West Hills Middle School Student Senate accomplished essential work as part of their No Place for Hate initiative. The No Place for Hate pledge was signed by students, teachers, and staff at West Hills and everyone is learning about the program. The Student Senate is a crucial part of this initiative and is made up of two sponsors, teachers Riley Mize and Chris Drogash, and approximately six students from each grade level at West Hills. These senate student leaders were nominated by their teachers, learned what was involved in the committee, and were offered the choice to join. 

Mrs. Mize says the group, which meets a couple of times per month, was organized last year and started taking action this school year. “We work from the pledge and the goals of the No Place for Hate Organization, and then we think about what our school needs and what would be helpful to talk about and to bring forward to the students. This year there is a big focus on anti-bullying and being more inclusive and creating a school community,” describes Mize. Mize hopes the Student Senate committee will achieve a sense of leadership, understand their voice matters and be proud of what they’ve done.

The senate participants presented a slideshow, titled "Put Bullying to Rest,” to all West Hills classes. The slideshow was used to help explain the concepts of bullying and several ways for prevention. It started by asking, “What is bullying,” and the senate leaders encouraged students to respond.  Students were attentive and interested in the content presented by their peers. Some of the lessons learned were the importance of reaching out to a trusted adult if bullying is being experienced or witnessed and how thinking about your actions can make a big difference in how others feel.

Student Senate members Diya Chandran (grade 6) and Emmy Vanderpool (grade 7) were enthusiastic about the presentations and feel they are making a difference. Chandran comments, “It’s a really great experience, I really enjoy helping people and making a small difference.” Vanderpool says, “We help spread awareness and there’s a lot more inclusivity that we can spread and help our school become a better community.”