La Vista

By Christoph Neumann
Staff Writer

People Attaining Complete Equality organized an informational campaign throughout the week of April 29 to address the misrepresentation of women and children and held an assembly on April 30 to further raise awareness for the issue.

Also included in the PACE campaign was a screening of the Oprah Winfrey Network “Miss Representation” on May 1 in the Costa auditorium.

The campaign as a whole mainly expanded on the ideas presented in last year’s body image assembly.

“PACE had been wanting to do something about self image for a while, so we decided to look at body image from a different angle,” PACE Director Dr. Rocky Wilson said.

This year, PACE decided to include the greater South Bay community by hosting the movie screening for anyone to attend.

“We surveyed students and found that people were not happy with their bodies,” PACE sophomore Gillian Searer said. “We feel that by exposing the pressures placed on youth today, we can be instrumental in changing how kids perceive themselves.”

To spread awareness for the campaign, PACE hung posters around the Costa campus and sent out e-blasts about the movie to the community.

“PACE designed these posters and the e-blast in order to be able to reach the community about the campaign,” Wilson said. “There are a lot of people struggling, and they may not even realize it.”

Some students seemed to connect to the ideas in the misrepresentation campaign.

“The Oprah Winfrey movie was really interesting and informative,” senior Aedan Madillian said. “It opened my eyes to the idea that our own society promotes the wrong idea on how children and teenagers should be taking care of themselves.”

By Christoph Neumann
Staff Writer

People Attaining Complete Equality held a distracted driving assembly on Dec. 12 to inform students of the dangers of multitasking while driving.

The assembly featured a video presentation and the story of Mary Tessmer, a mother whose teenage son died in a distracted driving accident in 2007.

“The purpose of the assembly was to educate students about the life-threatening dangers of distracted driving,” PACE instructor Dr. Rocky Wilson said.

PACE also hung posters around campus showing the numerical statistics of the consequences of distracted driving before the assembly took place

“Word got out, and I believe the message of the assembly was very well received,” Wilson said.

PACE member junior Nick Miller organized the event and contacted speakers.

“My uncle was in a distracted driving accident, and that influenced me to raise awareness about the issue,” Miller said.

PACE wants the student body to come away from the assembly more aware of the issue of distracted driving.

“The assembly affected me on a personal level,” senior Aedan Madillian said. “I was part of a distracted driving accident and my car was totaled, so I was happy to see that people wanted to raise awareness about the issue.”

By Christoph Neumann
Staff Writer

Following annual tradition, People Attaining Complete Equality (PACE) held its drug awareness assembly on Oct. 26, the final day of Red Ribbon Week.

The assembly featured recovering addicts and former Mira Costa students, Mira Costa Resource Officer John Loy, rehabilitation counselors and professional surfer Alex Gray, whose brother suffered and died from drug addiction. The assembly’s theme was “Taken.”

“This theme reminds us of the people that have been taken as a result of their addictions,” PACE advisor Dr. Rocky Wilson said.

For the first time, a video featuring Costa students was shown at the assembly. In the video, Pace members asked students questions regarding drugs in the Costa community and whether or not they thought it was a problem.

“It was cool to see people I knew in the video,” senior Taylor Lewis said. “It definitely made me think about the drug problem at Costa.”

Along with the assembly, PACE distributed lollipops, sticky hands, water bottles and bracelets. They also hung up posters around campus that portrayed “Taken.” All of these handouts advocated a commitment to a drug-free lifestyle.

“The handouts were entertaining,” PACE senior Sarah Gallman said. “They were interactive, helping people remember the message that they represented.”

This year, PACE decided to have its members visit classrooms throughout the week. Members talked about Red Ribbon Week, advocated its goal and distributed handouts to students.

“PACE was informative and built up anticipation for the drug awareness assembly,” junior Nicole Barman said.

Wilson believes that this year’s Red Ribbon Week and the assembly were both successes.

“The audience was always engaged and paying attention to what the speakers were saying,” Wilson said.

By Alex Wyckoff
Staff Writer

An assembly was held by People Achieving Complete Equality in the Mira Costa auditorium on Friday, March 9, during second and third period.

The assembly was titled “It Hurts,” and discussed the issues of not just physical, but also of emotional abuse in families, friendships, and relationships.

“The assembly is about domestic violence,” PACE supervisor Rocky Wilson said, “How it affects students in their family life, as well as how it affects them in their individual lives. It can be domestic abuse, or it could be physical abuse.”

The assembly began with the presentation of a short DVD which introduced the topic of domestic violence, and was followed by speakers who talked about domestic violence.

“Everyone’s been researching stats and figures on domestic violence,” Wilson said. “They’ve been working with the guest speaker, and helping to refine the speech to be appropriate for high school.”

The first guest speaker was Victor Rivas, who grew up in an abusive family in Hawthorne, and wrote a book titled “Family Matters.” He is also a well known actor featured in movies such as “The Mask of Zorro,” and is the national spokesperson against domestic violence.

“We got the whole class involved,” senior PACE member Sara Kimberly said. “They were making posters, doing research, and getting into contact with speakers.”

There were other speakers as well, including a student from Costa, Alex Zech, and speakers from the 1736 House, which is a family crisis center in Hermosa Beach.

“We wanted to inform everyone,” junior PACE member McKenna Howard said. “People only think as abuse as hitting people. They don’t think of insulting comments, or of emotional abuse. So we think that these stories will really impact people and help them understand it.”

This assembly helped audiences to understand PACE’s purpose and goals.

“People mostly think that PACE is just a drug and alcohol related group,” Howard sai., “But really it’s about all of the problems that are impacting, and can hurt people during their time in high school.”

There were high hopes for the assembly before it was held, and afterwards it was a well received presentation.

“We think this is one of our best ones this year,” Kimberly said, “It relates to a lot of kids at Costa, who are going through something like this, and don’t have the courage to speak out. We’re hoping that by this assembly, people will be able to come forth and get help when they need it.”

By Kate Robak
Staff Writer

Mira Costa’s People Attaining Complete Equality group held an optional assembly on Feb. 7 for Costa classes.

The assembly, called “What’s the Definition of You?,” focused on the teenage search for identity and place in the world.

“The assembly was about finding out who you are and accepting your true self,” PACE member senior Lauren LeBlanc said.

Chris Stretch, a former drug addict and current psychologist in training, spoke to the students about the pressure he put on himself to become successful and how his superficial desires prevented him from being content.

“I set this idea, if I get here, then I’ll be happy,” Stretch said.

Stretch encouraged students to make good academic and social choices in life by telling detailed personal stories.

“The assembly was really inspirational,” freshman Kelsey Chaykowski said. “It made me rethink my plans for the future and how I view myself.”

At the end of the assembly, students participated in a demonstration by standing behind two lines of tape on each side of the room. Then a list of statements was read, and students stepped forward for each statement that pertained to them.

“We wanted to make students aware of who they are and to accept themselves,” senior PACE member Sara Kimberly said.

PACE members hoped that the presentation helped students cope with the stress of high school and their lives in the future.

“This assembly will be a big help for students’ future,” PACE advisor Dr. Rocky Wilson said.

By Michelle McKenna
Staff Writer

Mira Costa’s People Achieving Complete Equality group hosted the “They Lied” assembly, in which five speakers spoke about drug and alcohol awareness and their own experiences with substance abuse, on Oct. 28 as part of Costa’s Red Ribbon Week.

PACE, Costa’s student outreach organization, put on the assembly for Costa students. Speakers included Katie, a recovering methamphetamine addict; Alex, a recovering methamphetamine and heroin addict; LG, a recovering alcohol and drug addict and his mother Lisa; and Blitch, a recovering alcohol and drug addict who now works at a rehabilitation center.

“I know how teenagers feel,” LG said. “I’ve been there, and I even know some people watching who did drugs with me. I was on ecstasy, mushrooms, cocaine, and meth and lied to myself. I didn’t want to face the fact that I needed help, but I want kids to realize that it’s not too late.”

This year PACE’s Red Ribbon Week theme was “They Lied,” which represented the idea that teenagers often hear lies glorifying the use of drugs, whether they come from themselves or from their peers.
The purpose of the theme ‘They Lied’ was to remind students that everyone is capable of lying, and in a world where drug and alcohol abuse is common, lies are especially prevalent.

“‘They Lied’ gave a new, interactive theme to present to the Costa student body, in which students could engage in and actually anticipate what the assembly would be like,” sophomore PACE student Sammy Macedo said. “We thought it would stir up some conversation, and we were right. ‘They Lied’ reminds us to watch who we surround ourselves with, analyze the atmosphere we put ourselves in and question peoples’ motives.”

Rather than trying to force opinions regarding an issue directly into the student body, PACE tries to inform students of first-hand interactions with drugs and alcohol, allowing them to develop their own insight.

The speakers hoped the assembly would prompt at least one addicted student to get help.

“I know that most people aren’t listening when I tell them my story,” Katie said. “But if one person is in trouble, I want them to know that someone is out there and that they care. I want everyone to know they are not alone.”

Each year, PACE organizes various activities, such as Red Ribbon Week, to raise awareness about substance abuse. Its goal is to promote knowledge about the issues that affect students in both the present and the future.

“PACE is a group of students who work extremely hard to reach out to students who may relate to or need help in discussing the issues most teenagers face on a daily basis,” Macedo said. “PACE students are a resource for those who may need help or someone to talk to.”

PACE plans to continue the Red Ribbon week assemblies in years to come.

“We work incredibly hard on each assembly as a group, and the outcome is fabulous because of our teamwork,” Macedo said. “I hope that all of the future assemblies are as influential as this assembly was.”

PACE has been planning this assembly since the beginning of September, and according to PACE students, their hard work paid off.
“We in PACE are all very proud of our annual Red Ribbon Week assembly that took place last Friday,” Macedo said. “I think ‘They Lied’ was one of the best assemblies we’ve planned.”