Mix It Up Day

On December 15, 2011, students and staff at the high school "Mixed It Up" by sitting at different tables at lunch. This activity was sponsored by the Key Club, SOCA and the GSA in order to break down the artificial barriers that separate students from each other. This is part of a national effort supported by the people who publish the magazine, Teaching Tolerance, and has been tried in thousands of high schools around the country. Here in Northampton, hundreds of students participated and they found that they have unexpected things in common with people they didn't know. The paper the groups worked on was an activity to find how each of us identifies in a different way but also how we have some things in common. Some of the items the groups found in common were: music, favorite foods, sorts, enjoying Mix It Up day, pierced ears, a love of sleep, and “we all met and have new friends.” We hope to do this again in the future.