Coming back from winter break, students saw bright orange footprints around campus.
As part of their social justice and community first semester final, three seniors worked together to plan and produce the 10 sets of footprints accompanied by quotes, which were decoratively placed around Cal High’s campus in early January.
“We noticed that there were a lot of things happening around school like the homecoming float [incident].” said senior Dean Sheykhi, who worked on the project. “We thought that if people understood each other’s perspective better then it would help combat this.”
Following their unit last semester on ‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas, Hamilton assigned the “do good” project, which asks students to give back to their community through their actions.
The footprints exemplify how standing in somebody else’s footsteps can help you understand their perspective.
Sheykhi and seniors Ava Chestnut and Ethan Cullen, took inspiration from Iron Horse Middle School, which exhibits conflict-resolving footprints around campus.
“I’ve heard a lot of, ‘Why did you do that?’,” Chestnut said. “As a community, Cal High just isn’t so into the justice and community stuff. People here aren’t used to being told that what they’re doing is wrong.”
Each set of footprints is in front of a building on campus, and each quote was designed to reflect the educational focus of that area.
The group initially had 40-50 quotes, and upon communication with Principal Demetrius Ball and social justice and community English 12 teacher, Eghosa Hamilton, they narrowed the list to 10 quotes that fit the ideals of their project.
As well as having a cohesive theme, these quotes were meant to motivate students as they enter classes throughout the day.
“Seeing the footprints makes me feel like learning has a purpose,” sophomore Julia Aguas said. “I’m here to learn, I’m here to be inspired.”
Along with the footprints, the group created a specialized curriculum to follow along with the vision of their project, which was shared with social studies teachers on campus.
“It’s in your hands what you do, you have complete freedom to choose what change you want to make,” Sheykhi said.
Hamilton has been focusing her social justice curriculum around giving back to Cal’s culture and trying to expand the possibilities of what students can accomplish.
“I always think about in what ways can we give back to the community,” Hamilton said. “But as I’ve been teaching longer, [I become] more courageous or confident in how big those ideas can be.”
Hamilton’s class takes community service to the next level, incorporating justice within its curriculum.
“[The class] has been active in trying to bring awareness to diversity in our community and in our school.” Ball said.
Some of the other “do good” projects include an informative podcast, student handbook about modes of resistance and a documentary addressing racial issues. The footprint project in particular has been highly credited for its eye-catching and unforgettable presence on campus.
“[The footprints] were just something that everyone would always have to see,” Chestnut said. “They have to think about them. They have to look at it.”
From the very beginning, their goal was to create a unique and purposeful project that will have a lasting impact on future Cal students.
“The footprints is a permanent message on campus,” Hamilton said. “I’m proud of the effort [the students] put into it and doing something that will live on after they graduate.”
