Students from the San Benito High School Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan) M.E.Ch.A. Club attended the 26th Annual M.E.Ch.A. National Conference hosted by University of California Los Angeles on March 29-31.
The conference coincided with the 50th Anniversary of MEChA, an organization built on the values of self-determination, youth empowerment, cultural consciousness and political activism, according to SBHS District staff.
At the conference, students were able to attend keynote speeches and workshops led by community members, students and alumni as well as discussion panels.
A few of the numerous topics students were able to discuss during workshops and throughout the weekend included under-served communities, discrimination, economic inequality, exploitation of labor, lack of preventative health care, domestic abuse, immigration insecurity and homophobia.
“We all had such an amazing experience and am so proud of M.E.Ch.A. Club and hope to use this experience to aim for a better future for all around us a human beings,” said club advisor and SBHS teacher Tracey Torres.
SBHS alumna named to Pac-12 All-Academic Team
San Benito High School alumna Colette Yamaoka, a sophomore who studies biology with a pre-med option at Oregon State University, received honorable mention accolades on the 2019 Pac-12 Conference Women’s Gymnastics All-Academic team.
To be eligible for selection to an all-academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of competitions in the regular season.
Yamaoka has been a regular in the Beavers’ bars lineup throughout 2019, making her collegiate debut against Utah during the second week of the season. She set a career-high with a 9.80 at the Pac-12 Championships last weekend.
Save the Date For Sober Grad Night
San Benito High School will hold its annual Sober Grad Night from 8pm to 4am June 7 in O’Donnell Gym and the nearby courtyard.
Free admission for all graduating seniors and games and raffle prizes offered throughout the event.
Follow the “SBHS Baler Sober Grad Night” Facebook page for details or contact organizer Rick Espino at (831) 638-6796 (to donate or volunteer) or committee volunteer coordinator Cristina Gonzalez at (408) 465-6784 or
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