One of these organizations is the San Francisco LGBT Center, which offers employment opportunities, financial health seminars and more to LGBTQ+ individuals. Students over the age of 16 can volunteer to help visitors and assist with events.

If students are unable to volunteer their time, donating to charities is another suitable option. One organization accepting donations is the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention resources. This includes the Trevor Lifeline, a 24/7 suicide prevention helpline tailored to LGBTQ+ youth. They also lead crisis intervention training for teachers, counselors
and nurses.

Students can also donate to the Human Rights Campaign, a charity that helps LGBTQ+ communities worldwide through public education, research and policy change. They have 11 programs, which include initiatives from bullying prevention to economic empowerment.

Donors gave blood during a prep period, brunch or lunch. On average, the process took around 25 minutes: Each donor got their blood drawn for five to 10 minutes and then had a mandatory refreshment period of 15 minutes.

Donor junior Analiesse Schoenen found the process convenient. “It’s awesome that the blood drive comes to Gunn, so people can donate without having to go out of their way to do it,” she said. “It’s an easy way to make a difference.”

Volunteer Dan Rose, who has been working with the Stanford Blood Center for 11 years, echoed this sentiment. “I appreciate the schools that let us come to their facilities,” he said. “It’s not something that they have to do, but they do it because they know it’s a good cause. People are less likely to come down to the centers.”

Blood technician Issac Durant noted how donating blood is a great way to give back to the community. “You don’t know where your blood is going, but it’s going to somebody that needs it,” he said.

Even with P.E., students aren’t getting enough exercise. According to a study conducted by UCLA in 2018, 80% of teenagers in California fail to exercise for the recommended amount of one hour per day. Gunn’s classes fall short of this number, with students spending around four hours per week in P.E., as opposed to the five needed. As well as not meeting federal recommendations, the hours spent in P.E. are not used efficiently. After transition periods like changing into P.E. clothes, students spend a lot of time standing around and chatting with friends. 

According to P.E. teacher Steve Ames, a goal of the Gunn P.E. curriculum is to teach students ‘physical literacy’, which is the confidence and competence to engage in physical activities. One of the ways the curriculum achieves this is by introducing a wide variety of sports to students. However, too many sports are taught. According to The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle, learners should give eight weeks of time to a new skill. It cites many prominent eight-week training programs. But with the average P.E. unit being just 4 weeks long, students do not have enough time to develop the skills necessary to engage in it outside of school.

Some may say that P.E. gives students a break from rigorous classes. However, P.E.’s purpose is to have students exercise. Done properly, P.E. is exhausting, not fun. If students leave P.E. feeling refreshed and relaxed, they haven’t participated enough. Some people also say that P.E. increases mental health. But the opposite is true, as events such as fitness testing, timed miles and graded skill checks for sports put even more stress on students.

To address some of these problems, teachers could make sure students are always doing an activity instead of wasting time, or focus on a select few sports instead of covering a variety. But, unless serious changes are made, the Gunn P.E. program does not serve the needs of students as too many sports are taught, which leads to not enough time being spent on each sport.

After the bell rang, we kept on playing. A few intense minutes later, ducks dropping like flies, we counted the number of ducks eliminated. I ended up being late for my 3rd period class, but it was worth it: I had won. But even if I had lost, I would not have minded. I had a great time, and look forward to returning to club meetings not as a spy but as a member. The games are fun, fast, and easy to learn. Everyone is nice and welcoming, too. If you are looking for a fun club to go to on a Thursday, make sure to check out the Board Game club.

Hernandez has been working at Gunn for 23 years and finds his long tenure unsurprising. “Honestly, it’s rewarding,” he said. “For the most part, kids appreciate what we do. To me, it’s just the people I’ve met along the way: fellow custodians, teachers, students. That’s my favorite part.”

Hernandez’s least favorite part of his job shouldn’t be a surprise. All students know that going to a bathroom can be a hit-or-miss affair. One might happen upon some graffiti, toilet paper strewn about or even the absence of a soap dispenser. Hernandez and his team work to maintain order within facilities. “There was a time where almost every single day there was graffiti in the bathrooms and broken soap dispensers,” he said.

These types of situations still happen frequently, but there have been worse times, such as after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. “At one point, I just asked them to bring me 30 cases of dispensers so I could change them,” he said. “I used to change about seven or eight daily.”

According to Hernandez, the entire student population shouldn’t be held accountable for messes. “Ninety-nine percent of students do a good job at keeping the school clean,” he said. “It’s just that 1% that doesn’t try. At the end of the day, we clean for you guys.”

The team looks after both building cleanliness as well as student health. “We care,” Hernandez said. “Most of us are here because we’re making a difference, and that’s why we’re here every day. We’re here to not just clean but to help and protect.”