Week of Consciousness

the problem:

The original idea was conceived by a fellow friend, John Yturralde. Yturralde first began this project by having a school-wide school-supply drive in May 2007. He then donated the supplies to schools in Uganda as part of his missionary work in summer of 2007.
The school's world history teacher, Ms. Ellen Bergan influenced a group of my friends and I to do more within the school. She left us with a challenge that as Student Council leaders, we should not be focusing on dances and pep rallies, but rather the politics of a school such as students' rights, voice, and opinions. She also stressed on global awareness.
My group of friends, John, and Ms. Bergan, including myself, met to discuss what we would do with our community. We were influenced by each other, Ms. Bergan, and a documentary called Invisible Children.
We would collaborate every single club on campus to sponsor a global issue. Each club would raise awareness, interest, and funds for that issue.
The official Week of Consciousness would be from November 13-16, 2007.
It would spark off with a silent sit-down at lunch in the school's quad area. Students were encouraged to sit-down against global warming, AIDS/HIV, human trafficking, etc. Each day students were encouraged to wear black in support of the event and against the issues. Over 200 students participated in the sit-down.
The Wednesday and Thursday were days filled with mass information on issues. Each club set out booths in the lunch quad providing fliers, pamphlets, and other information regarding their topic.
A world affairs class, taught by Ms. Arlene Benedicto, held a visual representation of human trafficking. Students were trapped inside a cage could not be removed unless other students donated money. Afterwards, the caged student would give a brief lecture about the topic.
One example was the Environmentalist Club held a screening of "An Inconvenient Truth", a documentary about global warming. Admission charge was a $1 donation and included popcorn, candy, and drinks to accommodate the film. This specific event concluded with an open discussion about global warming and ways to relieve the issue.
Friday concluded the event by substituting the weekly pep rally into a Consciousness Rally. The rally was held in the school's amphitheatre which seats about 1,000 people. It was then split up into sections: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and Clubs. The class spirit competition was substituted with each club and class participating in a 'cause competition'. The loudest, liveliest, and most active group won the grand general donation funds to be used for that group's issue.

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