LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – On Friday, Mar. 27, freshmen students crowded into the new and old gym, attending a mandatory assembly called Griffins With A Mission. The assembly, which had once been an optional field trip, took place during third and fourth period. 

GWAM is an organization at Los Alamitos High School that specializes in creating a welcoming, positive school environment. They have created tactics and strategies to teach freshmen about the harmful consequences of stereotyping, bullying and peer exclusion.

After nutrition, we made our way to the new gym along with the rest of the freshmen whose last names start with M-Z. Having attended GWAM the previous semester, neither of us were excited for the two hours that were to come.

We walked across the gym, put down our backpacks, hid our phones and climbed onto the bleachers waiting for the third period bell to ring. Once it rang and everyone was seated, the advisor in charge of GWAM gave a short speech about what GWAM stands for and the rules we were expected to follow.

After the monotonous lecture, we broke up into our respective groups. We went around saying our names and something we liked to do. Then, the chaos ensued. 

During the assembly, the GWAM voluntary leaders, who were LAHS upperclassmen, spoke to us and other groups of freshmen about various aspects of one’s identity and the importance of recognizing that differences are not supposed to act as a divider, but as something to celebrate. 

Topics included being a second-generation immigrant to the United States, speaking a language other than English fluently, having a single parent, having one or more parents in the military, coming from a low-income environment and more. 

While there was timidness due to the touchy subjects at hand, a few students found it beneficial and productive. However, we found it redundant of what we already knew and slightly boring because of the long talks about sensitive matters. 

As the discussion became progressively more serious, fellow freshmen in our groups were very non-participatory; they stood in stoic silence and very reluctantly nodded to the questions once or twice in the multi-hour event.

Some participated as a joke, agreeing with every statement, even when contradictory assertions were stated. This made others who have experienced the situations being discussed uncomfortable while everyone was unwilling to truthfully share their thoughts, the opposite of what GWAM is supposed to do.

In past years, GWAM has been a once-a-year optional field trip to Weaver Elementary School where groups were separated into their own classrooms. Here, at LAHS, we discussed similar issues, but instead of separating into rooms, the groups gathered all together in both gyms.

After attendance was taken, students moved from their assigned groups based on surnames to groups with their friends. The leaders, not having met everyone in their group, did not notice when extra kids appeared. Moving groups defeats one of the purposes of GWAM, which is meeting new people.

Most leaders did not know how to control the kids in their groups and many freshmen lacked respect for the leaders, advisors and GWAM itself, viewing it merely as a way to get out of class and hang out with friends. 

Though the execution of GWAM could use some experimenting, the student-founded program has an important message that many young scholars entering high school need to hear. 

Over 30 years ago, four LAHS students recognized these crucial lessons and created something they believed would fix the poor behavior they saw amongst their fellow classmates. Maybe one day, this program will do more than give kids an excuse to miss class.