Taylor Kelley
News Editor
During halftime at the Mira Costa vs. Culver City football game on Sept. 30, students and staff gathered on the track to participate in “100 Yards of Unity” to bring attention to anti-Semitic hate crimes that have recently occurred at Costa.
The event was organized by senior Brent Torres as well as senior Rebecca Rytz and ju nior Gwynn Parker, who spoke at the event. Various Costa clubs participated including
Friendship Club and Mustangs of Hope Club.
“The purpose of the ‘100 Yards of Unity’ is to take the first step toward making real change on this campus,” said Torres. “It allowed the community to unite and acknowledge what has been happening throughout our campuses and let them know that we are denouncing it and making change.”
According to Torres, he was motivated to arrange this event due to years of hearing and seeing hate speech in school, beginning at Manhattan Beach Middle School. He decided that change needed to be made and wanted to take action to combat hatred within the Costa community.
“We’ve been seeing hate crimes happening from a very young age. Since middle school, this has been going on,” said junior Sophia Parsley. “It hasn’t always been spoken about, but it’s always been an issue.”
Costa strives to make everyone feel included on campus, and acts of hate have the opposite effect, according to junior Jessilyn Reyes. The hate crimes happening at Costa make people feel unsafe and unwelcome, according to Reyes.
“I was more than open to join in order to raise awareness of what’s happening on campus,” said Reyes. “As a community, we should strive to create a safe and fostering environment where everyone feels like they belong.”
Over 140 students and staff participated in the event. They all conjoined hands as student speakers spoke to the crowd. Attendees of the game in the audience from both Culver and Costa stood up during the event.
“It was so amazing to see so many people from the Costa community come together and bring recognition to the problem,” said junior Naomi Charania. “I think it definitely helped bring more awareness and will help make a change.”
It is not just the students in the crowd who want the hate speech to end, according to senior and leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Ben Nicholson. Nicholson was motivated to participate to show that those playing on the field also want a difference to be made.
“Mira Costa does not stand for the hate speech that happened around the campus,” said Nicholson. “We want to show people that Mira Costa is accepting of its diversity.”
According to senior Heather Jensen, founder and president of the World Changers Club, many students at Costa were shocked when they found out about the hate crimes occurring on campus. Club leaders and participants hope that the “100 Yards of Unity” will show sup port for all people in the community, according to Jensen.
“By being complicit, nothing will ever change,” said Jensen. “Hate crimes should be taken seriously and need to be addressed in a strong manner. It sheds light that while there are some hateful, or just ignorant, people on campus, the majority do not tolerate it.”
According to Parker, co-founder and co-president of the Costa Cares Club and a speaker at the event, students, staff, and community members can help make a change by being brave enough to stand up for what is right.
“I hope that with this first step, we can continue to step toward change,” said Torres. “Hopefully, our community can see that we are trying to make a difference, and they want to be interested in joining the change. I really want students and staff to do their best to acknowledge what is happening and see that we really need to put an end to this. Hate is not
welcome here.”
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