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April 7 - 13, 2016 » Page 10A
Cross Keys freshmen engage with public, officials
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
F or three hours on March
30, the hustle and bustle of
the Plaza Fiesta shopping
center was met with dozens
trying to implement change.
One may think these voices
and ideas, echoing throughout the
Chamblee based Hispanic cultural
hub, originated from college
students or community advocates.
However, the voices calling for
affordable housing, access to
meetings for Latinos and better
infrastructure came from Cross
Keys High School freshmen.
March 30 marked the beginning
of Cross Keys High School’s BuHi
(Buford Highway) Project. From 6
to 9 p.m., approximately two dozen
freshmen from the DeKalb high
school shared ideas on how to
make the Buford Highway region
universally and inclusively better.
Local officials from Doraville and
Brookhaven, including mayor
Donna Pittman, joined students in
the lively, constructive discussion.
English teacher Rebekah
Morris said the project took root
when discussing issues with
Marian Liou of We Love BuHi, a
Buford Highway-specific enterprise
seeking to improve the corridor. In
realizing Liou and Morris’s interests
were similar, Morris devised the
project as a way of reading, writing
and critically thinking about the
question “What’s better - looking
out for yourself or looking out for
others?”
“We’ve been realizing
that when you look out for the
community, it directly impacts
your life,” Morris said. “Instead of
teaching them what displacement
means, they’re looking at
displacement in context. They
remember vocabulary and why it
matters.”
Jenifer Monzon and
Jacqueline Gutierrez, two Cross
Keys freshmen, said they want
their project to lead the way in
making Buford Highway a better
place to live.
“We are trying to find and show
people better ways to improve
Buford Highway so we can
appreciate it more,” Monzon said.
“We’re trying to find better ways to
improve our community.
Monzon and Gutierrez’s ideas
involve adding more bike lanes,
more access to travel information
for minorities and improved public
transit. The duo explained how if
more people, namely minorities,
in the BuHi area knew of and had
access to public meetings, better
changes would be implemented.
“People aren’t really informed
about meetings we have,” Monzon
said. “[Information] should get
out to everyone so they can get
involved more with the community.
We need people who live here to
give ideas; we don’t need people
who don’t live here giving ideas.
They don’t know how it is to live
here.”
Monzon, as did other freshmen
at Plaza Fiesta that evening, sees
Buford Highway as a thriving,
beautiful community. The students
explained how the proximity of
places to eat, businesses and
service industries make it an
See BuHi on Page 11A
Cross Keys High School teacher Rebekah Morris greets the public at the opening
of The BuHi Project, created by Cross Keys freshmen. Photos by R. Scott Belzer
Onlookers discuss one of several poster boards outlining potential Buford Highway
improvements.
Stone Mountain NJROTC receives annual inspection
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
For most of the day March
30, the sounds of military
commands rang through the
halls of Stone Mountain High
School’s auditorium. They were
quick, direct and authoritative, all
for the purpose of obtaining an
exceptional score.
The commands’ forthrightness
stems from a years’ worth of hard
work. They seemed to represent
hours spent in the DeKalb school’s
gym memorizing steps, marches
and directions. The shouts
explicitly demanded the correct
turn and cadence, but seemed
to implicitly provide students with
things all the more important:
validation and meaning.
March 30 marked Stone
Mountain High School’s Naval
Junior Reserve Officer’s Training
Corps’ (NJROTC) annual
inspection. From 7:30 a.m. until
2 p.m., more than 100 students
dressed in military regalia stood in
formation, marched and presented
arms in unison.
Commander Patrick Callan of
the Navy Recruitment District of
Atlanta performed the inspection,
which consisted of judging cadets’
enthusiasm, cleanliness, ability to
follow orders and knowledge of
military direction. Six total platoons
were judged over a two hour
period amounting to 129 students.
The event concluded with a
ceremonial program consisting
of a presentation of colors and
national anthem, presentation
of awards and acknowledgment
of the highest ranking platoon,
demonstration by the armed
and unarmed drill teams, and a
pass-in-review in which students
passed by Commander Callum,
the two NJROTC teachers at
Stone Mountain High, as well
as assistant principal Tarristine
Simmons.
Immediately following, cadets
were briefed by their platoon
leaders and teachers on how
they performed. Lieutenant
Commander John-Michael
Jones, who teaches second
through fourth year NJROTC
cadets, will then send that report
to Stone Mountain High’s regional
manager.
According to Senior Chief
Haamid Malik, who teaches first
year NJROTC students at Stone
Mountain High, the event stood
as a school year culmination for
cadets. Malik recently retired from
the Navy after 26 years of service
and enjoys “continuing his service”
by passing along knowledge to
Stone Mountain students.
“This is like an annual report
card to show how motivated
students are,” Malik said. “It’s
an opportunity for the cadets to
show off what they’ve learned
throughout the year. It’s a show
time - it shows the discipline they
have.”
The importance of the event
could be read on each cadet’s
stern, unflinching face. The retired
Navy serviceman was the first to
point out how stressful such an
inspection can be for each platoon.
Small mistakes such as a wrinkled
shirt, improper turn or unenthused
See NJROTC on Page 12A