In the case where avoiding a dangerous situation fails, it is important that students learn some form of self-defense in order to keep themselves safe. In fact, according to the data analysis company Statista, 23.6% of high school students in 2017 reported that they have been in a physical fight. In order to supply students with the physical and mental tools necessary to protect themselves, Gunn should reinstate and expand upon its old self-defense unit as a part of the required P.E. classes, drawing inspiration from martial arts programs.

The self-defense unit taught in the past focused on teaching students how to get away as quickly and safely as possible. Some years, P.E. teachers were able to invite police officers to teach students what to do if confronted by someone with a gun. The main objective of these self- defense courses was to prioritize escaping over attacking.

The self-defense unit was taught at the beginning of the second semester of a students’ freshman or sophomore
year. Although not taught for an extensive period of time, even minimal training can make a significant difference. One example of the utility of self-defense training is shown in the case of sexual harassment. According a study by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 62% of women surveyed had experienced some form of physical sexual harassment at some point in their life.

The prevalence of this issue shows how impactful self- defense training can be. In addition, a study by sexual assault prevention specialist Jocelyn A. Hollander found that among women in college, those who had not taken a self-defense class reported that they had been in unwanted sexual situations twice as often as women who had taken a self-defense class. The students in the study participated in a 10-week course with three hours of instruction each week, which, although longer than Gunn P.E. units, is not an especially long period of time, given the significant results, proving the efficacy of even minimal self-defense training.

By reinitiating the self-defense program, Gunn would have an opportunity to expand upon their former framework by combining practical self-defense with the currently unexplored world of martial arts. This would include teaching stances, strikes, defensive techniques, among other skills. The main difference between martial arts and self-defense is that while self-defense often focuses on easy-to-learn, general-purpose escapes and strikes, martial arts is much more of a workout and consists of more advanced and complex maneuvers. According to the Physical Education Framework for California Public Schools, which Gunn’s P.E. program complies with, the goal of physical education in schools is to teach students how to take full advantage of their bodies in athletics. Martial arts disciplines, which also fall into the category of self-defense, fits well into the Physical Education Framework since they exercise a variety of skills that are applicable to other sports and activities.

For example, many martial arts disciplines make use of stances, which require strength and mobility, both of which are important in many sports. According to a study conducted by Faculty of Sport and Physical Education at the University of Novi Sad Patrick Drid, youth who participated in martial arts programs showed a significant improvement in many areas, including cardiorespiratory fitness, speed and agility, strength, flexibility, coordination and balance. All these benefits are relevant in many other forms of movement, making martial arts a worthwhile unit.

Despite the benefits that come with martial arts, some feel trepidation at the idea of teaching it to students. This concern is valid, as many students may use martial arts skills to participate in fights, rather than to avoid them. Additionally, the risk of injury while learning deters many.

However, the value of martial arts outweighs the risks. Although teaching martial arts has inherent risks, many martial arts disciplines, such as Aikido, prioritize avoiding injuries for both the attacker and defender. Additionally, martial arts training does not need to incorporate sparring and can instead focus on slow, defensive techniques. Not only this, but physical education classes are already dangerous. A study conducted by University of Ljubljana Sports Faculty Teacher Ana Šuštarši? found that more boys were injured playing basketball at school than practicing martial arts outside of school.

Although Gunn made a reasonable decision to initially remove the self-defense unit from its curriculum during COVID-19, now that the pandemic is over, they should bring it back and consult martial arts teachers to expand the unit. By doing this, Gunn can provide all students with the training they need to defend themselves and expose all students to a new form of exercise.

Sea bathing began to rise in popularity in the 1700s. Women typically wore loose bathing gowns, while men either wore boxers or, occasionally, swam in the nude. It was deemed unseemly for women to immerse themselves completely in the water, and in order to prevent the bottoms of their gowns from floating up, they were weighed down at the hemline with lead. As the popularity of swimming grew in the 1800s, women’s swimwear grew even more restrictive, especially in England. The Victorian Era had a strong influence and conservative rules on women’s clothing, especially bathing suits. In order to adhere to the restrictions on what to wear, the typical swimwear for a woman consisted of a lightweight and light-colored dress, drawers and stockings. Together, these clothing items ensured that most skin remained covered. The whole outfit was made of absorbent materials such as wool or cotton, and when they were saturated with water, any sort of physical exertion was very difficult.

Around this same time, due to the recent ban on nude swimming in England, men’s swimwear consisted of boxers. As the 1800s progressed, however, the “prison-striped” mens swimsuit grew in popularity, which covered both the upper and lower body. Also in the mid to late 1800s, the United States, which was less impacted by Victorian values than England was, developed a one-piece swimsuit known as the Princess Suit. This suit consisted of a calf-length skirt attached to a blouse, along with trousers underneath the skirt. Although the Princess Suit was still impractical, as if allowing minimal arm movement and was still made of absorbent materials, it was a small step away from the complex swimming outfits popular in the Victorian era.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, swimming became more recognized as a sport, and in 1896, men’s swimming was added to the Olympics. Although this new interpretation of swimming required swimsuits to be more hydrodynamic and less absorbent, swimwear remained restricted for both men and women. There still remained concerns about the modesty of women wearing the swimsuit, however, as the fabric behaved in unpredictable ways when wet. By the 1930s, though, most competitors, both women and men, wore one-piece swimsuits that exposed the arms and legs. These one-piece swimsuits remained the norm until 1946.

One of the most ground-breaking developments in swimwear was the invention of the bikini in the 1940s. It was a huge change from the full-coverage standards that had previously been prevalent dominated women’s swimwear.

Another swimsuit known was the athletic swimsuit made by swimwear brand Speedo. Speedo unveiled their first nylon men’s swimming shorts at the 1956 Olympics, and this new material’s elasticity and hydrodynamic properties made it revolutionary. Soon, women’s swimwear utilized the same technology.

By the 1970s, Speedo had found a combination of elastane and nylon that significantly improved swimsuit performance. The 2000s has brought with it more developments in both the leisure and athletic swimsuits. In 2008, Speedo unveiled the world’s fastest swimsuit, the LZR Racer, which led to such high athletic performance that regulations had to be put in place to limit the length of swimsuit. These modern swimsuit regulations starkly contrast the coverage-based regulations of previous centuries. While more swimsuits are being created all the time, one wonders what other expectations around swimsuits are soon to be rewritten.

The Ethnic Studies Committee includes Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dr. Gulliermo Lopez, Gunn Social Studies Instructional Lead Jeff Patrick, Paly Social Studies Instructional Lead Mary Sano and other Gunn and Paly teachers. The group was founded during the 2022-23 school year in response to A.B. 101, which mandates that all California high schools make ethnic studies a graduation requirement for the Class of 2030 — current sixth graders — or earlier.

During the meeting, Lopez, Patrick and Sano presented on the course’s new curriculum. Ethnic studies at PAUSD will be segmented into five units, starting with unit zero, Why Ethnic Studies, and continuing with Identity; Power, Privilege and Systems of Opression; Resilience and Resistance; and Action and Civic Engagement, a capstone project. Units one through three will include case studies centered around different primary sources from four ethnic groups: African Americans, Chicanx and Latinx Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Next year, Gunn and Paly will each pilot one ethnic studies class of 20 ninth graders, who will be selected through lottery at each site. According to Sano, one of the main goals of these classes is to garner feedback from students and teachers.

In response to the presentation, Paly Student School Board Representative junior Karthi Gottipati said that students should play a bigger role in the course design process, and warned that if unable to give input, students might feel less interested in to the finished course.

“It is entirely pointless to have an ethnic studies course that is designed for adults and by adults if students don’t know and don’t care what’s being taught,” he said during the meeting.

Gunn Student School Board Representative senior Chris Lee (who is also managing editor for The Oracle) also emphasized the importance of considering the intended recipients of the new course.

“The (students) who I talked to felt like the conversation surrounding ethnic studies — especially at these Board meetings — was getting further and further away from them and their priorities,” he said during the meeting. “It’s important for parents and other community members to understand that the course is ultimately for students.”

After the ethnic studies presentation, the AI ad hoc committees from Gunn, Paly and PAUSD — composed of mostly high school students, staff and technology experts at the district level — shared generative AI goals for the district. These goals included furthering equity and inclusion by using generative AI to summarize texts for English Language Learners and neurodiverse students, as well as developing alternate lesson plans that prevent — or render ineffective — the use of AI by covering topics that software such as ChatGPT hasn’t learned about.

Gunn committee member sophomore Sujay Dorai presented his hopes for AI’s future in the district.

“I think it’ll be a positive change because it’s really a really powerful technology,” he said. “I hope that the district can use this to get rid of busy work.”

Board member Shounak Dharap was appreciative of the AI committee’s work and saw it as an important focus point for the district.

“(The AI committee) is the most important thing the district is doing,” Dharap said during the meeting. “It touches every single other thing we’re doing. I’m really interested in what we’re doing and really supportive of everything.”

The Idaho regional competition comprised practice matches, qualifications and playoffs. During practice matches, teams had a chance to test their robot in practice matches with other robots before the actual competition. During the qualifications, robots accrued ranking points for a chance to compete in the playoffs, which determined the winners of the event.

This year’s game was called Crescendo. Teams had a variety of ways to earn points during matches, which incorporated “notes,” foam rings deposited into goals for points. At the end of matches, robots gained points if they were suspended off the ground on the structures placed on both sides of the arena.

After the first round of qualifications, GRT, registered under the team number 192, was in 43rd place of 43 teams due to repeated control failures. After the second round of qualifications, however, GRT was in 20th place, and was selected to join alliance 7 by the alliance captain, team 2122. 

According to GRT member sophomore Anushree Jayaprakash, the team’s qualification for the playoffs was a welcome surprise. 

“That was just really encouraging for us because to come all the way from the bottom to (alliance 7) was crazy,” she said.

In the final best-of-three rounds, GRT’s alliance and the opposing alliance each won one match, leading to a final tiebreaker that ended with a score of 103 for alliance 7 and 97 for alliance 1. 

As the regional winners, GRT and their alliance captain team 2122 from Boise, Idaho, will continue to the FIRST world championship in Houston, Texas. Club advisor Kristina Granlund said that as soon as they returned, the team started on repairs.

“When we came back from our competition in Idaho, within 24 or 48 hours, team members had already gotten together and said, ‘Here’s what we need to do before we go to Houston,’” she said.

Granlund sees the exposure to other teams as one of the biggest benefits of the world championships.

“It’s a good opportunity for the team to see how other people live, and what other ideas other teams came up with to solve the same problem,” she said.

The Idaho regional competition comprised practice matches, qualifications and playoffs. During the qualifications, robots accrued ranking points for a chance to compete in the playoffs, which determined the event winners.
After the first round of qualifications,
GRT — registered under the team number
192 — was in 43rd place of 43 teams due to
repeated control failures. After all rounds
of qualifications, however, GRT was in 20th
place, and was selected to join Alliance 7 by

the alliance captain, team 2122.
In the final best-of-three rounds, GRT’s
alliance and the opposing alliance each won
one match, leading to a final tiebreaker that
ended with a score of 103 for Alliance 7 and
97 for Alliance 1.
Learning from past mistakes allowed the
team to be successful this year, according to
Safety Captain junior Amelia Perry.
“We have a system to pass information to
future years, which is why we have lasted so
long as a team,” she said.
As the regional winners, GRT and their
alliance captain team 2122 from Boise, Idaho,
will continue to the April 17 to 20 FIRST world
championship in Houston, Texas.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Chloe Wu

On Friday, Feb. 23, students skipped SELF and Study Hall to participate in a walkout, gathering on the football field to discuss student mental health in the aftermath of Tuesday’s student death. 

During the meeting, student organizers freshman Aya Gurevich and sophomore Milcah Morrison directed students to sit at the center of the field, where they proceeded to speak about Gunn and district wellness measures. Students were then invited to come up and speak about their own thoughts and frustrations. Toward the end of the meeting, Principal Wendy Stratton brought three boxes of pizza for the participants, part of a Parent Teacher Student Association gift for all Gunn students.

Attendees learned about the event through social media. According to Gurevich, Morrison proposed coordinating a walkout after seeing his Instagram story suggesting that students “boycott SELF.” As the word spread, students were encouraged to show up in green, a color symbolizing mental health awareness. 

“It’s just kind of to get teachers and staff and the administration to notice that what they’re doing isn’t working, and kids aren’t happy with it,” Gurevich told The Oracle. “At 15 years old, I experienced, in my school, somebody died. That’s something that shouldn’t happen.”

Although the event was promoted as a boycott, Morrison cautioned against using such labeling: The event’s goal wasn’t to condemn the school, but rather to foster discourse. 

“You can’t blame staff, you can’t blame the Board,” she told The Oracle. “You can’t blame the people that are just here from their nine to five … I’m sure it’s great that we have activities out there to help people, but we really need to sit down and just talk about it.”

According to Stratton, conversations with the crisis response team — including counselors and therapists — made it evident that students needed an outlet, and the walkout seemed like a peaceful way for them to express their emotions. 

“We know that we need a community response, and we don’t want to inhibit students who have a need right now — especially coming into the weekend on a Friday — to connect and work through whatever they’re going through,” she said. “So my feeling — and our feeling — was to give them space to do that.” 

After Morrison and Gurevich spoke, the attendees were invited to come up and share their perspectives. Those present expressed wide-ranging frustrations — critiquing Gunn’s academic culture alongside Wellness Center guidelines and SELF lessons — and shared their experiences, both in speeches to the rest of the group and in interviews with The Oracle.

“SELF is more of a Band-Aid solution,” freshman Dante Chung told The Oracle. “It’s generalized mental health care, and that’s not what mental health care support is supposed to be about.” 

While SELF Coordinator Kathryn Catalano anticipates that the SELF program will continue to adapt based on feedback, she added that mental-health guidance and resources may not be within the program’s purview: It was established in 2017 to address California’s social-emotional learning standards.

“It’s important to note that the SELF program, it focuses on social emotional skills,” she said. “While there is, of course, a lot of overlap between that and having strong mental health resources and things of that nature, that’s not what the SELF program was established for.”

Other students, including sophomore Noam Morris, addressed Gunn’s academic culture, telling The Oracle that offhand comments — such as saying “I’m going to kill myself” after getting a bad grade on a test — trivialize mental health struggles.

“I think we as a community really need to come together and start working towards giving those topics the respect they deserve, talking about them in a more healthy way,” he said.

Some speakers requested a day to memorialize the student who died. While current district policy doesn’t ban memorials, it does prioritize protecting vulnerable students. “Suicide contagion can be instigated with the death of an individual, even if the death is not due to suicide,” the policy reads. “Therefore, schools must respond to all school community deaths in a thoughtful and similar manner that maximizes safety and carefully considers the impact of memorialization on participants and the broader community.”

To bolster student voice, Stratton called several students to her office this morning — ASB President senior Nathan Levy; SEC Special Events Commissioner senior Ruth Jaquette; School Board Representative senior Chris Lee (who is also a managing editor for The Oracle); SEC Wellness Commissioner senior Daniel van Schewick; Reach Out, Care, Know Club President junior Beverly Lamis; and ROCK board member junior Grace Missett — to arrange a Listening Session Event. The event will take place during an extended lunch on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the Acorn Lounge, next to the library. 

During the session, students will have an opportunity to share thoughts, concerns and suggestions in the wake of the student death. Students can submit input, concerns and questions that they want administrators to address to this form. 

The goal of administrators and students alike, however, is to provide robust support systems during this time. 

“Be there for your friends first and foremost — that is what matters,” junior Gene Chumakov, who attended the walkout, told The Oracle. “Because this isn’t just an issue of admin not doing enough. This is an issue of students not caring for each other, and having such a lack of faith in the resources and the therapists that we’ve been provided.”

The Oracle has since conducted investigations into wellness measures at Gunn in a continuation of its 2019 “In Pursuit of Wellness” series. Part I, an investigation into SELF, can be found here.

If you are worried about yourself or a friend, contact the National Suicide Prevention lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Wellness Center, suicidepreventionlifeline.org, a therapist, a doctor or a school counselor. If the threat is immediate, call 911.

Sophomore Naomi Naveh has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. According to Naveh, using “SpEd” as a synonym for “stupid” directly targets students in Special Education programs.

“It’s just explicitly using ‘Special Education’ as an insult,” she said. “I’d never seen it used like that before (Gunn), and it was really jarring to me how it was used all the time and very casually.”

Naveh noted that even aside from explicit insults, misusing language relating to disabilities invalidates the experiences of students who have them.

“When people say, ‘Oh, I’m so ADHD’ when they get a little bit distracted on one thing, or when people say, ‘Oh, I’m so OCD’ when they talk about how they like to keep things tidy, it both minimizes the effect of the disorder itself, and it also feels like (students) don’t know what (they’re) talking about,” she said.

In anticipation of this invalidation, English teacher Danielle Whichard tries to prevent the use of offensive language in her classroom.

“I’m very sensitive to and intentional about language that’s used with intellectual disabilities,” she said. “Every once in a while there is a time that someone uses some language that crosses the boundary, and I would address that with them individually.”

Some students who use offensive language such as the R-word may simply be unaware that their words are hurtful. Naveh suggests giving students the benefit of the doubt — educating them rather than accusing them — to prevent them from becoming defensive.

“I think it’s probably best to go with the assumption that they’re just ignorant and not malicious,” she said. “Whether or not that’s true, they’re less likely to get defensive.”

Whichard employs a similar strategy in her class.

“One of my first tactics is usually just to sort of repeat back to them, not saying those words, but just asking (the students), ‘Is that really what you intended to say? Was that the intention that you’ve had?’” Whichard said. “A lot of times, students were not thinking about it and realize that that was problematic or hurtful, and usually are apologetic.”

To ensure students with disabilities receive equitable instruction, all U.S. schools are subject to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which guarantees funding for schools that fulfill a set of requirements around SpEd. An effective SpEd program must consider the level of integration with General Education classes, staff training and the needs of individual students.

Background

SpEd at PAUSD and Gunn comprises multiple programs, which can be adapted to support the differing needs of all students with disabilities. At PAUSD, students enter the SpEd program when a parent or staff member submits a verbal or written referral to the district. The referred student’s parents then work with district staff to decide the student’s eligibility for an individualized education program, taking into account the student’s academic history, along with a reading and math assessment administered by PAUSD.

According to Gunn Special Education Coordinator Teri Lee, students can enter the SpEd program if they have a disability that impacts their learning and need accommodations. Students with mild to moderate disabilities sometimes struggle with speech or attention span and don’t usually require an in-class aide. Students with moderate to severe disabilities, however, often require the assistance of a specialized aide or teacher throughout the school day.

Outside of the entry process, SpEd plans differ greatly from student to student. For students with mild learning difficulties, IEPs focus on making their in-class experiences easier, including accommodations such as extra time on tests, the option to take exams in quiet settings, frequent teacher check-ins and movement breaks. These accommodations aim to help students participate in GenEd classes alongside their peers.

The Futures program, least integrated with GenEd classes, serves students with moderate to severe learning differences. Although daily schedules and activities vary from student to student, most Futures students spend three periods in GenEd classes and four periods in a specialized classroom where they receive additional support.

Integration

One of IDEA’s major goals is to keep all students in the same classroom “to the maximum extent appropriate to the education needs of the students with disabilities.” However, “maximum extent appropriate” varies from student to student, and opinions sometimes differ on what the correct measure is.

According to Lee, Gunn incorporates students into GenEd as much as possible, providing accommodations and separate classes if necessary.

“We always want to start in General Education, and then based on the student’s needs, work our way back from there,” she said.

Some schools are built around a philosophy of maximum inclusion, such as Hope Technology School, a private school in Palo Alto. HTS follows the Universal Design for Learning model, putting students in the same classroom as much as possible and accommodating all learners’ needs and abilities. HTS classrooms ensure that students are all able to participate in class by adding occasional breaks and flexible amounts of classwork.

Although the UDL model might help some students with disabilities, having all students in the same classroom for more challenging classes can frustrate SpEd and GenEd students alike. Yael Naveh, a parent of a Futures student, said that putting her child in GenEd classes when he isn’t at the same level as the rest of the class inhibits his learning.

“Sticking a kid like mine in an algebra class when he’s doing second-grade-level (math) doesn’t really have much meaning for him,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily constructive to him learning, because all that will happen will be that he will have to work on something completely different.”

Momoyo Yanagihara, a parent of a Futures student, pointed out that SpEd has to focus both on inclusion and educational level.

“I just want my son to be in an appropriate environment for him, and that may mean (being) excluded sometimes,” Yanagihara said. “If he’s in a regular PE class, he might have fun, but sometimes it might not be the right level for him.”

Parent Tina Chow, however, whose son freshman Nikolaos Chow uses a letter board to communicate, believes more coordination and creativity with UDL approaches is needed in order to make the GenEd curriculum more inclusive.

“(Other students) are talking back and forth, and who’s going to wait for Nikolaos to spell out his answer?” she said. “So what would be a UDL way to approach that? Maybe everybody has to provide written answers, instead of just blurting them out, so then he has time to write something.” Unlike Gunn, HTS’ smaller class sizes make focusing on individual needs significantly easier and the UDL model more feasible. HTS’ model, however, requires significant time and attention that many Gunn teachers and aides cannot afford.

That being said, Gunn’s Unity PE is a powerful tool for inclusion. Unity PE puts GenEd students in the same class as SpEd students, enabling students to help and form friendships with one another. Naveh and Yanagihara have praised Unity PE for providing their students with social interactions and friendships that extend outside of school.

Gunn also offers co-taught classes, which are instructed by two teachers and occasionally an aide, as another way to keep students in one classroom. Co-taught classes include students with and without learning challenges, allowing those with moderate learning differences to remain in a classroom with their peers not in SpEd. Social studies teacher Patrick Rode, who co-teaches two classes, noted how the format is also helpful for teachers.

“It almost forces you to be more creative and provide more opportunities or different learning strategies for all of the learners in the classroom,” he said.

Rode also mentioned that co-taught classes benefit GenEd students by exposing them to alternative learning styles.

“I love having the students work together because you get multiple perspectives,” Rode said. “And that’s a life skill. … Starting at the high school level for the students is really beneficial.”

Staffing Shortages

Staffing district SpEd programs proves a challenge nationwide, according to Gunn SpEd Instructional Lead Briana Gonzalez.

“There’s such an incredible shortage when it comes to not only instructional aides for SpEd but also qualified educational specialists,” she said. “This shortage can absolutely lead to challenges, such as providing individualized support and attention for students with IEPs.”

For Nikolaos Chow, this shortage of aides has made participation in GenEd classes like Algebra II/Trigonometry Honors difficult.

“It takes me a long time to write my responses, and the aide needs to have specialized training to know how to support me with the letter board,” he spelled out on the letter board. “The school knows that I need this support, and they are providing training to the aides, but it is not enough. It is almost December and we have explained the need for training to the school many times, but there have been so many delays. This basically means that I cannot participate in class by sharing my opinions or thoughts, and so it is easy to get super frustrated because I am not able to really be included.”

Tina Chow emphasized the need for specialized training in order for aides to become familiar with the student and their learning method. As aides come and go, however, familiarity with individual students is often jeopardized, and existing aides must take on additional responsibilities. Instructional aide Keanna Martinez explains that this creates much more stress and pressure.

“Having one-on-ones is definitely a lot easier because each kid needs that certain attention, and when we have (shortages), we’re not able to fully commit ourselves to one student and give our day our all because we’re running around going from Point A to Point B,” she said. “If another aide gets sick or has to go somewhere, we have to move one aide to another aide’s spot, and it’s like a domino effect of problem after problem if we don’t get that necessary support.”

Gunn is working to hire and train more aides to support a diverse array of students, according to Gonzalez. For instance, instructional aides were invited to participate in teacher development days and meet with the teachers that they’re supporting this year.

“They sat with those teachers and together reviewed instructional accommodations, and also which strategies (they’ve) observed that are working or not working,” she said. “It’s something I hope we can continue to do because this is really how we make sure that instructional aides are part of the conversation.”

Fostering Inclusivity

With Gunn’s broad range of SpEd programs, Gonzalez said an inclusive environment is especially important because of the stigma that exists surrounding SpEd.

“Students may hold stereotypes or lack in understanding of the diverse abilities that exist among all our Gunn High School students,” she said.

She noted that daily language, which shapes our perception of the world, plays a major role in enforcing or dismantling the stigma around SpEd and disability.

“If we can change our own language here at Gunn so it’s more inclusive, that’s encouraging respective communication, which builds toward creating a respective, positive, inclusive atmosphere,” she said.

For example, she proposes changing the “handicapped spot” in the parking lot to “accessible parking,” de-emphasizing the presence of a disability.

According to SpEd Specialist Sandra Conklin, GenEd students can also create an inclusive environment, by being open to learning from SpEd students, who are just like other teenagers.

“Everyone is different; we all have gifts and we have something to offer the community,” she said. “They’re teenagers. They want to have friends — they have crushes. They happen to have a couple more challenges, but they also have some gifts that other people don’t have.”

Many opportunities exist for GenEd students to interact with SpEd students, both inside and outside the classroom. Conklin encourages students to join Unity PE and the Best Buddies Club, which meets on Thursdays in Room F-2 and brings students together through activities like board games, cooking and sports. She adds that even the simplest gestures can make a difference in SpEd students’ experiences at Gunn.

“If you’re walking around a campus and you see a Special Ed student sitting by themselves, ask them to join you,” she said. “Volunteer to take some kids to assemblies (and) reach out to include the kids in what you would normally do in a high school day because these are often kids who don’t have that group that they go to assemblies and dances with.”

Gonzalez believes that this kind of inclusivity should be a goal of not only students but educators as well.

“For teachers, regardless of subject — whether it’s a co-taught course or an honors course or AP — we should always be thinking and implementing changes in our teaching style and curriculum to support all students,” she said. “Each generation we have a new group of learners. Technology has changed, curriculum has grown, information has changed. I think we ourselves also have to.”