Recently, the school administrators hosted an event that involved two barrels. Students were encouraged to write any hateful words, phrases, or comments on the barrels. One barrel was given to the lower school to write on, and the other was given to the upper school. The barrels were quickly covered in writing by the end of the day. On the day of the denting, Mr. Cabellero carried out two sledgehammers, one with a long handle and one with a short handle. They were aptly named “Big Thor” and “Little Thor”. He rolled the barrels out at lunch and invited students to take a swing at the barrel for a dollar. The lower school went first at the barrel, only managing to partly damage theirs. Afterward, the high school managed to heavily dent both of the two barrels! With the combined efforts here were the results:
They look nicely dented! Good job on denting the barrels to fight against hate! (Even if you were just watching from the sidelines cheering your friends on) Remember, it doesn’t take much to have a person’s day better, so share the kindness and help someone feel happier.
However, a flaw with the hammering out hate event was that each swing cost a dollar. This possibly leads students away from the event, rather than pulling them towards it. Some students even viewed it as a shameless cash grab. A way to improve on this problem would be to give the first 10 students in line a free swing at the barrel, then having the rest pay a dollar. Another way would be to lower the cost of the swings, as one dollar may be above the cost that many students would be willing to pay for a swing. The event definitely could have gained much more traction if either one was implemented.
If you would like to look at the barrels, you can find them near the door at the basketball court in the courtyard.
