Dancing, candy and palm trees, oh my!
Beach-themed No Place For Hate Parade is a sand-tastic celebration
May 17, 2019
Student Leadership has put together the No Place For Hate Parade for four years now. The parade assists in uniting students to fight against bullying.
Starting in the fall of 2004, the Anti-Defamation League launched the campaign of ‘No Place For Hate’ in Austin schools. Then, Bowie students picked it up.
WAVING AT THE CROWD: Senior Alexa Robinson waves and throws candy at the crowd as they pass by. The parade gave students the chance to celebrate being a No Place For Hate campus. “[The hardest parts were] or- ganizing all the groups before hand,” Robinson said. “Then during the parade trying to get the groups in the right place and keeping it organized and on time.”
“Originally, it started because the student leaders wanted to do something where everyone could march together and just have some way to unify the campus,” Student Leadership teacher Vickie Benson said.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the initiative provides students and staff with resources to ensure their campuses are free of bias and celebrate diversity.
DANCING AROUND: Senior Nyah Bernucho dances alongside with the MCAC Dancers. The MCAC Danc- ers have been planning this performance for 4 months. “I love the fact that this dance never gets old,” said Bernucho. “I like when we do the jumping thing even though it’s really tiring”
“Bowie is a No Place For Hate campus,” Benson said. “In order to continue to be a campus that participates in the program, we have to put on three events every year.”
After last year’s performance, the Multicultural Awareness Club’s dance team, the MCAC Dancers, were asked to perform at the finale of this year’s parade as well.
BLOWING BUBBLES: Senior Cecilia Ortiz beams as she blows bubbles towards the onlooking students. Student Leadership has been planning the parade for two months. “My favorite part about putting on the parade was putting the float together with the class,”Ortiz said. “Also going around the school and seeing everyone so happy
“Even though we didn’t have much time, we made sure to pull everything together for a bigger cause,” MCAC co-president Nyah Bernucho said.
According to Student Leadership student Alexa Robinson, bringing the parade to life required lots of hard work and time. Benson, alongside Student Leadership, dedicated many hours to making sure everything went right at the parade.
GET IN FORMATION: Clapping and smiling, The MCAC Dancers put on a show at the finale of the No Place for Hate Parade. They came up with this dance in December for Black History Month. “Beyonce is one of my favorite artists to dance to,” senior Nyah Bernucho said. “Her music just livens the room.”
“There’s a lot of different pieces that come together to make it happen, so I guess it’s my job to figure out what all the pieces are and to make sure that there are people to do those pieces,” Benson said.
The MCAC celebrates diversity on campus by putting together dances for school events, including the Black History Month assembly and Bowie’s 30th Birthday celebration.
SEA U THERE: Senior Jason Trevino marches in the No Place For Hate parade. Along with the parade, Student Leadership has put on two other No Place For Hate events. “This is the 3rd event,” Vickie Benson said. “This is the fourth year we’ve done it as the final No Place For Hate event that we do.”
“We actually did a shortened version of the Black History Month performance due to a crunch on time, since making dances can be so difficult,” Bernucho said.
According to Benson, unity is a big focus that Student Leadership strives to achieve.
“No Place For Hate is basically a statement of not hating or holding any grudges or stereotypes against any group at all,” Benson said. “We all have a place; we all have meaning and value. It’s really to encourage students and faculty to be more uplifting and positive with each other.”
