CALIFORNIA:  All the World’s a Stage

November 14, 2006 - High school students in Long Beach Mix It Up on stage - and off.

By Jeff Sapp | for Mixitup.org

    Cabrillo High School, just 10 years old, is a stunning facility on the West side of Long Beach.  In the spectacular student quad area where students gather to eat lunch, a flock of seagulls fight and peck over a few scraps of food.

    And it is there, center stage, where Cabrillo students present Mix It Up at lunch - with a twist.  Rather than trying to “mix up” all 3,900 students, 50 participants and 20 student leaders are modeling Mix It Up for the student body.  They sit at eight tables, ready to illustrate the power of stereotypes - and the ability to break through them.

    Their hope is to not only cross social boundaries by Mixing It Up with each other on stage, but to become a symbol of crossing boundaries for their peers off stage as well.

    As part of the show, a student lists some of the groups beyond race that divide the school.  “Over there are the party crews.  There are the fliers (students who give out fliers advertising their after school parties).  Over there are the fabs (who think they’re fabulous).  There are the “emos” (labeled by their peers as “emotional”).  Over there are the Yu-Gi-Ohs, (those who like to trade Yu-Gi-Oh cards) - and on and on it goes, identifying groups on and around the stage.

    “All these different groups get to see us mixing, and we hope that this shows that you don’t have to sit in the same place every single day at lunch,” says one of the Mix student leaders.

Rice and Beans and Chicken

    At one table, led by Mix student leaders The and William, eight participants are ready to begin.  William reads the ground rules one by one, paraphrasing them when he sees a student looking puzzled by what he’s saying.  They’ll be discussing six questions today.  The first:  “Do you think you live up to stereotypes about your race?”

    Will, a Filipino, answers first.  “Everyone thinks that Asians are all smart in school and only eat rice,” he says.

    Francisco, a Latino sitting next to him chimes in, “Yeah, and I’m supposed to love beans and be in a gang.  William, the Mix student leader, is exasperated by these stereotypes, too.  “I’m Black, so people think that all we eat is chicken - and I want to be a vegetarian.”  A young Black woman adds, “I’m suppose to get pregnant and then drop out of school, and trust me, I am not getting pregnant and there is absolutely no way I am dropping out of school!”  At this, the whole table bursts into applause.

    Other questions follow.  “Why do we have stereotypes?”  “How does television influence the stereotyping of people?”  “Do your friends influence you with stereotypes?”

    The answers, like the students at CHS, are wise beyond their years.

    “Immigration on TV only shows Mexicans immigrating to the United States, ignoring the other groups that are  immigrating, too.  I don’t think that’s fair,” says Francisco.

    Another students adds, “Yeah, and Blacks are always basketball players, while the cheerleaders in TV shows are always white.  Don’t think I don’t notice that it’s a white cheerleader you have to save to save the world,” he says in reference to a central character in the popular TV show Heroes.

What is a “Riot”?

    “What is a riot?” would seem like an odd question to ask in a Mix It Up event, but CHS has been labeled by local media as a school that has riots, and Mix leaders want to make a point.  “Just because we’re on the West side of Long Beach doesn’t mean we’re all gang-bangers,” one student says.

    The school population is Latino (60%), African-American (25%), Asian (12%) and white (3%).  While there are tensions between Latinos and Blacks in the area, the students are adamant their school isn’t as bad as the community thinks.    

    “It isn’t as bad as the media makes it out to be,” Cory says.  “Come to our school and you’ll find that we’re the same as any other school.  Just because your school is older and more established doesn’t make you better than us.”

    “I think we’re pretty peaceful,” agrees Astra.

“We Are One”

    Before they leave their tables, students are given pens and asked to write messages on the paper tablecloth.  These posters will then be hung up around campus, sustaining the message of the CHS Mix It Up Day.  The statements reveal their hope for Cabrillo High School.  Just as the Mix organizers had hoped, more is caught than taught.

    “All people should be treated equally,” writes Leslie.

    Jordan pens, “I learned new people’s names today, and I also learned ways to prevent racism for me and my friends.”  One student simply writes, “We are one.”

    As the students fly to their next class, one students notices the seagulls pecking at each other as they fight for food.

    “Just like us sometimes,” she says.

Jeff Sapp is a freelance writer living in Long Beach, California and is the former Senior Curriculum Specialist/Writer for Teaching Tolerance.  He is currently a professor of education at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

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