 2018 PAGE 2

The Top Three Most Active Clubs at Miami Sunset

By: Dominque Cortez
Staff Writer
that they have planned include a cleanup at
In High school, students join clubs for
Kendall Lakes Park.
many reasons, whether it’s being more in-
Lastly, the Future Business Leaders
volved in school, helping their community, or
of America (FBLA) has been running for over
even making new friends outside of school
decade at Miami Sunset.
hours.
FBLA strives to inspire and prepare
Depending on the club, it can help
students to become community-minded busi-
students with self-development, to become
ness leaders in a global society through rele-
more social, and improve their skills.
vant career preparation and leadership expe-
Miami Sunset has a variety of clubs
riences.
that students can choose from. However, if
It strengthens leadership develop-
you really want a club to dedicate your time
ment by teaching the importance of soft
to, here are the top three most active clubs at
skills, by holding officer positions at local,
Sunset.
Some new ideas that they’re working state, and national levels, in which Sunset has
The Distributive Education Club of
on include: competing in the 5K competition held multiple district and state officer posi-
America (DECA), prepares emerging leaders
to raise funds for a worthy cause, and two tions.
and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing,
new competitions for those interested in It also provides competitions that
finance, hospitality and management, in high
fashion merchandising and automobile re- relate to the business world, which is reward-
schools and colleges around the globe.
pairs. ed with scholarship opportunities, cash
Sunset’s DECA chapter went through
Another club in Sunset that is really awards, and trophies. FBLA has an outstand-
many challenges in the past couple of years,
involved is “Key Club,” which is a student- ing record of many state and national win-
however, they were able to make a comeback
led organization whose goals are to encour- ners.
when Mrs. Milagros Perez decide to take over
age leadership by serving others. FBLA also values community service,
the club.
Sunset’s chapter has been run by Mr. as the organization has partnered with many
So far, the club is succeeding better
Renatto Hernandez since 2003. To be quali- local businesses, charities etc. To help
than expectation because Mrs. Perez made it
fied to join Key Club you must meet the strengthen their community.
her mission to recruit students of all sorts,
club’s and the GPA requirements. Sunset FBLA has created their own
regardless of their magnet or academy.
Projects that this club has participat- community service project called “SPARK”
DECA has completed some remarka-
ed in includes painting the school lounges which stands for, “Students, Prepared, Articu-
ble projects such as: providing foods and
and parking lot. late, Resourceful and Knowledgeable.”
clothes for those residents in the Florida Keys
The Key Club meets about twice a SPARK’s purpose is to teach students
that were relocated after Hurricane Irma, con-
week, plus time spent on other projects typi- to be prepared and be successful in the world
tributing a beautiful painting for the Day of
cally done outside of school on the weekend. of business by educating them on important
Giving Project hosted by RCI, and are current-
Their officers consist of the Presi- skills that are needed in the workforce.
ly working with Mrs. Fusco to provide boxes
dent, Daliana Aguilar, and Vice President, Future upcoming plans that FBLA has
of essential items for unfortunate people in
Sophia Cuni, who has many responsibilities include partnering up with local charities,
the “My Purse Project.”
which involve them making sure that every- participating in community service opportu-
They make sure that the members are
one is doing what they are supposed to do, nities, and holding social events monthly, as
involved by meeting every other Wednesday
teach future officers, and assure that all situ- well as prepare for competition and traveling
after school, also depending if there are com-
ations are dealt with fairly. Future projects to conferences.
petitions to prepare for instead.

Art Classes in Trouble Without Running Water

By: Emily Batista
Staff Writer
For five years, the stu-
dents at Miami Sunset Senior
High have been in desperate
need of running water in their
art classes. Without any work-
ing sinks or access to water
the higher-level students have
no way to improve their skills
in water-based mediums such
as acrylic paint and watercol-
or.
Level 3 and 4 art stu-
dents have been reduced to
only using materials such as
graphite, colored pencils, and
pens which is the same materi-
als used by level 1 and 2 stu-
dents. Mrs. Kebaili-
Kletzenbaur, a former art
teacher at Sunset who just re-
cently retired in May 2018 has
said “My students and I were
reduced to using basic items,
restricting them from improv-
ing their skills. I sent countless
emails to the school board and
they would not do anything
about it.”
There are two sinks
inside the art classroom,
both of which are broken,
and access to the hose out-
side is not available anymore
because of recent situations
like the shooting at Stoneman
Douglas High School.
This is not the only
problem at hand. President
Trump’s initial federal budg-
et plan has proposed com-
pletely eliminating the Na-
tional Endowment for the
Arts, along with its $148 mil-
lion annual budget. The NEA
helps art institutes and art
classrooms alike with sup-
plies and repairs.
This could be the rea-
sons as to why no repairs or
money has been sent out into
repairing the sinks. If
Trump’s proposal is ap-
proved, the endowment's an-
nual funding would be re-
duced from $150 million to
$29 million, the first step in
phasing out the agency entire-
ly. That would include losing
The National Endowment for
the Humanities, the Corpora-
tion for Public Broadcasting
and the Institute of Museum
and Library Services, which all
face cuts at the very least.
Not everything is as bad
as it seems. Ms. Judy Elkins,
the new art teacher at Sunset
High, said, “There are so many
mediums we can use that do
not need water. Mrs. Kebaili
was a great problem solver
and used many sources such
as the bathroom sink or the
water fountain. My students
and I can work our way around
this problem and possibly
come up with even better art-
work and projects.” This
means that the students can
still improve on their artistic
abilities without the use of wa-
ter-based mediums. Students
can only hope the water issue
is the only detriment to their
art education.
THE SUNSET CRUSADER SUNSET & LIFE SEPTEMBER 2018 PAGE 3

The Worst Red Tide Florida Has Seen in Over Ten Years
By: Angelina Buenaventura
Assistant Editor-in-Chief

These past 10 months, deaths, 354 sea turtle deaths,

since November of 2017, the
counties of southwest Florida
have suffered $8 million dol-
lars in damage to businesses,
over 2,000 tons of dead ma-
rine life, and rising health
complaints from local resi-
dents from the red tide.
The red tide that has
terrorized the waters along
Florida’s southwest coast is
not something new to Florida’s
waters. It is a naturally pro-
duced algal bloom that has
been an ongoing, periodic oc-
currence since the 1700’s.
Over the years, red tides
have started to take place for
longer periods of time and
have become more hazardous
to marine life and humans.
What makes a red tide
harmful are the toxins that are
released from the overgrowth
of algae. These toxins come
from man-made pesticides and
other chemicals we use that
wash into our oceans and cre-
ate the dangerous algal
blooms.
The red tide is currently
stretching out over 130 miles
of Florida’s southwestern
coast. This red tide is the
longest and most harmful
one since the 17 month long
red tide in 2006. The current
red tide has shown no sign
of diminishing.
Governor Rick Scott
declared a state of emergen-
cy for seven counties due to
the destruction it has caused
to southwest Florida’s beach-
es and Florida’s tourism in-
dustry.
"I am issuing an emer-
gency declaration to provide
significant funding and re-
sources to the communities
experiencing red tide, so we
can combat its terrible im-
pacts," Governor Rick Scott
announced back in August of
this year.
Since many local busi-
nesses rely on tourist activity
to keep their corporations
running, the sunny beaches
that have turned into fish
graveyards have put many
businesses in a tough eco-
nomic spot.
For example, in Fort
Myers Beach, employees of
businesses have been esti-
mated to have lost $559,770
in wages over the course of
this event.
Not only has the red
tide drastically impacted
Florida’s economy, but its en-
vironment as well. There has
been as over 2,000 tons of
dead sea animals washing up
on Florida shores, including
as many as 115 manatee
and 41 dolphin deaths.
The red tide also may
have already had a huge im-
pact on the health of humans.
The toxins released into the
air from the massive algal
bloom can cause respiratory
problems such as coughing
and difficulty breathing when
inhaled.
The reason why this
natural occurring event is pro-
gressively getting worse is be-
cause humans are putting
more toxins into our waters.
If we hope to fix this
issue, or at least stop the tox-
ins in its path, society needs
to be educated and made
more aware of what people
are putting into our waters.
Humans should make a great-
er effort to keep our waters as
free of pollution as possible.
What society does to
our environment will always
come back around. This isn’t
something debatable, like cli-
mate change. This is clearly
happening and there has to be
more environmentally con-
cerned individuals that take
action to make things better.

Homework is Not Making a Difference in Education

By: Amanda Gomez
Editor-In-Chief
ty. Neither of those None of the counties who were
With the pres-
schools have a ranked higher than Miami-Dade prescribed as
sure on America’s
strict homework much homework. Miami-Dade, which is the
education system to
policy. fourth largest school district in the United
rise to the occasion
and compete on a Miami-Dade County States, mandates that students should be giv-
global level, our is ranked 35th out en an average of 120 minutes of homework
country is split as to of 68 counties in per day, five days a week, in addition to 30
what form of educa- Florida. The rank- minutes of independent reading.
tion provides the best ing factors taken Continued on page 4
possible outcome to into consideration
the students. Howev- are test scores,
er, our county specif- graduation rates,
ically has been implementing one aspect of and most importantly, college readiness. Yet
education that has proven to be a failure for Miami-Dade County doesn’t emphasize the
a long time: homework. importance of college readiness, instead, QUOTE OF THE
Through conducting research, infor-
their curriculum focuses on test scores MONTH
which entails the students doing large
mation was found from a website called
amounts of homework.
Niche.com, a website that ranks the best dis-
tricts and schools based on analysis of key The Florida Public School District Av-
statistics and millions of reviews from stu- erage scores for the ACT test showed that “Winners are not people
Miami-Dade’s average composition mean
dents and parents using data from the U.S. who never fail, but people
Department of Education. It was concluded score was 18.3 in comparison to Sarasota
that the top ranked high school in Florida is county which was 21.5. For SAT scores, Mi- who never quit.”
Pine View High School, in Sarasota County. ami-Dade had an average score of 1400 in
The second ranked high school is Suncoast comparison to Sarasota which is 1550 (data
Community High School in Palm Beach Coun- collected was from 2016 when there were
three parts to the test.)
THE SUNSET CRUSADER SUNSET LIFE SEPTEMEBR 2018 PAGE 4

Miami Sunset Welcomes New Activities Director Mr. Porras

By: Mohammad Aziz
Staff-Writer
School spirit is the heart of high
school, after all, it is the students that
make Miami Sunset what it is.
But just like the best performers
need a director, the school’s activities
director serves the school as a guide to
help the student body make our school
a better place. Miami Sunset started off
last year with a new activities director,
former testing chairperson, Ms. Rey
Munoz. However, she got promoted to
assistant principal after Mr. Cook re-
tired.
This left Miami Sunset at a cross-
roads. Fortunately, Mr. Lux was able to
find the perfect candidate for the vacant
position. After multiple applications
were submitted, Miami Sunset welcomed
their new activities director to the
school, Israel Porras.
What made Porras stand out from
the rest of the applicants was his drive
and his ambition. Porras claimed that
he had been wanting to pursue the posi-
tion for years, and he is already enjoy-
ing it. He said, “I’m loving it! There
might be people who disagree, but this
is a dream job for me, who else gets to
spend their day planning fun things to
do?”
Before Porras arrived at Sunset,
he was the CAP Advisor and the test
chair for three years at Ronald W.
Reagan Senior High, and prior to that he
was a math teacher at Norma Butler
Bossard Elementary.
However, with a degree in hospi-
tality and experience as a hotel employ-
ee, Porras’s wanted to pursue a career
that catered to his passion for planning
events and organizing activities and
that’s why he believed the activities di-
rector position was a perfect fit for him.
Although Porras is very excited
about the job, he is well aware of the ob-
stacles that come along with the posi-
tion. School spirit doesn’t stem from
the activities director, but the students
themselves.
“So many students have spoken
to me about how there isn’t enough
school spirit. I tell them all the same
thing, it’s up to you. Sometimes stu-
dents have so much going on outside of
school that they don’t make time for
school clubs and activities. If they gave it
a chance they would be amazed at how
much more they would enjoy school,”
Porras said.
Along with trying to elevate spirit,
Porras has the challenge of finding the
time to execute all the events that he
wants to do for the year to come.
Porras’s main goal is to promote Miami
Sunset activities to our students so there
will be an increase in participation in
school events. To plan a great year,
Porras is in contact with other activities
directors to come up with the best events
the county would allow.
Porras also plans on having more
pep rallies for the school. He remarked,
“Pep Rallies are planned to encourage
school spirit and to support the school’s
teams. I think they are an important part
of high school life.”
Even though Porras arrived at the
school close to the end of the year last
year, he was able to learn a lot about Sun-
set and he is extremely excited to be
working with the student body now that
he has gotten comfortable.
Porras had an important message
for the student body: “I will do every-
thing I can to facilitate school spirit on
my part, but it is up to the students to
bring it. The students are the key to
making the school great.”

“There’s no Real Evidence to Suggest Homework Improves Students’ Abilities”

Continued from page 3

By comparison, Pine View
and Suncoast, which don’t en-
force the amount of time teachers
need to assign homework to stu-
dents, have their outstanding
rankings to show for it. Instead of
giving so much homework, those
schools focus on reading, and on-
ly assign homework if an assign-
ment wasn’t finished in class.
With this philosophy, stu-
dents have time to do extracurric-
ular activities and aren’t stressed
with the immense amount of
homework, which prohibits them
from doing other important
things that studies have shown
benefit teenagers that are still de-
veloping cognitively.
The overwhelming amount
of homework causes problems for
students of Miami-Dade county.
Because of the county’s policy,
students have less time for extra-
curricular activities, athletes, per-
formers, and competitors some-
times are not up to par with their
opposition from other schools or
counties. Also, staying up late
constantly to finish homework
causes students to lose sleep, and
that affects their performance in
the classroom.
Extracurricular activities
are also important because it
keeps students doing something
that’s productive in a positive
manner and by becoming more
involved in school it helps devel-
op strong social skills. Having
more time to do things other
than academic work strengthens
the mind and can promote better
time management skills and help
teach students responsibility
and dedication. their academic
Mountain High Academy
conducted a study that proved
that extracurricular activities
help in academics as well. Their
conclusion was through in-depth
reading, critical and creative
thinking, and solving problems,
students are getting more out of
their education than just text-
books and lectures can provide.
Additionally, high endurance
clubs like sports can train stu-
dents to maintain patience and
resilience when faced with chal-
lenges.
However, if students are
forced to do large amount of
homework, it can have a negative
effect on them because they will
be forced to sacrifice their activi-
ties and all of this other type of
personal development just to
make their grades and meet arti-
ficial requirements.
Education experts have
claimed that there is no specific
evidence that proves that home-
work itself is beneficial to stu-
dents. David Bloomfield, an edu-
cation professor at Brooklyn Col-
lege and the City University of
New York Graduate Center, told
INSIDER that, "The lasting educa-
tional value of homework at that
age is not proven."
The solution to Ameri-
can’s education problem is not
drilling more homework into stu-
dents and stressing them out.
The solution needs to come from
a whole new reform in education.
The way education in
America works today is not mak-
ing an impact in students lives,
nor is it preparing students for
the real world or college. Making
reforms in education all at once
would not be productive because
of the drastic change. However,
if our country works together
and starts small, such as chang-
ing the homework policies of
school districts that just don’t
get it, a difference can be made
and the education system can
start moving towards a better
future.
THE SUNSET CRUSADER
Student of the Month
Miranda Gonzalez
12th Grade
Unweighted GPA:
3.2
Weighted GPA:
3.8
What sports/
clubs/activities
do you do after
school or have
done?
The clubs I plan to engage in this year in-
clude National Honor Society and FBLA. I feel
as though these clubs could give me the ex-
tra touch to finalize my high school tran-
script.
What do you plan on doing when you
graduate?
When I graduate, I plan on staying in Miami,
and receiving my bachelor’s degree in politi-
cal science from FIU, ultimately becoming a
political analyst and obtaining a public plat-
form.
What is your drive to succeed?
I believe I am blessed with opportunities to
further improve myself and grow intellectu-
ally and seizing every chance to expand my
knowledge is essentially what drives me to
be the best student and individual I could be.
Who is your role model?
My role model is my father, a college profes-
sor, who has implemented in me the tremen-
dous value of learning and the significance
of being educated.
What teachers inspire you the most?
In my high school career in Miami Sunset,
one of my favorite teachers has been Mrs.
Cros, who inspired me to be a better student
by always pushing me to excel in my work
and prepare me for my AP exam.
What is your favorite class/subject? Why?
My favorite class is English; I believe I pos-
sess abilities that allow me to excel in con-
cepts regarding language and writing.
What lesson has impacted you the most
about high school?
Learning that certain decisions I make at this
age have important consequences later on,
whether it be of a social or academic aspect,
making correct and mature choices is incred-
ibly important.
What is your favorite movie or show and
why?
My favorite show is Game of Thrones, its in-
triguing storyline, exceptional character de-
velopment, and emotional elements make it
the best show I have ever watched.
What are you looking forward to in your
future?
For my future, I am looking forward to the
personal growth and experiences that lie
ahead of me, and to reaching the goals I have
so diligently set for myself.
SPECIAL FEATURES SEPETEMBER 2018 PAGE 5
Teacher of the Month Staff of The Month
Matthew Flipse Jacqui Biscoito
Mr. Flipse is Sunset’s
liveliest U.S. History What is it
teacher. He is known like working
by most juniors for
at Sunset?
doing the best Forest
Jacqui: A nor-
Gump impression in
the school. His style mal day be-
of mixing important
gins when I
U.S. history with corny
jokes and impressions come to work
will sure leave his stu- at 6am to help Sunset’s Cafeteria Manager
dents with something special to remember for prepare break-
years to come.
fast. Then around 6:45 to 7:10, I help
Why did you decide to become a teacher? serve the food because I enjoy inter-
Because I can’t sing and dance. No. ha-ha. Ini- acting with the students. Typically, I
tially, I became a teacher because I wanted to
would just supervise, but I will assist
coach, and the easiest way to get into that as-
pect of what I wanted to do would be to get if understaffed.
into a school system. I have a lot more pa-
tience with kids than I do with adults. Because
I feel like when you become an adult you How long have you worked at Sun-
should have figured it out in respect to right set
from wrong and common decency and respect
Jacqui: I have worked as a cafeteria
but with kids it’s a lot more tolerable.
manager since January of 1998, which
Did have any other dream job in mind other is about 20 years.
than teaching?
I think if you’re an athlete like me when I was
Did you originally want this job?
growing up than you kind of dreamed of be-
ing a professional sports figure, So for me, it Jacqui: No, at first, I use to work as a
would have to be a professional soccer player. cafeteria manager at an elementary
But I also think that teachers are also all frus-
school. But then they recommended/
trated actors, and what I mean by that is in
sent me to Sunset to supervise for
order to get the kids to want to learn you have
to capture their attention and their focus and about four weeks while waiting for a
we find out that in many respects that we’re new replacement manger. But during
entertaining at the same time as educating.
those few weeks,I started to enjoy
Most of your students know you can do working here at Sunset and decided
amazing celebrity impressions. How’d you to apply when the position was availa-
learn how to do them? What is your favorite
ble.
one to do?
One of my favorites to do because everyone
Are there any fun activities that
really enjoys it, and it was actually the very
first one I did is Marvin the Martian from you enjoy doing outside of school?
Looney Toons. I did that to shut my brother
up because he was claiming that his impres- Jacqui: When I’m not working at
sion was good when it really wasn't so I had to school. I enjoy doing activities like
show him how it’s done. I then started imitat- going to the beach, working out at the
ing people in the neighborhood, and then po-
gym, and spending time with family.
litical figures, and actors. Of course, I think
the favorite one of most my students has to
be Forest Gump since everyone knows and · How do you decide what to
loves him.
cook for the students?
Out of all your years of teaching and coach-
ing what has been your most memorable
Jacqui: There is a guideline or menu
experience? that we are supposed to follow, but
I think all teachers can really relate to this we are allowed to enhance it to the
when somebody tells you that “I do what I do liking of the students.
today because of you” and you have no idea
sometimes the impact that you have on kids
but in that particular case when it happens it’s Were there any happy or eventful
very rewarding. For me, it was this one stu- memories while working here?
dent in particular who was struggling with his
Jacqui: The most noteworthy memory
sexual identity said that I was the first male
figure in his life that said he was okay for be- that I can recall while working here
ing him. He never got that from his family or that was my favorite was when Mr.
from his church or from his other teachers or
Cook and Mr. Lux would come and
friends and he felt like he had to hide it and I
let him know that it was okay to just be him- help serve the food to the students
self and I’ll never forget how appreciative he during Thanksgiving.
was of how I helped him.