CASA students gather for rally at Dunne Park
This Monday after school let out, more than 200 people gathered
at Dunne Park in Hollister for a peace rally. Most of these
activists were in grades first through fifth and are members of the
Hollister Youth Alliance Collaborative After-School Academy.
The kids walked with their after school coordinators from R.O.
Hardin and Calaveras elementary schools to participate in a joint
peace rally on the International Day of Peace.
CASA students gather for rally at Dunne Park
This Monday after school let out, more than 200 people gathered at Dunne Park in Hollister for a peace rally. Most of these activists were in grades first through fifth and are members of the Hollister Youth Alliance Collaborative After-School Academy.
The kids walked with their after school coordinators from R.O. Hardin and Calaveras elementary schools to participate in a joint peace rally on the International Day of Peace.
The students walked to Dunne Park from their respective schools, carrying peace posters and one group even made a giant dove out of white fabric with sticks to hold up the head and wings.
“The students cover peace builder curriculum,” said Victoria Valdez, the Hollister Youth Alliance after school program manager. “Keeping with that theme, we are honoring a day that is already set aside internationally.”
The United Nations in 1982 designated a day in September as Peace Day as an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date, according to the International Day of Peace Web site. In 2002, the UN chose Sept. 21 as the permanent date of Peace Day. For the past four years, students in the CASA after-school programs have learned about peace day and participated in activities at their individual sites, which include the two elementary schools and Marguerite Maze Middle School.
“It’s a great opportunity for the kids to get together and it’s for such a good cause,” said Diane Ortiz, the executive director of the Hollister Youth Alliance. “It’s a nice chance to celebrate creating peace.”
As Valdez explains it, the peace builder curriculum the students learn at the beginning of the year sets the pace for the rest of the school year.
“It establishes that sense of community,” she said. “They are learning to create an environment where they feel comfortable with who they are. Public speaking and performances allow them to be free. It allows the kids to feel emotionally safe and physically safe.”
As part of the peace rally, guest speakers talked to the students about what peace means to them.
R.O. Hardin Principal Aggie Obeso-Bradley attended and talked to the students about her thoughts on the topic.
“Peace is one of the most beautiful words in the world,” she said. “What is peace to me and why is it so important? You know the feeling you get inside when everything is going right? I thought about it and how great I feel inside when I cross a student and get a smile.”
Joe Gonzalez, a retired firefighter, also talked to the students about the importance of peace in his job.
“I think as a firefighter one thing peace means to me is trust and that trust is you guys trusting me to help you,” he said.
Both Gonzalez and Obeso-Bradley stressed the importance of the students working together, and hopes that they will have peaceful futures.
With each speaker, students were invited to ask a question such as “What is your dream of peace?” or “How is peace important in your job?”
“Why is it important in my job to keep the peace?” asked Gonzalez, who retired two years ago after 30 years as a firefighter. “It is important to keep the peace because if we didn’t keep the peace – I had six other firefighters with me – if we were always arguing do you think we could fight a fire? That’s the peace we had to keep.”
He added, “My dream of peace is to be able to watch my grandchildren without seeing hatred, without that dirty look or angry feeling.”
Obeso-Bradley said her dream of peace is that her students will grow up to get a job they enjoy and be happy everyday.
During his turn as speaker, Daniel Valdez riled the kids up with a peace chant before asking them if they knew about Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and Mahatma Gandhi.
“Cesar Chavez said we all have to get along,” Daniel Valdez said. “Peace is a movement about love your family, love your neighbor and love your enemy.”
He told the children that peace begins with each one of them.
“This is a great way to teach leadership and character development,” said Ortiz. “They learn social activism in ways they can participate.”
